Ok...here goes again :) You can't ever ever substitute RAPID RISE for anything else...never. The recipes that call for it have taken its specific properties in to consideration and the final product will be a result of this. ADY or Active Dry Yeast and Instant Yeast are interchangeable. The only difference is the amount you use. 20% less instant and you MUST activate ADY with warm water , you do not need to activate instant. I will cut/paste this info and attach a link from The Fresh Loaf. Hope this finally clears up the confusion. The reason annie has not had a problem with a too fast rise is , as she says, she has not use Rapid Rise. "Active Dry Yeast This is probably what comes to mind when you think of yeast. It's dry and granular, about the consistency of cornmeal. To use it, you dissolve a few teaspoons in warm water (110-degrees or cooler) and then add it to the rest of the ingredients. This yeast will behave 'typically' and will give your dough two rises. Instant Active Dry Yeast This is also known as "bread machine yeast." This yeast is milled into finer particles and it does not need to be dissolved in water like active dry yeast does so you can add it along with the dry ingredients. This yeast also gives you two separate rises and it can be used interchangeably with active dry yeast. Measure out the same amount of yeast and skip the water-activation step. Rapid-Rise Yeast This yeast has also been milled into smaller particles so that it doesn't need to be dissolved into water. In addition, enzymes and other additives are included to make the dough rise faster. With this yeast, you can skip the first rise of the dough and shape the loaves right after kneading. What you save in time, you lose in flavor and structure. Your final loaf will be fairly bland and commercial tasting, with a tight, uniform crumb. Since it behaves so differently, this yeast cannot be substituted for either active dry or instant active dry yeasts. Fresh Compressed Cake Yeast This is the kind of yeast that commercial bakers tend to use. It's a solid block with a clay-like consistency, is more dependable, and dissolves easily. However, it's 2-week shelf life makes it less ideal for home bakers to use (the granular yeasts above have a shelf-life of about a year in the fridge). If you want to try fresh yeast, use twice the amount of fresh yeast as dry yeast called for in the recipe." Here is a link that might be useful: The Fresh Loaf yeast FAQ

I've been reading these and all of trailrunner's post. They are just great. All the hints were great. I bake bread out of boredom, I rarely use a recipe, for better or worse and like the wet doughs as well as quicker higher yeast doughs for pizza. Someday I'll get that "super peel" with the cloth belt thingy. I am forced to pre-cook my thin pizza crusts without one- My favorite bread is an olive bread that is made locally in the East Bay and sold now only at the local Berkeley farmer's market- you can go to their bakery, and they will sell stuff to you, but it's not a store front, no sales help, no hours- if they are there they'll sell it to you- they're also fresh pasta makers- 'Phoenix Pastificio'- if you're ever in the area. I've never tried to make that bread, it's almost Holy to me...( although I know he uses a biga and those black Kalamata olives). It has a thin almost black burnt crust, with large ciabatta holes to the crumb and flavor to die for.

Report card on last night's pizza experiment... I adopted and adapted much of the excellent advice from the generous people here, and to my taste, achieved a 90% result! First, turned on the oven to full bore before making the dough. Added around an extra cup of flour to my usual mix. (Who measures?) I think this made a big difference, as the finished pizza had a thicker base with some "chew", not crunch. Just threw the granular yeast into the flour, without proving it first. No oil. Added more water than I normally would. Got it to a consistency where it was sticky, without quite sticking to my fingers. Into a covered bowl. By now, the house was so hot that I went out and sat on the verandah, talking to the kangaroos while the dough was rising. An hour later, I just threw the beautifully risen dough onto the pan without a punch and 2nd kneading. No oil on pan. Spread onto the pan and added toppings. I only added minimal toppings, as in the past I've been guilty of overloading it, requiring longer cooking time. Grated the cheese on the fine side, rather than coarsely. Again, less time to cook. Still using top shelf of oven, put in empty 10" pan first, with 12" pizza directly on top of it. It's some insulation, no? Just 10 minutes later, time to eat, and it was wonderful! Bottom only slightly crisp, but properly cooked. Dough chewy but cooked through. I ate the entire thing in 10 minutes with a glass of nice shiraz, and toasted you all! (Paying for it today, though, as I think the 12 chillies were overkill.) So a big thank you from me to you!

If you like crackery thin pizza, that is a different recipe, but I make regular thin pizza by stretching it thinner. :) Really. As to toppings, if you don't par bake a thicker dough, and load up the center to the point where it's weighted down, it gets thin. Generally people who want thin crust aren't looking for a forest of toppings for the balance per bite, but thin doesn't prevent more toppings. what iit's baked on makes a big difference, IMHO. A clay "stone" will absorb excess moisture and give a nice solid bottom, from leathery to crusty to crunchy, depending on the recipe, heat, temp/time, etc. A pizza pan will give a more bready bottom. A steel gives a more leathery bottom, but that may also depend on recipe, etc. (I haven't played with it enough to know). I have a stoneware "stone" that's good for bread, but gives a very meh bottom to pizza. I haven't tried cast iron.