the train to crazy
the train to crazy
Cloud 9
Pizza, Pizza
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Yummy
This was the best homemade pizza crust ever. I highly recommend it.
I love pizza. We love pizza. This is the best recipe for crust that I’ve found. It is very airy and light. Combine with this pizza sauce and you have a great meal. The recipe is from Cooks Illustrated. It uses part cake flour, which is low in protein so it causes the crust to cook up with a tender interior and a crispy crust; more like a pizza in an 800 degree pizza oven. It is really helpful to have a pizza stone for it to cook up the way it should be.
1 1/4 tsp instant or active dry yeast
1 cup water, slightly warm or room temperature
1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 oz) all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 cup (4 oz) cake flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
Preheat the oven to 500F with your baking stone on the oven rack.
Combine yeast and water and stir to dissolve.
Combine flours, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to blend. With the motor running, stream in water/yeast mixture. Continue to process for 1-2 minutes, until dough becomes smooth and satiny. Add an extra tablespoon of flour if the dough becomes too sticky.
Divide dough into two and shape each piece into a tight ball. Place on a lightly floured surface and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap or a clean dish towel. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Working with one ball of dough at a time, place on a lightly floured surface. Flatten the dough into an 8-inch disk, then stretch the edges gently until the dough is about 12-inches in diameter, rotating the dough by quarter turns as you work.
Transfer the stretched dough onto a baking sheet that has been covered with cornmeal. Spread it with a small amount of the sauce, toppings of your choice and slide it quickly into the oven.
Bake pizza at 500F for 5-10 minutes, until well browned.
Retrieve pizza with baking sheet or pizza peel.
Serve immediately and repeat process with second piece of dough.
I precooked the dough for a few minutes before putting the sauce and toppings on it. This gives it a crispier crust.
This is actually a very easy recipe. Enjoy!