Place dough on pans greased with oil and sprinkled with cornmeal to prevent sticking, Crimp the edges up to form the rim. Then brush the top of the dough with a little olive oil to keep the crust from becoming soggy. Use your fingers to poke dents in the dough and allow the dough to rest for another 10 minutes while you prepare sauce and the toppings. This will discourage the dough from forming bubbles.

Spread the sauce over the dough and add pepperoni, Canadian sausage or hamburger cooked and drained, peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives and cheese. Bake at 475º F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Freeze-Ahead Pizza Dough
Pizza dough freezes well. If you want a quick frozen dinner to pop in the oven some night when you are pressed for time, homemade frozen pizza is the perfect solution. Prepare the dough just as you would if you were making fresh pizzas. The crusts can be frozen with or without their toppings. Pizzas may be frozen on a baking sheet in the freezer. When frozen, remove from the baking sheet and wrap in aluminum foil before returning to the freezer. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425º F and place frozen pizza into the hot oven (without thawing). Bake for approximately 20 minutes.

Salt Questions
Can you make yeast crust without salt? Salt slightly inhibits the growth of yeast and is needed to check rapid rising and splitting. Besides, salt greatly enhances the flavor of the pizza crust.

The main ingredients of yeast bread products are flour, oil, salt, sugar, yeast and liquid. Each of these plays a role in the bread-making process. Sugar helps the yeast grow. Any type of sugar will do—granulated white sugar, brown sugar, honey, fruit juice, molasses or even a small amount of applesauce. Oil, (shortening, butter, margarine, canola, pecan oil or grease of some sort) is needed to make the dough tender and to help it keep better. Liquid might be water, potato water or milk. These hold the dough in a manageable state and also create steam in the cooking.

About Kneading the Dough
The purpose of kneading the bread dough is to work the gluten. This is the key to soft bread. Turn the dough out on a floured surface. Push on the mound of dough with the heels of your hands. Next, take hold of the sides of the dough and turn it counterclockwise while you lift up the upper right side and fold it down over the rest. Turn and press, fold and press, turn and press, fold and press. Keep turning and pressing down on the dough until it feels smooth and spongy. This is hard work, but you can rest and then continue the process.

• Previous Page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• Next Page