would you use for a personal size pizza?  or stromboli?  I have a pound of dough, but don't want to make a large pizza.  I could guess but then I'd be wasting time.  Easier to ask.

Thanks.

Steph

Okay, this may not be a big breakthrough for more experienced pizza crust makers, but I just got my very best sourdough pizza crust ever by not refridgerating the dough at all and leaving the it out for 20 hours.  I've been experimenting with my sourdough pizza crust for a couple of months now (once a week), honestly as a way to use up starter.  Therefore, my goal was to use my stiff (about 60% hydration) starter as a large part of the dough.  Here is my recipe:

150g starter

191g water

259g flour

10g salt

Recipe serves two if you eat a lot like my husband and I, or four if not.  About 8 traditional pizza slices.

Yes, my amounts are weird, but I adapted them from a commercial yeast pizza dough so that I could use 25% of it as starter.  All I did was shred up my starter into the flour, add the water and work the dough, adding the salt about halfway through (a la Bertinet).  I put it in a covered bowl overnight, then stretched and folded it in the morning.  I was worried because the dough was very, and I mean VERY, sticky, but I used 3 tbsp of flour during this process.  I then stretched and folded again (also using 3 tbsp flour) a couple of hours later, and then one more time about two hours before baking, for a total of three times.  The dough remained sticky the whole time - even as I shaped it into a pizza.  After topping it, I baked it at 450 degrees for 22 minutes and it was definitely not the dense overly-chewy sourdough pizza crust that I had been making up to this point!  It was crisp on the outside with nice large holes (One of these days I'll take the time to figure out how to post pictures!), and had the depth of flavor that I have only gotten from sourdough.

I'm sure that the resting times will be shorter when my kitchen is no longer in it's 65-69 degree winter range.  Also, I have no doubt that dough refridgeration will be a possibility, but I haven't refined the method yet.  I just wanted to post my first real successful experiment and welcome any input.  I'm planning on trying to increase my flour amount in the beginning to cut down on the sticky factor, but for all I know one of you out there has it all figured out already!

Summer

Hello,

   I bought bags of KA Italian style flour and Pizza flour.  I have made two pizza crusts with each of these flours but I don't like the texture.   It is too airy, styrofoam-y,crisp without enough substance.  I was trying to create a NYC style crust.  Normally, my crusts are too bread-y.  But now that I am learning more, I think that the Italian style and pizza flour are too low in gluten for what I want. 

   So, I don't mind experimenting but could use some guidelines from experienced bakers.  How can I use these flours so that I can get closer to the NYC style pizza dough? Or do I need to just find something else to do with the flour since it won't ever give me a NYC style crust, even with mixing in other flours? 

   AND if I shouldn't use them for pizza, what else are they good for?  Keeping in mind that I really don't like the texture I get from them alone.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Anyone got a good one?  I am looking for a Neopolitan-esque Honey Wheat Pizza Dough recipe.

I have a batch of lavash from the recipe in the book Flat Breads & Flavors rising as I type this post..In the past I baked such breads on a pizza stone in a 500 degree Fahrenheit oven..I am curious as to whether others have used a large skillet over a gas burner to cook flat breads??..Would other members be willing to share their methodology in cooking flat breads, and the pluses and minuses of the system that you adopted..

Thanks,

Bruce

Hi,

Would greatly appreiciate it if someone could provide me with a good rye pita bread recipe.

Thanks,

Jasmine

I used the Pita recipe on here and wound up with some amazing Pitas.  They are a little on the thicker end, which got me wondering how to go about making pita chips.  Is there a good recipe for Pita chips, or some way to take the other pita recipe and convert them into Pita chips?  I am trying to replicate the Stacy's Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips.  Anyone?

-Eric

Hi,

I put this question in the wrong place yeserday, sorry for that but can someone tell me what the difference is and should I be geting the Baker's dry milk for better  bread? I have made so much and don't seem to get it just right.

Has anyone ever had that really yummy 3 dip Med Bread from Moxie's appetizer menu? I'd really like to make something like that at home for appetizers when I have people over. I know its brushed with garlic butter and has rosemary. Does anyone have a recipe for bread like that? It always seems nice and crispy and chewy at the same time.

Thanks!

Hello,

I recently read that using a high-gluten flour (KAF's Sir Lancelot Hi-Gluten, or Giusto's "Ultimate Performer") is better for making pizza crust than an AP or bread flour as it produces a chewier or firmer crust.

Anyone here ever use high-gluten flour for pizza crust? What was your experience? Did you like it more or less than using AP or Bread flour?  

I also understand that High-gluten absorbs more moisture, so you supposedly need to add a small amount more of water than if you used AP or bread flour? 

If you could let me know, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Thanks.

Tory