Ah-hah! Im glad I measured the yeast now. I thought maybe there was a difference in brands, but if mfrs did that, it would mess up so many recipes that call for 1 packet. I waited 2 hours last night (yawn) before putting the bowl in the refrigerator but I didnt see much rising then. I used warm water and covered the bowl all around with some towels to keep it warmer. I would have left it out but I could not stay awake any longer. Since I have the baking stone I was not going to use parchment, thinking parchment might affect the crisp crust the porous baking stone is supposed to be good for. I have corn meal around (somewhere). But if parchment makes no difference to that tell me. I dont think I have an instant read thermometer but have the kind with a spike that you stick into meat, and my husband has this fancy gadget with a beam he got as a prize at work: you aim it at a surface (like the grill) and it tells you the temperature. But room temperature is easy enough to tell. Though it wont be warmer than 65 F in this house. Front of the stove is a smart idea. terrapots, I will think of your "Shadow" while mine sits next to me. Her blanket is a foot to the right of the keyboard but if she feels neglected she starts encroaching on the mouse. If I still dont give her enough attention she will stand between the keyboard and the monitor or walk on the keyboard. Thanks for the tips!

I still have fingernails! It didn't really start rising until after 2 hours! I put a pan of hot water in the oven with it, and that helped. I wonder if buttermilk isn't a great liquid for dissolving yeast. The buttermilk was almost as thick as yogurt. I used half for the crumb cake and tried to shape the other half into balls for buns, but I could see it was too wet and would just meld together. So I put the other half in another pan and sprinkled coconut on top. I'm going to try to recreate what we called coconut buns growing up. They are glazed after baking. I'm letting them rise overnight in the fridge. I think they'll be all right. I just hope they taste good! I'd hate to waste all that butter, sugar, etc. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. If it's anything to be proud of, I'll take photos. ;)

Jackie: You can prebake the dough in Pans and freeze for later. That's what I did in the Pizzeria. Sicilian Pizza Dough had to be prebaked,Because of it's thickness. Here is a " How To " It sounds like a lot to do but it only takes about 8 minutes to mix in the KA Mixer. An alterative to baking on a stone is to use pans. A 12 inch round pizza will take from 8 to 12 ounces of dough. According to thickness you want. After the dough is made weigh it out and roll into balls. Oil the pans and place a dough ball in the pan and flatten slightly, working the dough towards the side of the pan, with the palms. Then let it rest a few minutes. Repeat this every so often until the dough reaches the side and up, enough for a crust about ½ inch. Let it raise slightly , pinch the dough all over, with a fork and put into the oven to bake at 400 deg. If it bubbles while baking pinch it with a fork again. When light tan specks show ,take them out onto a rack to cool fast. Then you can use them right away or freeze , to use later. When cooking the Pizza, place the Pre Baked dough back in the oiled pan , Or cook on your Stone. put a latel of sauce on the dough and swish it around, sprinkle some Parmesan or Romano , put it in the oven for a few minutes. Take it out and spread the topping of your choice and the Cheese Topping. A good topping cheese is a mixture of Mozzarella and Provolone chopped and mixed. The provolone gives it a good flavor and doesn't get like rubber when it cools. I use all Provolone. A little trick for baking. Keep a cup of water and brush handy, to baste parts that are cooking too fast Dough recipe: 1 cup of warm water (not hot) 1 Package of rapid rise yeast 1 tablesps sugar ,in a half cup of warm water 1/4 Cup of Veg. Oil 1 teasp.Salt About 3 1/2 cups Flour ½ cup of Whole wheat flour or up to 1 cup Place in a mixing bowl, the Water, 1 cup of flour, wheat flour , yeast if risen Add the oil and salt and more flour. Add enough flour to make a soft ball of dough, that doesn't stick to your hands. Knead until smooth. Put it back in the bowl , Smooth side up and Rub on some Veg. Oil Cover and set in a warm place to rise until it doubles in bulk. I put it in a warm oven, Covered with a damp towel. It rises in about 1 hour. When doubled, punch it down and knead it well. Divide into Balls , about 11 to 12 ounces and place in oiled pans. 12" round Dough should be about 3/16 " thick on the bottom and about ½" around the edge. For Sicilian Pizza , I used most of the dough in a 11" X 16" pan Follow the previous instructions. Good luck, Lou

I did a Bing search on - Jim Lahey's no knead pizza dough - and found recipes, information, as well as videos at the link below. Perhaps there is something there that addresses your questions. It's not one I've personally had any experience with. You might also check your local library and see if his book is available there, or through inter-library loan. I wouldn't hesitate using 1/2 a recipe. I used 1/2 recipes when I made recipes from "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" cookbook, which is another refrigerator dough. I would also take ann_t's suggestion to par-bake the crusts and keep a stack in your freezer. I suggest a tight wrap of plastic wrap over each par-baked crust, then place them in a freezer zip-lock bag. Some rounds of sturdy cardboard between the crusts might help keep them from breaking. Freezer yeast dough really needs to be specifically designed for freezer storage for the best results. Since freezing dough kills yeast, and there is very little yeast in this recipe, there is usually much more yeast in a freezer dough recipe to compensate. Freezing can also damage the gluten, so additional vital wheat gluten is often added to freezer dough, and all-purpose flour may not work as well as a high-protein bread flour since it has more gluten to begin with than all-purpose flour. The other thing about freezer dough, it only keeps 2-3 months, so you really aren't gaining much. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Jim Lahey's no knead pizza dough