- 1 1/3 cups water
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon msg (Accent*)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
I first came across the recipe on Recipezaar.com. Since then I have made the recipe several times and it has turned out very well every time. When I first tried making pizza dough from a couple of other recipes the dough mostly tasted like flour. It’s amazing how just adding a few simple seasonings and giving the dough more time to rise and rest enhances the flavor.
The recipe is for a bread maker but you don’t have to use one. If you don’t have a bread maker just add your dry ingredients in a mixing bowl then add your wet ingredients. My hand mixer has a dough hook attachment so I use that to mix the dough.
Tip: You may need to add a little more water or a little more flour depending on the weather and how your dough ball is forming up. When your dough ball is coming together start touching it. It should feel a little bit sticky but not wet. If it’s not sticky at all add a teaspoon of water at a time until the dough is a little sticky. On the other hand if almost all your ingredients are incorporated into the dough ball and it’s making a squishing sound in the bowl the dough then the dough it too wet. Add a teaspoon of flour at a time until it’s just a little sticky.
Once your dough has come together in a ball, you’ll knead it for a few minutes until the dough forms a nice elastic consistency. How long you knead exactly depends on your dough. I’ve heard recommendations for kneading from 5 minutes up to 20. It’s not an exact science. Kneading makes the gluten bonds in the dough str0nger which makes for a chewier dough. I’ve tried kneading for 5 minutes and for 15 and I didn’t notice a difference.
Once you knead the dough, lightly coat the surface with vegetable oil and put it in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a moist towel and set the bowl in a warm place. I put the bowl in my oven with the oven off and set a container of hot water in the oven. After about 30 minutes or an hour the dough should have about doubled in size. You can punch the dough down and let it rise again or you can go ahead and use it. I’ve let my dough rise a few times before and I didn’t notice a difference between one rise and multiple rises.
Your dough has risen and you’re ready to use it.
Tip: I read this on a forum from a Pizza Hut employee a while back. Take your pizza pan and cover the bottom with vegetable oil – Just enough to cover the surface. Sounds crazy right? I thought so too but it’s not! What happens is the crust of the dough fries in the oil and what you get is a thin, crispy outside layer while the inside is tender and chewy. It’s awesome.
I have a big 15″ deep dish pizza pan. I have used it a couple of times and I love it.
I cook my pizza at 450 degrees.
The dough has baked for 5 minutes
If you’re feeling experimental you can try tossing the dough in the air to stretch it out like the pros do. I haven’t tried that yet. I just put my dough in the pan and stretch it out slowly. You’ll have to keep stretching for a while depending on how elastic your dough is. Once you get your dough all stretched out, put it in the oven and bake it for 5 minutes. If you skip this step your dough may not get done in the middle. This depends on how many toppings you put on it.
Now pull the dough out and put your toppings on. You can put whatever you want of course. I don’t get real fancy. I use store brand pizza sauce, hormel pepperoni, and Sargento mozzarella cheese. Whatever you do, DON’T buy imitation mozzarella cheese. I made that mistake early on. The cheese will NOT melt. What the heck do they imitate cheese with anyway…
Loaded with toppings and ready to bake.
TIP: Cheese is good so a TON of cheese should be great! That’s a sound theory but if you put too much cheese it simply won’t melt before your crust burns. I put enough cheese on top of the sauce so that the sauce is just barely visible. Then I put a layer of pepperoni then sprinkle some cheese on top. This has worked well for me.
How long your pizza cooks will depend on your dough and your toppings. I’ve found that once the cheese is melted the dough is done. This take 15-20 minutes for me.
I recently bought a pizza serving pan. Before I got it I just put my pizza on cardboard to cut it. The serving pan makes for a *slightly* better presentation on the table. If you like your crust thicker like I do you might consider get a pizza knife. When I first tried using a wheel style cutter it just pushed all the ingredients in front of the wheel and down between the slices. No fun. The pizza knife makes nice clean slices. There’s definitely a technique to it though. Once you get the rocking motion down you’ll smile. This is the pizza knife I have. There are about a berjillion different models to choose from if you don’t like mine.
If you like pizza and you like cooking, try making your own. You might be surprised at how good it is.
