Thin Crust Pizza-Need help

[Cubangirl]

I am in the minority of folks in that I like very skinny pizza crust, almost flatbread like. So I am hoping that among the pizza afficionados here, someone also likes thin crusts. I need to make it in my electric oven for now. I don't want to mess with the gas grill which I've never used.

I am excited that my Honeyville Alta Artisan flour is being delivered tomorrow and DH has requested pizza (which is on my bucket list). Sourdough bread is the other, but need to find SF sourdough starter first.

I am hoping someone has a tried and true, no fail, even a beginner can make recipe (it has been probably 35+ years since I made homemade pizza crust.) The flour has 11-9% to 12.5% protein. TIA

BTW, I made myself a chart with the protein of the various flours I use and would be happy to post it is any one would like it.

[karyn]

I totally agree--I also prefer very thin pizza crusts. I've had a lot of success using Kenji Alt's recipe for Crispy Bar-Style Pizza. I think giving the dough time to rest in the refrigerator is crucial to great taste in this recipe.

[labradors]

My preference is for thin-crust pizzas that are still soft, rather than becoming like crackers.

Aside from my first messages upon joining this forum (where I had sought a dough recipe that could produce par-cooked pizzas that could be frozen and reheated without becoming too hard), I have mostly used Wolfgang Puck's dough recipe and have no trouble making thin pizzas with it.

One thing I have found is that it makes it a lot easier if you stretch the dough into small circles, let those rest for about ten minutes and THEN stretch them out to their full diameter.

[cjs]

I'm finding it doesn't matter so much the dough you start with, but keep in mind two things -

- make the dough by hand, it's so much easier to start with less flour than called for and slowly add as you are kneading and be able to stop when you have a very soft dough.

- and, if you allow the dough to come to room temperature before starting to roll/stretch/push it makes all the difference in the world.

Lastly, allowing the dough to 'ripen' in the fridge for 2 to 3 days makes a nicer flavor also.

Have fun, Alina - you'll be hooked in no time!

[luvnit]

Quote:

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I totally agree--I also prefer very thin pizza crusts. I've had a lot of success using Kenji Alt's recipe for Crispy Bar-Style Pizza. I think giving the dough time to rest in the refrigerator is crucial to great taste in this recipe.

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I just printed out the recipe for the crust AND the attached sauce recipe. I can't wait to try them both! Thanks for sharing Karyn!

[cjs]

speaking of pizza - my 'security blanket' is in place -



batch of sauce just went in the freezer.

[Cubangirl]

Thank you all. I have copied Kenji's recipe to my LC, and added all your suggestions to it. I can't wait.

One question I have is at what point can the dough be frozen? The recipe makes 4 pizza's and for the 2 of us, just one will suffice. Thanks.

[luvnit]

Nice Jean! Perfect for the two of you! Beautiful organization...

[cjs]

Thanks Laura, I always feel so good with stock like this - like you and your tomatoes you canned.

Alina, I like to rise the dough once, then age it in the fridge for 2 to 3 days then freeze. I always freeze mine in 8-10 oz. pkgs. for a smaller pizza.

That way, as soon as it is thawed and come to room temp - it's a go!

[Cubangirl]

Not sure if this is the best place to post this, but this site was higly recommended to me in the Cookaholics forum. I was specifically wanting SF sourdough, but they have others as well. This was Dave's comment "The best sourdough culture I have bought (and I have tried a few) is from Sourdoughs International. I have tried getting that SF sourdough flavor for many years, but until recently, the flavor had eluded me. Many of the sourdough recipes called for "retarding" the dough, which is refrigerating it, either before or after forming the loaves. This is because the sour in sourdough is formed more when the bacteria are cool, or much warmer than room temp. - around 85º or above. I only learned this recently, and this made sense now - the recipes I had tried had not been consistent, even though I had done what seemed to be the same thing every time, but refrigerator temp. is not constant! It can be opened and closed many times, and it can go through a "defrost" cycle, and there is no way of making this constant." He also said he'd had good luck doing this . I must admit the latter went way over my head. Maybe when I start working with it again it will make sense. Anyway, thought I'd share.

Oh and the other thing I've learned in the past few days is that Agave syrup seems to help enhance the bacteria better than honey or molasses, so I am going to use that when the recipe calls for the others.