Cooking with Blobby

.....and 710. 

Way back when we kind of made our own pizzas. We had the stone (before it cracked in two) but we purchased pre-made crusts like Boboli. For the holidays, I opted to give 710 a new pizza stone so that we could go back to making our own pizzas. 

I fully understand I gave the gift mostly to myself, as I do the majority of the cooking. That said, 710 worked at Pizza Hut during high school. All the dough was made from scratch there - which surprised me. I assumed it was shipped to each store ready for cooking. 

But I got "us" the stone in hope we would be making our own dough. 

....and we did. Ironically - as you will see - we did not use the stone this time around. I have a lot to learn about making dough. Probably need to follow directions a little more closely. 

As one can top their pizza any damn way they please (yes, pineapple is permitted) this was really about the dough making. 

Ingredients 

¾ cup warm water (100-110°F) (180mL) 

1 (.25-ounce/7g) packet active dry yeast 

1 tablespoon granulated sugar divided 

2 cups all-purpose flour (240g) 

1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for brushing 

¾ teaspoon salt Instructions 

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let the mixture stand until it is very frothy on top, 5 to 7 minutes. 

Add the flour, olive oil, salt and remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar to the bloomed yeast. Attach the dough hook and mix on low for about 1 minute. Increase to medium-low speed until the dough comes together in a ball, is smooth, and springs back when poked, about 5 minutes. 

Shape the dough into a tight ball on the counter and place it in a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise until the dough has doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 450°F.  (I inadvertently did 400°F and I believe it made a difference.) 

When the dough has doubled, punch it down (I forgot to punch it down) and shape it into a 12” circle on a lightly floured surface, making a thicker rim around the outside edge. Transfer the dough to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet or pizza pan and reshape into a circle if needed. Brush the rim with olive oil if desired (I'll try that oil part next time), and top with sauce and your choice of pizza toppings or as directed by your recipe. 

Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Note

No stand mixer? No problem. You can absolutely make this dough by hand. Stir everything together with a wooden spoon until it comes together, then knead on a lightly floured surface for about 8-10 minutes. The dough is ready when it’s smooth, elastic, and springs back when pressed.

For starters, while I used all the ingredients they said and did all the dough hook stuff they asked, the dough never formed into a ball and it was sticky as hell. I know you have to take into account humidity and heat in your kitchen, but let's face it - I don't know how to do that.  All that said, it did double in size and was a bit more manageable after taking it out of the bowl and hour later. 

710 formed it, but we struggled with the stickiness and figured out early on that we would never be able to transfer it from the pizza board to the stone. So we scratched the board and stone and used a rimmed baking sheet.  ....and reformed there. 

We also didn't go with a circle.

While it was ok. 50 degrees hotter would have been. Things would have cooked and browned more thoroughly 

It all tasted fine. I put shredded parm on top of the pizza sauce and before the mozzarella. Then added pepperoni, onions and banana peppers. Next time I'd do hot banana peppers and not mild. 

Still - I have a way to go to perfecting this. Either way it's faster than ordering one and picking it up.  Well, except for the time to let the dough rise, I suppose. 

I'll figure it out.