Sunday, February 10, 2008

Pizza Crust

This is a recipe from a friend who used to own a pizza restaurant. My biggest problem with homemade pizza used to be the crust- it was always 'bready' and too often undercooked (gross!) So there are several secrets to this crust being fabulous.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Yeast
2 Tbsp Sugar
2.5 Cups warm water
2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp oil
5-6 cups of flour

Mix all ingredients together- kneading until flour is incorporated. Let rise overnight for the dough that's easiest to handle- or let rise on counter until double in size. But you can make the dough up on Monday and not use it for several days if you want.

Press the dough out into circles (about 10 inches works well) and then rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and oregano. Par bake the crust in a pan on the stove until it bubbles and is golden brown (flipping to par bake both sides). Remove from pan before it's cooked all the way through. Top with sauce, cheese and toppings and put it in the oven (preheated to 500 degrees) directly on the rack until the cheese is melted.

The par baking and high temperature baking helps to avoid the soggy crust.

5 comments:

Maria said...

can you specify what "par bake" means exactly to those of us not accustomed to technical cooking terms please? ;)

Amanda XOX said...

Hey Amberlicious,

Could we use this recipe to make regular loaf bread too?

Amber said...

Par Bake-
Means to partially bake it. So you're baking the crust until it's golden on the outside and 'set' but it's still gooey in the middle if you tear it apart. Baking it the second time (after topping it) finishes the baking process and leaves you with a tasty crust that's done.

I have never tried to make loaf bread from this crust- I'm thinking no though. You could try it out and tell us how it worked though!

Anonymous said...

So Luke and I use your recipe for pizza and breadsticks almost every Friday night lately. Mmm... It's really good pizza! We like it topped with alfredo sauce, bacon, green peppers, and onions. Thanks for the recipe.

Also, we don't have any special pizza stone or breadstick sticks and they are still very good. I'm guessing I'd be floored if I had the right tools and the right recipe! (Our "oven" is just not big enough for stoneware or long sticks.)

Anonymous said...

Amber-
I am just so excited to be your next door neighbor, really! I've been reading your blog and it is fabulous, you are so funny, creative, and just very talented. I was very worried about who would buy the house but I think we scored!! I love you already and you haven't even moved in. See you soon! Jill