My pizza dough recipe/method

[Calaf]

How I do it in a fan oven, but should be fine for a WFO.

* 250g Strong white flour
* 125ml warm water
* 1 sachet yeast (7g)
* 5g salt
* Drizzle of olive oil (10ml ish)
(The wife likes chili flakes added to the dough, I prefer plain)
* Wine

- Put the dry ingredients in the kitchen mixer, with dough hook attached
- Add the olive oil
- Switch on to low speed (2 on a Kenwood Chef)
- Slowly pour in the water, allowing it to mix with the flour
- Leave to knead for about 3-4 minutes while sipping wine
- Spread a tablespoon of flour on a countertop
- Remove the dough from the bowl and place on the flour
- Place the bowl upside-down over the dough and go sip some wine
- After 2 hours remove the bowl and knead the dough some more
(Being lazy I just pull and fold for 1-2 minutes)
- Replace bowl and go sip some wine for 30 minutes
- The oven should be pre-heated to its max, 240/250’C is typical (with a pizza stone)
- Dust a silicone rolling pin with flour and roll out the dough
- A 38cm diameter will make a thin crust, 35cm will give you something a little breadier
- Add your toppings and bake for a few minutes to how you like it
- Sip some wine while you wait



This is a 35cm pizza I cooked on Friday. Topped with…
* 2 tablespoons of home-grown tomatoes, blitzed and reduced to <50%
* 75g Prosciutto
* 75g Mozzarella (half a ball)
* 25g cheddar
(Jalapeno slices make a nice addition)

- Leave a large area free from topping so you can dip the crust
- Serve with a small bowl of good balsamic and a small bowl of olive oil with sea salt

Our other favourite is Tuna and Anchovy. Simple and delicious, perfect for two.

Don't forget the wine!

[Tom B]

Looks great, Mark.
Where'd you get the cutting board?

[Calaf]

Tom, I'm almost embarassed to say, TK Maxx, £9.99.

It's only Rubberwood but on getting it home I gave it a fine sanding and several oilings. Came up quite nice.

There is a brandmark burned onto it that says, "Compagnia del Legno - Mamma Ro - Lucca" (tr: Lumber company - Ma Rosa - Lucca) which is rather cheeky as it comes from Thailand according to the sticker.

[Tom B]

Cheers for the info. I'll pop down and pick a couple up. ;D

[Terry Hardwood]

Similar recipe to mine Calaf, But how do you get it that scorched in a household oven? I've never seen that unless it was a restaurant or masonry oven.

Terry

p.s. Would that be Calaf as in il suo nome nessun sapra?

[Tom B]

You can get a pretty good base like that by putting the oven temp at the maximum, roughly 230C, and using a pizza stone that's properly pre-heated.

[benjibong]

Nice looking base. I read another recipe you have here that uses honey - gag

An old catering trick is to add sugar syrup to the dough to make it char more easily.

[Calaf]

Terry: Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me.

As Tom says, a pizza stone is essential and you need to let the oven cycle a couple of times to make sure it is properly heated.

But there is an additional cheat (if you have a fast grill in the oven). Once the oven is fully heated switch on the grill with the door closed. It’s probably not good for the oven but gets it well over 250.


Benji, that was not my recipe. I have tried adding Dextrose Monohydrate to the dough (used in catering, browns like sugar but does not add so much sweetness) but didn’t think it made much difference.

[Terry Hardwood]

Thanks, Calaf. Our ovens are not as fancy as your European ones so I don't think it'll work for us.

Your English is perfect by the way.

[Calaf]

Feb 29, 2012 13:07:58 GMT Terry Hardwood said:

Your English is perfect by the way.

Thanks, Terry. I find being English probably helps.

[baronkev]

The dough sounds a bit dry to me. I would increase the water content for more oven bounce or the dough will struggle to rise.

[Calaf]

Mar 5, 2012 8:12:30 GMT baronkev said:

The dough sounds a bit dry to me. I would increase the water content for more oven bounce or the dough will struggle to rise.

Being essentially a lazy git I let the Kenny do all the grunting. This means hardly any extra flour gets incorporated into the dough before I roll it (I know, bad bad).

I keep giving the wife those Pizza Delivery Menus that are shoved through the letterbox every other day but she refuses to give me a day off.



For spring I used to pour water into a pan at the bottom of the oven until I realised it was rusting the racks. But it's a pizza, so spring doesn't matter so much I think.

[Terry Hardwood]

OOPS!

Calaf, I am so sorry... I just assumed... I'll get my coat.

[Happy Baker]

Calaf, how many pizzas does this make ( I know, string and all that!) is it one of the 35's or two?
I want to change my dough to make a crispier base, and this seems to be pointing me in the right direction, although I'm thinking that making the dough quicker, rather than my usual overnight rise might be an idea. I'll just have to try it and see

Does anyone else forget how much dough for how many guests/pizzas? I do every year

[Happy Baker]

OK so I made pizza this afternoon to (almost) Calaf's recipe.

1kg flour
20g salt
14g dried yeast (assuming that the original was done in 7g packets)
500g water
40g olive oli

Mix, then rise, then knead then split and roll out (see Calaf's recipe)

We had 8 pizza, but I really needed to ensure that the base was rolled thin, in order that it cooked through and was thin enough to be able to e cooked through.

Great recipe though Calaf.