The one thing about FHC is that it is inspiring me to try new challenges. This time it is pizza. I have never made pizza dough before in all my cooking years. Why have I waited so long? It certainly isn't hard when you have a breadmaker. Just missing the outdoor wood fired pizza oven! So last week, I made a batch of spaghetti sauce as per my thread http://firewoodhoardersclub.com/forums/index.php?threads/wheres-the-beef.799/#post-15192 Today I made the dough. There was enough for two pizzas so I froze one with just the sauce on it for another time. Layered on my spaghetti sauce. Added veggies and cheese and it is ready for the oven. Voila! it is ready to eat. Nobody told me how good homemade pizza crusts are! I think I should have used more cheese though and although the dough recipe called for BEER, I used water. (How long will it take Will711 to find that word and de-rail the thread?) Way more filling than that frozen pizza from the store! Edit: I always find sp errors after I post.
That looks soooo good. I love onions but they don't love me. Is that wheat flour? I'm curious how it worked as in stretching. Homemade dough is really good. Part of the fun is learning how to make it and trying different variations. Great job!
Yes, it was quite tasty. Could have used more cheese though. I used Kraft Tex Mex shredded cheese. Pizza Mozzarella, Cheddar and Monterey Jack with a whiff of Jalapeno Peppers. Definitely not spicy thankfully. I used 3 1/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour and 1 cup of Canadian whole wheat flour. I wanted to try the spinning in the air move to make the circle but didn't have enough nerve. Besides I had three onlookers just waiting for a mistake to land on the floor. It would have been gobbled up as soon as it landed. I used a rolling pin to roll out the dough and it seemed to do it quite easily. According to my breadmaker recipe book, our whole wheat flour is lighter than yours.
I went and looked at the package and couldn't find anything about the gluten content. I have always used all-purpose flour both white and whole wheat and there never seems to be a problem when I make dough - except the one time I forgot the yeast. Saved it by adding the yeast, threw it back in the breadmaker and out came dough that had risen.
The beer is for extra yeast. It does make a difference. You can alter the taste of the crust a little by using different beer. We make all of our own bread and pizza dough. It will make good cheese sticks also. We make about 8 crusts at a time and make frozen pizza. Pop it in the oven for 3-4 minutes and then cool completely and top, wrap in cling wrap and then aluminum foil. I would try the food saver and vacuum seal the next batch if I remember.
I didn't cook the crust I froze. I just wrapped it well and stuck in the freezer. Would I thaw it before baking it? or put my toppings on and cook it frozen?
We pull them out frozen and bake them like store bought frozen pizza. About 20-25 minutes depending on your stove. We've never froze a crust wit the little bit of baking.
You are not alone, Woodwidow. I have learned more in the last few months than I have in years. Keep it up!
Part 2: So I finally got around to cooking the second pizza. Loaded it up with tomatoes, yellow peppers, onions and mushrooms and more cheese this time. Mistake #one. Should have cooked it on a pan as it sagged between the oven rack spaces as it thawed and cooked. Mistake #2 left it in the oven too long and the crust got too crispy. Other than that, it was quite good!!! My slice ready to eat. Sorry - no beer to go with the pizza. Wild Sweet Orange tea instead.
