First attempt at new pizza dough recipe and first photo post
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Hello, everybody! This is my first photo post (gee, I hope it shows up...) and also my first attempt at making a new pizza dough. I received Crust and Crumb by Peter Reinhart for Christmas (I was ecstatic!!) and this was my first bake. I made both of the doughs he included in the book for the same night, and both were by far the best pizza dough I've ever made! We especially love NJ (NY) style pizza so are looking for something that approximates it. These pictures are of the Pizza I recipe. The Pizza II recipe I didn't get a picture of, well, frankly, because it was gone by the time I got around to taking pictures!! Pizza II was closer to NJ style (we think), which is why it was gone so quickly, but the Pizza I crust was noticeably more tender. Both began with a poolish, however Pizza I, a much more wet dough much like ciabatta, was allowed to rise for 3 hours before retarding overnight in the fridge. Pizza II was much more firm and was allowed to ferment for 1 hour, divided, and ferment (I'm guessing that's what you'd call it) again for another hour before rolling out and baking. Pizza II was by far the simpler of the two. I guess I can't complain if that's the one my husband likes the best! The crust in the pictures is very tender and light with some nice holes in the crust around the edges. It ended up quite thin everywhere else, which was wonderful. Unfortunately we aren't big outer crust fans -- why eat just a bready outer crust when it, too, can have sauce and cheese on it?? Just our philosophy. Oh, and no, we do not eat next to the Christmas tree. It just looks nice. And I love Christmas! I'd be glad if anyone has any ideas on other crust recipes that would be similar to what you can get at a pizzeria in NJ or NY... man, they just have the best pizza. I do have a tip, though... Don't drool on the computer looking at the pictures. It's not good for the keys. :)