Oh, a huge pet peeve of mine is extremely sticky dough, I mean, why just not add more flour to the original recipe. This is one of the few reasons why I loved Ann T's recipe -- she added a half cup of flour to the original recipe which made it easy to work with. ANYWAY, I added about a half flour of whole wheat flour to this and that added to it's perfectness. It rose wonderfully and was just the perfect dry/moistureness (ugh, I'm tired and can't write grammatically correct, but you get it).

Best pizza dough EVER!!!!!size>

Oh boy, here we go... LOL!!!

Guess I'll have to read up and put this on my "to try" list.

sonopoly - I think this is what you meant to link?

Here is a link that might be useful: Cheri's recipe

I always use semolina flour in my pizza dough, and I also add a small amount of vital wheat gluten. I got help with the recipe from guys at the pizza making forum, which is also where I first heard about 6 in 1 tomatoes.

Lars

LOL.. foodona.. that's exactly what I thought when I saw this post.

If you're going to use whole wheat I think it would be worth your while to get some vital wheat gluten.

Sonoply, you may have opened another can of worms.LOL

Surely since everyone knows what's coming, they can TRY not to provoke. Let it slide.

Sonopopoly glad you have found a recipe you like....but the recipe you linked is pretty well what we have been discussing, with the substitution of some semolina flour for some of the bread flour....not a lot of difference.
But whole wheat pizza? Nope! Not for me!
As for the sticky dough...the rest period you say you don't have time for cures that....or kneading enough.
Haven't seen you before, welcome to the cooking forum! Where do you usually hang out?
Linda C

Not sure why but the only pizza I can handle of late is order in where I have no idea how the crust was made!

Nah, bumblebeez, too close together. The moon has changed phase an we're all in good spirits again!

While I'm sure semolina is in other threads, I don't recall it. Never had much luck with semolina in my pasta, but it's been a long while. Might be time to buy a bag and try it again in pasta, and for the first time in pizza.

I don't know if you can say that what I've posted is what we've been discussing. I've looked at every post here on this site, and never saw anything about semonlina flour or vital wheat gluten for pizza dough. Yes, FOAS, that is the link. I've tried Mitch's and it worked very well, but I didn't have semolina, so I wasn't able to try Cheri's until now, and it is truly great!!! I only put in about a half cup of whole wheat flour as an afterthought (because I read in the comments that the dough was a bit sticky and loved that Ann added a half cup of flour to JC's recipe).

We all know that with the very few ingredients used for pizza dough that it shouldn't be rocket science, but somehow it seems as if it is.

Hi, Lindac, thank you so much for the welcome. I am a serious lurker here and have pretty much read every post here, but haven't felt that I could contribute before. I would definitely look for your advice on a lot of things!

Hi Sono,

While I bake very little, and I know I always overthink things,I am acutely aware that in my very dry climate, I usually have to adjust the flour and water. So it may be that the recipe you like, would work well on some days and not so well, unless you adjusted the flour, on other days.

There are many here who are expert bakers and I got my best sense of what dough should be like when I went to the bread making camp that Teresa_nc7 taught several years ago. After that, Ann T has given me endless help, as have several others in various posts here. I think I will never truly understand all the variables until I bake more and just get to know the dough better. But I think weather and climate have a large bearing, which is why you can't just add that extra flour in the same amount every time at the beginning.

I would probably like some whole wheat flour in a pizza crust and I have been much happier with my whole wheat pasta, another thing that I don't make too often, with the addition of semolina to the dough. I'm looking forward to dusting off my bread machine and mixing up that recipe using all three flours.

Thanks for sharing this.

Lee

You are so right, lsr2002! I have such a problem with baking breadlike foods especially. They seem to be so delicate and just need to have everything just right (just haven't figured out what "just right" is!). I also rarely bake, because I don't care much for sweets, but I do like breads and pizza, and these two things have been such a challenge for me.

I have heard about climate, weather, and altitude having impact on baking, but I still don't understand it and don't know how to adjust for it. I live in MA, by the way.

Of course, the best EVER is subjective, and I am not absolutely precise in my baking techniques by any means. I guess I was just so excited by this. Something to try anyway.....

