ammarr

Hey,

Anyone here know some good pizza recipes which they've tried at home? At our place the pizza crust always turns out sort of thin and tough.. kinda like a biscuit! What could be the reason for that? Any tips on making the crust thicker/softer??

And please.. no difficult recipes! :-\

Majestic

u have a pizza place? where at?

aishaA

perhaps you are cooking it for too long?

sabah

My latest discovery - Cut an Italian bread in half lengthwise, spread tomato sauce add topping of your choice, top with cheese and bake. Takes minimum time and turns out perfect.

For pizza base I do this:

White flour, one egg, some oil or butter, one cup yogurt, baking powder. Mix it all and knead with water till smooth. Leave it covered for a couple of hrs.

Role it out like chapatti, I try to get it as thin as possible and I use hulled corn grain instead of plain flour while rolling out.

You know how to make tomato sauce, right?

TheNewWannaBe

my mom knows the trick. id ask her. she makes the best pizza on earth. even better than pizza hut

sara_zzz

pizza hut is crap.
where's your pizza place??
best pizzas
- pizza my heart
- via mia
- trader joe's frozen pizza margarita ( its soo good)
- n of course home made

Majestic

^ you are soo damnn right I HATE pizza hut, their crust is ****

ammarr

Did i say i have a pizza place.. typing speaking, 'my place' means where i stay.. my house!!

sabah thanks for the tips.. no recipes yet though.

codeman

I googled this.. http://www.italianvillas.com/recipes/pizza.htm

belle

ammarr : the reason the pizza you make might be turning out thin and crispy is because, either your not using the right amount of yeast, not letting the dough raise properly, the temp of the oven and lastly Bread flour is what I use, it produces a dough that's a little thicker, fluffier. If you prefer a thinner and crisper crust, use regular flour. The bread flour can be found in the baking section typically where the all purpose flour is :-) Anyway here is the recipe I use.

This recipe is going to yield enough dough for two pizzas.

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
3 ½ cups flour plus more if necessary (either bread or all purpose flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tbsp. - Sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil

Step 1: In a large bowl, combine yeast with water, olive oil, salt and stir well.

Step 2: After 5 minutes, add half of the flour and mix well t, thoroughly incorporate. Add all remaining flour except 1/2 cup and mix well with your hands.

Step 3: Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes or until the texture is smooth and uniform. If the dough seems a little sticky, add a little more flour. One method to knead, is to lean on the dough with the palm of your hand. Press the dough to the mixing surface. Fold the dough and repeat.

Step 4: Transfer dough to a lightly oiled 2 or 3 quart bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, usually at least 1 hour. This helps especially so you don’t end up with the yeast taste in your pizza.

Step 5: Divide dough into 2 portions (for 2 (12-inch) pizzas) and form into balls. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Step 6: transfer to a lightly floured surface, shape round ,roll out to a thickness of 1/4-inch.

Step 7: Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. The right temperature is really important :-)

Step 8: Top with toppings of choice. Usually the pattern for topping is sauce -> cheese -> toppings -> sprinkle some more cheese!

Step 9: Transfer to the preheated oven, bake for 12-15 minutes, might have to bake for longer if you use toppings like zucchini

Step 10: Take out from the oven and chow down!

You can store the extra dough, put in zip-lock bag, and pour about a teaspoon of olive oil over it, place it in the freezer.

Good luck :-)

~RestLess~

Hmm ....... thts how i make my own pizza

• I buy the plain cheez pizza for $1 from grocery store.
• Take it out of the freezer whenever i have a craving for pizza.
• Add chopped black olives, mashrooms, Tez wali green peppers, tomatoes n onions[ or any combo of vegiez will do...does nt matter ]leftover qeema aur chicken ( if i dont have any then i juss go with vegetables, coz it takes heaps of time to defrost n then cook )
• Cook it according to package directions, normally 12-15 mins @ 375 (as far as i remember). Umm thts pretty much it.

------------------------------------------ Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaa--------------------------------------

Jal_Pari

i also have an issue with pizza...it never turns out to be soft. I always buy fresh pizza dough from store and then make my own pizza toppings etc....it usually turns out to taste great but it becomes hard. I don't wanna eat 'kacha' pizza...so i make sure it is cooked thoroughly. Any ideas how to keep it really soft? i heard if you cook it on a pizza stone it stays soft. I haven't seen a pizza stone in a store though.

sara_zzz

make the crust kinda thick. n i think it helps if you bake the crust for a lil bit first. but not too long. n the pizza stone helps. but ive tried it on the stone a couple times w/ pre baking the crust n turns out kacha.

ammarr

belle, thanks.. it seems easy enough to follow. Let me try it out and see if it works for me.

TheNewWannaBe

okay, i asked my mom last night. she said that yeast has to be added in the dough to keep it tender. the yeast and flour ratio should be 1teaspoon : 1cup

oh yeah, to add that, you have to first mix the yeast in half a cup of warm water than mix it in the flour and keep for 10 minutes before applying toppings and baking.

Qrius

the only problem i guess with your pizza is that either it is missing yeast..or it is the lesser amount of yeast used..also how long you leave the dough out..we usually make the dough in the morning and leave it until evening to make the pizza. Belle's recipe is easy to follow..some people don't like salt and sugar in the dough..so you can eliminate that part..and some people do use milk for kneading instead of oil..its all upto you.

Jal_Pari: i have seen pizza stones in zellers, walmart and benix..its usually kept in the store front entrance of benix in the shoppers world mall..i think its around $15. It does make the base crispier like store pizzas..but if you don't consume that pizza in a short while..then in longer run they do become hard from the base..