All-Purpose Pizza Dough
Diastatic Malt is commonly added to all-purpose and bread flours to give your baked goods a better rise, color, and sweeter flavor. The malt can be found in both syrup and a powdered form made from ground malted barley in which a naturally occurring enzyme helps to boost yeast activity. This enzyme breaks down flour starch into sugars for the yeast to eat, resulting in a faster rise.
All-Purpose Pizza Dough
Handmade pizza dough is not as intimidating as you might think. A key to success is to use the best possible ingredients since there are so few in the recipe. This dough can be stored in the refrigerator for 24 hours or frozen up to a month. If you prefer a lot of toppings, roll the crust a bit thicker so it can support their weight and moisture. If you like a thin crust, keep your toppings spare and packed with flavor.
Directions
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Place the warm water in a small bowl and sprinkle with the yeast. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 5 minutes or until foamy. Whisk to dissolve, if necessary.
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In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and salt and mix briefly to combine. Turn the mixer on low speed, add the yeast mixture and mix to combine. Add the water and 3 tablespoons of olive oil and knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand on a floured surface for about 10 minutes.
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Shape the dough into a smooth ball, place it on a floured surface and cover with an inverted bowl, plastic wrap or a damp cloth. Let rise at room temperature for about 1½ hours, or until doubled in bulk.
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About 30 minutes before baking the pizza, place a pizza stone on the lowest rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 500°F.
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When the dough is ready, use a large knife or a bench scraper to divide it into 4 equal pieces. With lightly floured hands, press out any bubbles that might have formed in the dough and form each piece into a small smooth ball. Place about 4 inches apart on a lightly floured surface and, when your grill is preheated and ready to go, roll out the dough and add toppings on the grill.
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Neapolitan Pizza
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Dust the work surface with the dusting mixture, then move the dough to the surface and dust the top.
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Sprinkle a wooden peel with the dusting mixture.
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Roll out the dough into 9 to 15-inch rounds depending on your preference of size. Flatten the edge, then using a fork, dock the surface of the dough to prevent bubbles and doming.
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Move the dough to the peel. Shake the peel forward and backward every so often to ensure the dough isn’t sticking.
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Add toppings and then cook for 15-20 minutes for individual sized pizzas or 25-30 for full sized pizzas.
From Shawnie's class “Artisan Italian Pizza At Home”