For pizza dough, altitude is another factor (besides weather), and I know that Lee is high enough for that to make a difference. I made pizza dough in Mexico City once without taking altitude into account, and the dough rose all over the place. I felt like I was in an episode of I Love Lucy. I've also tried using 1/4 whole wheat flour, and when I do that, I add a bit of VWG, although I do not remember how much. I do like a sticky dough for pizza, and I've found that it needs a higher water to flour ratio than regular bread. I do like the 1/4 whole wheat pizza dough and use that at least half the times I make pizza.

Lars

sonopoly, welcome to the BEST forum on the internets.

You sound like the kind of person who wants to know the science/what/how/why/where/whens of things - I suggest you look at the forum FAQ, top of the main page. Triciae put together bread tutorials. They makes my eyes glaze over, as I'm more of a 'hands on' learner, but I know where you are coming from in wanting more information. Hope the tutorials help!

Thanks, Lars for that bit of advice. I did try the VWG thing and I think I put in too much. I'll try to use your guidelines - 1/4 ww flour and 1 TBS of VWG.

Thanks, Jesse for the warm welcome! I am interested in "the science/what/how/why/where/whens of things" -- basically because sometimes I don't want to have to follow a recipe to the letter and it helps to know all this stuff. I'll take a look at this - thanks for pointing me in this direction!

Bread is so hard to make for me because each ingredient seems to have so much impact on the final product and nothing is more disappointing than going through all that work and having a mediocre (or worse) result.

Sonopoly, it's my fault the whole wheat got thrown into the discussion. I was trying to read some threads quickly before my nap and had just read the putting whole wheat in the Julia Child baguette recipe and had been thinking about her adding vital wheat gluten, so... when I read Lars talking vital wheat gluten to help semolina my mind just went back to last thread I read. Sorry bout that. Smiles. Plus as I had said the title of your thread had me chuckling since we have gone around about the best dough a few times and it can get heated.

Coconut-nj: Not your fault at all. I think that portion of the discussion helped me a lot. You're right about my choice of title! I wish I could change it now -- not the best way to introduce myself to a group - lol ;). It was all in good fun on my part, not a competition thing at all. I have never tried Lou's pizza dough, which I should as I've seen that many people use it as their go-to dough recipe.

LOL.. nah, you're fine. Your post sounded like you were just happy to have found a good recipe. We all get excited when something works that we've been trying to get down.

Sonopoly, nothng wrong with your title. It made me smile. I think it is wonderful that you found your "Best Pizza Dough Ever".

Lurking is okay, but participating is so much more fun.

Ann

You're title made me smile too! I've used seminola in pasta but never pizza dough. The picture in the link did me in! I'm fairly happy with my dough but it still isn't exactly where I want it. Think I'll give this recipe a try.

Thanks for the recipe and welcome to the forum. Hope to hear from you often.

Sonoply..could you give us the recipe please...cannot access website it says....would love to have it...I adore pizza and am trying several recipes. I already have one I love but there is no semolina in it. Thanks

June

I just finished cut and pasting it so here it is. Thanks again sonopoly!

Cheri's Pizza dough.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups very warm water
2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
16 ounces (about 2 3/4 cups) bread flour
3 1/2 ounces (1/2 cup) semolina flour
1 teaspoon salt

you will also need:
a food processor
about a tablespoon of olive oil
a large bowl

Instructions
Makes 2 Medium Pizzas, Each Serving 2-3 People

Using your food processor, you can make a perfect pizza dough in under 5 minutes with hardly any mess to your kitchen. Of course, you could also mix the dough in a heavy duty stand mixer, in a bread machine, or by hand (although the latter would be serious workout).

Place very warm water, yeast and sugar in food processor and pulse once or twice to mix. While most recipes will tell you to use lukewarm water when making yeast dough, I find that by the time you take hot water, put it into a measuring cup and then into a food processor, it has cooled significantly. I always use water that is almost too hot to the touch, and have always had great luck with this dough. Let sit while you measure out the dry ingredients.

After 2-3 minutes you will see small bubbles forming in the liquid in the food processor, which indicates that your yeast is working. Dump in the dry ingredients and turn on the food processor. The machine will go all the work, including the kneading. After about a minute the dough should form into a ball going around in your food processor. Open the machine and take a look. If you think the dough is too wet, you can add a bit a flour, but know that too wet is better than too dry, and the dough will loose some of its stickiness as it rises.

