Pizza Dough IV

Finally, I've made good pizza. It's the no-knead recipe from FoodWishes.com I wouldn't say it's the best pizza I've ever had, but with practice and the right ingredients, it could compete. As a friend said "This is the kind of recipe you could use for the rest of your life."

Ingredients...

1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/2 c tepid water
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c wheat flour
2 1/2c bread flour

What follows is all basic stuff. That's where I went wrong. In the past my pizza turned out mediocre because I was trying too hard, being too fancy, doing what I thought a professional pizza man with a pizza pallet and a pizza stone would do.

Simplify to make great pizza...

Mix all the ingredients until smooth. They should form a sticky, but not runny dough. If the dough is runny, add a little more flour.

Don't knead the dough. Let the dough sit twelve hours in a warm (70F-ish) room.

Pour the dough out on a well floured board and flour both sides. Don't worry about using too much flour, you can always shake it off later.

Cut the dough into four equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball.

Roll each ball out into a pie about 9 inches in diameter. If the dough sticks then add a little more flour. You can use your hands to form the pie if you want, but a rolling pin is easier and the pizza is just as good.

Sprinkle corn meal on one side of the pizza. Gently press the corn meal into the pizza.

Flip the pizza over and onto a metal baking sheet, corn meal side down.

Brush a little olive oil on the dough to seal it and help it brown.

Dress your pizza up. Use your ingredients sparingly. This is not deep dish pizza. A tbsp of tomato sauce, a little cheese, maybe some sliced ham or other meat. A little goes a long way here.

Put the baking sheet into the oven. Forget about the pizza pallet.

The recipe calls for baking the pizza at 450F for about 10 minutes. My oven is a little on the cool side so I tried 475F. It still needed 12 minutes. Next time I'm going to try 500F for 10 minutes.