ISO the perfect pizza crust at home

[Baggy]

I find that I have to work hard to stretch the base really thin so I get a nice crispy result. I also pre-cook all the ingredients, especially things like mushrooms and seafood which give off so much water, and that seems to make a big difference to the result.

If I’m using mozzarella, I tend to use it aged as the cheese seems to contract on maturing, giving off some of the water that otherwise goes to spoil the crispiness of the crust. Aged mozzarella also has a much better tangy taste.

How long is usual to let the pie crust rest before putting on the toppings?

Having seen the pro’s, they seem to make up the topping immediately after stretching the base and get a great crust. For me, I have to wait 20-30 minutes before the rim gets a little puffy and I put it in the oven. This gives me a much more raised edges and gives it both lightness and more crispiness.

[Kouign Aman]

After several attempts, and referencing this thread, I've figured out how to make acceptable pizza crust. I use Rebecca263's recipe from RecipeGullet. quick pizza dough

Because its designed for quick rise, letting the dough sit more than a couple minutes after stretching results in bread-dough pizza. Not bad but not what I am after. Properly thin, it makes a cracker-crisp crust.

(Pizza dough made the night before is likely to fossilize in my fridge.)

Stretching it as thin as I like is challenging, but really only takes practice. We couldnt manage it by rolling alone.

Its great to be able to start the dough, and serve the pizza less than 45 min later. (It would be faster, but 2-year olds mix slowly, stretch and spread toppings slowly. And the help of the munchkin is at least half the point).

[doctortim]

Since my last post I'd only made pizza once. It was following a pretty standard recipe and although it spread out easily and cooked without any of the problems I'd originally been having, it was very dense and really didn't taste all that great.

Last night, on a whim, I decided to make some pizza dough based on what I'd read at the Jeff Varasano site. I didn't follow his amounts per se, but worked from the principles: autolyse, combine and knead well, and form quite a wet dough. I did however use dry yeast rather than a homemade starter. Mine wasn't quite as wet as his since my oven only goes to 550, but it was wet enough to make handling it a real pain at first!

So anyway, I put it in the fridge overnight, brought it out and rested it on the bench for an hour while the oven heated up, then spread it out and topped it simply with canned tomatoes and some cheese.

Damn it was good.

I can't recall a time when I've been as happy with a meal as this. Part of the happiness was probably due to the surprise of it all. The crust was crisp without being tough, while inside it was light as air and tasty as all hell, without being cake-y. There was no sogginess in sight. This was unlike any pizza I've ever had, but from what I've read and seen of traditional pizza, this was that kind of pizza.

I'm probably a little over-excited here, but given that I started the topic due to my failure to make a good pizza, I though it was worth an progress update.

[pennylane]

Umm... I've been trying to follow the suggestions given in this thread and have run into a couple of problems. My first batch of pizza was good, but the crusts were too soft and cakey (don't even feel like I can call them "crusts", that's how soft they were). So I made the next batch of dough with bread flour instead of all-purpose. I let it rise once at room temperature and then put it in the refrigerator overnight. Only I ended up having an unexpected dinner engagement tonight so now the dough has been in the refrigerator for about 36 hours. Should I just leave it in there for another 20 hours or should I freeze it?!

Please help!

[Kouign Aman]

Leave it in the fridge. Give it plenty of time to warm up when you bring it out. Be prepared for the next poster to contradict me. If they do, go with what they say. My recommendations are based on what I read on the Trader Joe's prepared and refrigerated pizza dough.

I got a pizza stone and peel for my birthday. I'm waiting for an opportune day to try making pizza margherita.

[kitchenmage]

I leave dough in the fridge 3-4 days at times. Gives it a bit of a tang, maybe a smidge slower to rise, but it's fine.

[pennylane]

Thanks for the advice, guys! I ended up leaving the dough refrigerated for a whole extra night on top of the one in question (my husband saw your responses and used them as ammunition to postpone the pizza-making session for another night). The crust turned out great - a little tangy, but great texture! The bread flour was definitely a good move.