Category
Main Dish
Servings
3 medium pizzas
Prep Time
3 hours
Cook Time
3 hours
Since I developed my passion for cooking, one of my recurring traumas arose and was reinforced when making the pizza dough. For many years I have tried hundreds of recipes and many fermentation and cooking methods and hundreds of times I finished frustrated because I was never achieving the perfect mass. The weather, the yeast, the salt and even the water conspired to transform my nights or evenings of pizza in nights or evenings of hysteria.
Fortunately, after trying everything, I have finally discovered my own method and I have to say that since then my frustrations have been shelved and my traumas practically overcome.
It is important to internalize that in order to learn something, you have to damage something for a long time until you find what you are looking for, so do not be frustrated if you do not achieve your goals since the first time, keep trying.
Many recipes are very strict when giving measurements and listing materials. While it is true that each recipe represents a signature, a bar code that refers to the dish itself and its origins, it is also true that in the kitchen there is nothing written in stone. A recipe can be successfully made in a country with a tropical climate and the same recipe is a total disaster in a cold climate country and vice versa. The same happens with the ingredients, the same insipid, colorless and odorless water can be harder and with many more minerals in one country in relation to another, or even higher chlorinated, so it totally changes the texture and flavors of the dish.
My mantra in the kitchen, therefore, is “nothing is created, everything is transformed”. I try to see the recipes as a guide to create my own dish and believe me, it has worked for me. Start by taking recipes of dishes that you have always loved and look for what you understand is missing … or is too much for you. Try, take a risk, change the ingredients, modify the measurements and create your own version of your favorite dishes .. you will not regret it.
I share with you my recipe for the pizza dough. Good luck!
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the flour with a teaspoon of sugar and place them on a clean surface. Make a hole in the center like a volcano. Add the salt on the outer edge of the flour, so that it doesn’t contact the yeast.
In a small pot, mix the warm water with the other teaspoon of sugar. The water should be warm, not hot (a temperature of 37/38 g Celsius or 100 g Fahrenheit). To check it, put your finger in the water and turn it off when you start to feel the slight change in temperature. Add the yeast and mix with a spoon. Let it rise for a few minutes. The time it takes the yeast to activate changes a lot from one brand to another and from one type of yeast to another. For this recipe I used the beer’s yeast, which is a yeast that can be activated outside the oven.
Something you should know …
Beer’s yeast is a yeast that is easily activated, but like everything, it has its tricks. Interiorize them and you will be the master of the pizzas and the breads.
The process of activating the yeast, as I said earlier, it may take a few minutes. The first thing you will see is a slightly cloudy water that little by little will form a foam on its surface.
When the yeast has grown almost twice, it will be ready to be used with the dough. Try not to mix the salt directly or in excesses with the yeast to prevent it from being deactivated.
Place the yeast in the center of the flour and mix until you get a uniform dough.
Spread flour on your work table to prevent sticking. Stir the flour until you get a smooth and elastic dough (after about 10 minutes, approximately).
Once the elastic and smooth dough is obtained, let it rest covered with a warm cloth.
You will know if the yeast is working correctly if after 20 minutes the dough has grown twice its size. At first, let it rise one hour in total.
Work the dough again to remove the air and cover it again with the warm cloth for about one more hour. Cut the dough and spread it to your liking on a floured cookie sheet. Let rest for 20 minutes and voila, the dough will be ready for the next step of the pizza.
Some tips
The direct contact of the yeast with the salt tends to deactivate the yeast, so you must pay special attention not to mix them before time.
Excess heat can also kill the yeast, which will not allow the dough to grow. You must ensure that the yeast is activated and that it does not die during the process.
While resting, try to keep the dough in a warm environment and avoid sudden changes in temperature.
Give the dough time to ferment. Do not start the second kneading process before the dough doubles its size.