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Prep Time: 5760 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes |
Ready In: 5770 Minutes Servings: 6 |
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I have been working on this recipe for awhile now to get exactly what I look for in a pizza crust: sweet, yeasty flavor with a big rise and chewy, bread-like texture. With some help from some fantastic, amazing chefs from this site, I've finally got it! Thanks again and again to duonyte Chef #50509 , Dee514 Chef #34146 , and bakingfool Chef #1170032 for all the wonderful advice and help for a non-baker like me. This is NOT a quick recipe. It takes 4 days to ferment and really develop the flavor I wanted, but IMO it is WELL worth it! Ingredients:
4 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast, divided |
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar |
1 teaspoon salt |
2 tablespoons olive oil (garlic- or basil-infused are good, as is evoo) |
1/2 cup hot water |
1 1/4 cups warm water, divided |
3 1/2 cups bread flour, divided |
Directions:
1. Put 1/2 cup HOT water in a small glass bowl, add 2 teaspoons of yeast and allow to sit for 10 minutes. (This kills the yeast and will add more of a yeast flavor in the finished product without changing the texture of the dough-thanks duonyte.) Put 1/2 cup WARM water in a large glass bowl, add sugar and stir to dissolve. Sprinkle remaining 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast over the top and stir to combine. Let sit 10 minutes. Add 1 cup bread flour and stir to combine. Allow sponge to sit on the counter overnight.
2. Add remaining warm water and olive oil. Measure out remaining flour and add one handful at a time, stirring 5 times after each incorporation.
3. After the dough has been mixed, before kneading let the dough rest for about 30 minutes so that the flour and water properly combine.
4. Turn dough out onto a clean, dry, very well floured surface and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer completely sticky (about 15 minutes-thanks bakingfool), but still a wetter dough. Allow to rise and ferment slowly in the refrigerator for 4 days, punching down once about 8 hours into the rise. (You can use the dough sooner, but having tested it every day for 4 days, I can tell you the flavor improves each day you allow it to ferment-thanks Dee514.).
5. Roll out the dough as follows - keep everything well floured when using a wet dough - take balls of dough (about 1lb for 12 pizza), rotate the sides of the ball downward so that maintain a ball shape but stretch out the top; press down the ball with the tips of your fingers to create a circle; stretch out the dough in a circle by hand; then cover with plastic and let it rest for ten minutes; then finish stretching the dough out to the desired size, ensuring the dough is thicker at the edge to form a nice crust (I get 3 medium-sized pizzas that are not too thick not too thin.).
6. Top pizza as desired (leaving a 1/2 inch border so the crust rises properly) and bake pizza in the hottest oven you can find (500*-550*) on a pizza stone that has been well pre-heated (at least 30 min) for 8-15 minutes depending on how well done you like your crust and how much you loaded it up!
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