Years ago, before we moved to our home 31 years ago I used to make Pizza frequently using the Chef Boy Are Dee Pizza mix that came in a box. Then when we moved here and there was a Papa Murphys Take and Bake Pizza right across the street so I stopped making pizza and bought our pizzas from Papa Murphys. They were always really excellent pizzas and they used to be only $6.00 for a family size combo. Now they are $25.00, still good, but they’ve gotten a bit stingy with the toppings, so I was always adding extra cheese, onions and bell pepper.
In August I decided I’d start making pizza from scratch, since I’m very comfortable making yeast dough now due to my baking of all of our bread and rolls since 2018. I bought a nice 16” non stick pizza pan and found that making pizza is not that much work at all.
The first pizza I made I topped it with 3.5 oz. salami, 3.5 oz pepperoni, 8 oz. cooked mild Italian sausage, 1 2.25 oz. sliced black olives, 1/4 cup each of diced onions and green bell pepper and 8 oz, shredded mozzarella cheese and 1/2 7 oz. jar of pizza sauce. I baked it at 425 F for 18 mins and it was great. But I didn’t like the way the sausage that I cooked on the stove came out, it was too crumbly and we prefer chunks of sausage.
The next pizza I made I left off the salami and pepperoni and used Italian sausage that I pre cooked in the oven instead. I used 1 lb. of Sweet Italian sausage that I removed from the casings and pinched off nickel sized pieces and placed them on the bottom the broiler pan and baked them at 350 F for 20 mins, then drained it on paper towels before putting in on the pizza. That pizza was the BOMB!
I’m attaching photos to the first pizza I baked before baking and after it came outta the oven along with the hand written recipe for the dough, which is very similar to Mike’s dough recipe in reply #18.
I prefer using Active Dry Yeast instead of Instant Rapid Rise Yeast. I also have found that I get much better gluten development using my Kitchen Aid hand mixer instead of the stand mixer or by kneading by hand. Every yeast dough I make now I add 1/2 of the flour that the recipe calls for to the warm liquid with the proofed yeast and beat it with the beaters on speed 4 for a couple of mins until its like a smooth batter, this gives the gluten development a real jump start. Then I switch to the dough hooks, add the remainder of the flour and knead on speed 4 for 5 to 6 mins turning the bowl by hand and moving the dough hooks around the edge of the bowl until a smooth, elastic dough forms that cleans the side of the bowl. Then I pinch of a piece of dough the size of an egg and using my fingers gently pull the dough from both sides until I can see light through the dough without it tearing, this is called “the windowpane test”, which shows that the gluten is properly developed and you will get maximum rise from your dough. It works every time!
I know that this is a whole lotta 411, but I wanted to share what I’ve learned through trial and error to help others that may be interested in tackling baking with doughs made with yeast. I hope that it helps.
Eddie
