I know I already posted a pizza crust recipe, but I came across a new recipe that is a million times better than any other homemade pizza crust recipe I have ever come across. Ok, that may be a bit of a hyperbole, but it is super delicious! I've been posting a lot of recipes from Tammy's Recipes lately, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I found this recipe on her site as well. This recipe uses less flour than other recipes I've found, so it's pretty sticky, but you must resist the urge to add too much flour!!! Also, you don't have to wait for the dough to rise, so you don't have to start making it too far in advance!
Pizza Crust 2
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp yeast
Butter
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the hook attachment, combine water, sugar, and salt. Add 2 cups flour and yeast; mixing until a soft dough forms. It should resemble a dough. If it's too runny, gradually add more flour until you get a dough (though it will be soft and sticky). Run the mixer on medium for a couple of minutes. Alternatively, you may mix the ingredients by hand, then knead on a clean, floured surface for 5-10 minutes.
If using a metal pan, butter pan, then roll or stretch dough out over surface. Since the dough is sticky, you'll want to keep your fingertips well buttered. Simply melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a bowl and dip your fingers in periodically. This will not only prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, but will also add some delicious flavor to the crust! If you're feeling particularly daring, mince a clove or two of garlic and add it to the melted butter.
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| It's a very sticky dough, so don't add too much flour! |
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| I made four small pizzas instead of one large. |
I highly encourage you to read Tammy's tips for making homemade pizza here.
Wow, this crust rocks! I made it last night, topped with tomatoes, leftover grilled chicken, crumbled bacon and onions. My hubby (who loves pizza but isn't too crazy about homemade crust) said it was the best homemade crust he's had, though still not like a restaurant serves.
ReplyDeleteThe problem I always have with homemade crust is not being able to achieve the flakiness of restaurant pizza crust. The bottom of a restaurant pizza crust tends to be smooth and flaky, almost resembling a saltine cracker, with a chewy inside. All of the homemade crusts I've ever had or made tend to be more crumbly on the bottom, rather than restaurant-flaky. I wonder if it is their ovens or special pans that make for the flakiness... or maybe some non-nutritive, carcinogenic chemicals and additives? If that's it, then I might be willing to take my chances with them at this point, LOL! Do you have a secret to flaky, chewy, restaurant-like crust?
Hi, Stacey!
ReplyDeleteWow! Your review of Kimiko's recipe makes me want to get up and make a pizza right now!
As far as the texture of the crust, I would guess it has to do with combination of the type of pan and the oven. Do you use a pizza stone? That is the best way to mimic the ovens in a pizzeria. The key is to heat the stone in the oven 30-45 minutes before putting the pizza on it. Also, try to get the pizza in the oven as quickly as possible to minimize heat loss when you have the door open.
In my opinion, the best pizza comes from a wood oven. The temperature stays consistently hot and the pizza is placed directly on the hot oven floor. In my never-gonna-happen dream house, I'd have a wood oven in my kitchen for pizza, pitas, tortillas, focaccia, etc.
If you don't have a pizza stone, I think it's a worthy investment. Though I would suggest a larger rectangle stone so you can use it for more things.
Hope this helps!
Thanks Sumiko. I do use a pizza stone, but still no flakey crust. I will try heating it ahead of time. I have tried adding different amounts of gluten, wetting the stone under the dough, varying the temperature... you name it. Maybe when my kids are raised, I'll take a summer job at a pizzeria and learn some secrets! I did find a blog that had a recipe that looked promising, so I'll try that next time. I think my family needs a break from pizza for a little while, though. I have been experimenting quite a bit with it in the past few days, and they have had to eat all the experiments!
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