Place about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large bowl. Take the dough out of the food processor (putting a little olive oil on your hands will keep it from sticking) and form it into a ball. Place in the bowl and turn to lightly coat with the olive oil. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm, draft free place for about an hour or until doubled in size, before rolling out and baking. For a crust with a perfect pizzeria taste and texture, I recommend baking on a pizza stone in a very hot oven (500 - 550°F for about 10 -12 minutes.

Make Ahead
Make several pizza doughs ahead and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (the dough develops an even better flavor this way). let rise once, punch down, and store on a zipper tops gallon bag in fridge until ready to use. Let dough come to room temperature before proceeding. You also let the dough rise and freeze it for future use. Thaw for a couple of days in the fridge or for about 4-6 hours on the counter. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

About the Photo
For the pizza in the photo, we topped this dough with some garlic oil, a layer of grated mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, some Chunky Chicago Style Pizza Sauce, and pepperoni, onions, and green bell peppers.

If you can't find semolina flour in your area, they sell it through Amazon.com, click here for details.

Thanks, Ann T, your nice and reassuring comment. I really was at least a little bit obnoxious. I'm usually pretty pleasant, but I guess I do have my giddy moments. Participating is so much more fun, though I don't know how much I have to offer. I'm someone who needs help. I thought I was a decent cook until I came here. So many experts -- which is wonderful.

Thanks, Chase for the nice welcome and for posting that recipe. I've been out all day and haven't had chance to check back. I hope you and June try it and let me know what you think. I think it's very good, but it's really hard to compare a few good recipes when you taste them a few weeks apart. The last may just SEEM like the best. I'm sure this pizza dough controversy will never end, but that's what makes it so fun ;).

sonolpoly,

Hope you are checking in because I made your pizza dough recipe last week and it was fabulous! Exactly what I have been looking for. Very easy to work with. I was able to get it as thin as I like (not too thin) without it puffing during the baking process. Also loved the texture.

I won't be looking further!

Thanks again.

sonopoly,
I also hope you see this!
Last night, I made your pizza dough recipe also ~ and we loved it! We also like it thin, with a nice crust. I did prebake it for 4 mins. then added the toppings.

Easy and made the right amount for 2 12" pizzas.

Thank you- hope you see this!

I don't remember if I read, copied and pasted this recipe when it first went around, but I have now. I'm planning to try it as soon, or if, it gets cooler around here.

Thanks for bringing it back up, Magothyrivergirl

Sally

I agree, I'm glad it came back up too. I'm going to let Bud try it in the bread machine too, since they don't have a food proscessor. He's the "expert" in our family at pizza dough, since he got that used bread machine at a yard sale.

The Princess bakes the Friesan bread in hers, but Bud is the pizza dough king, LOL.

Annie

Sonopoly:

They are all basically the same.

But !!!
You should have tried mine. It is the best.LOL !!!

I have had a few hundred customers have tell me that when I had the Pizzera.

I now use a half cup of Wheat Flour in the recipe.

LOU

Well the best pizza dough recipe was exactly the same ingredients as mine I have used for years.
I found mine in an old Harrowsmith cookbook and btw it calls for all whole wheat flour.I use honey sometimes but usually use just sugar and whatever kind of oil works too.

Sonopoly:
You talked me into it.

I did not have any prebaked dough in the freezer so I made 4 - 10 inch, for when the Young-uns come up.

They like them not too thin, with a large Crust. The bottom is about 4 to 5 pennies thickness.

The crust will be brown when finished baking.

Took 5 minutes to mix the dough.
1 hour to rise and 10 minutes, to weigh,shape into 10 oz. balls. place in pans and spread a little.
Another 10 minute wait, to spread out to the edge and up,
for the Crust.

10 minutes to bake at 400 deg., until firm and tan flecks,
start to show.

Most of the time is spent waiting for the dough to rise.

LOU

They look good Lou. I can enjoy them without any topings.

dcarch

What, no sourdough pizza crust devotees? ;-)

If it weren't for pizza crust, pancakes and waffles, my starter wouldn't still be with me. LOL I've added whole wheat to it -- semolina too. But at 108 degrees today. no pizza baking here for a while -- indoors or out. Y'all go right ahead though.