Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Very Best Pizza Crust Ever

You'll never need another pizza crust recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 4.5 cups bread flour (the more protein-rich the flour, the better)

DIRECTIONS:
  1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.
  2. Stir in remaining sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, until smooth. 
  3. Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise in a warm location. Let rise until the dough has doubled in volume, about one hour. 
  4. Punch down dough. Separate it in thirds and reshape into balls. Cover again with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
  5. During the second rising, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. If using a pizza stone, place the stone in the oven for preheating. If using a baking sheet, lightly flour it (but don’t preheat).
  6. On a well-floured surface, roll out one ball of dough until it is approximately the size of your pizza stone or baking sheet.
  7. Par-bake the crust until barely brown and rigid, about 3 minutes.
  8. Remove the crust from the oven and let rest on wire racks to avoid sogginess. Top with your favorite toppings and return to the oven for an additional 5-10 minute (depending on toppings), until the cheese is melted and the edges are golden brown.
Recipe yields three crusts. Dough can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for up to a month. 

Enjoy!

5 comments:

  1. I shall haste to maketh, multiple bifurcated quantities and freezeth in thine gelid sepulchre and useth most happily!
    Thanks!!!

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  2. Yes! En fin - the crust recipe. Extra props for having included "bifurcate" in a recipe for pizza dough.

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  3. Isn't bifurcate a wonderful word? I'm going to have to edit the post to improve its usage. It was late when I was writing this up.

    If you use The CRUST!!! recipe, please let us know how it compares to other crust recipes you've tried. We're always open to new ideas here at pizzayourface! I've found this recipe to produce a light and slightly chewy crust that stretches and crisps nicely. I've had trouble with others not being elastic enough, or too dense, but honestly it may just have been my relative inexperience at the time.

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. Sorry to you anglophiles out there who prefer Old English (ahem, ML), but I decided to update the recipe in the modern tongue since I'm linking to it regularly. The original instructions are below (same ingredients of course).

    THE CRUST!
    1. In a large bowl, dissolveth ye the yeast and 1 tablespoon of thine sugar in warm water. Let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.

    2. Stirrest in thine remaining sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Kneadeth dough with all thine strength 6 to 8 minutes (or until smooth) on a surface lightly floured.

    3. Depositeth what thou hath wrought in a well-oiled bowl, covered with a damp cloth and setteth aside to rise in a warm place. Allow ye the dough to thus rise until thine dough hath nought but doubled in size, about 1 hour. Ponder thee the error of thine ways.

    4. Thine dough has now risen! Bifurcate thy dough and cleaveth its mass in twain! Mouldeth thine halves into twin doughy spheroids. Covereth again thine dough balls with a towel and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Pondereth thine fate further.

    5. Thine dough has riseneth again! Preheat thine oven to 450 degrees F. If pizza stone be thine chosen substrate, placeth thine stone now in the oven for preheating. If thou hast not a stone for baking, thou must employ an inferior baking sheet, and lightly flour it, but letteth it not yet know the warmth of thine hearth.

    6. On a well-floured surface, rolleth out one ball of dough with great vigour until it is thin and flat and in rough dimensions approximating the size of your pizza stone or baking sheet.

    7. Par-baketh thine virginal crust on thine pre-heated stone or baking sheet until barely brown and slightly rigid, about 3 minutes.

    8. Removeth now the crust from thine oven and setteth said crust upon wire racks lest it get soggy-bottomed. Now canst thou toppeth thine crust with thine favorite toppings. Woe to thou who wouldst center load this divine vehicle!

    9. Returneth thine pizza now in its full spleandor to thine oven for an additional 5-10 minutes (depending on toppings) to complete its miraculous transformation!

    The recipe herein yieldeth two crusts of average stature. Thine dough canst be created in advance and refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for a month or more on thine stoop when in winter.

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