This Wolfgang Puck recipe is heavy on the yeast. It makes for a fast rise/use-it-quick, but does not give time for the flavors to develop (although I let it sit overnight.) -This W.P. recipe uses 2 1/4 tsp yeast per 3 cups of flour. -My No-Rise recipe uses 1 1/2 tsp yeast per 3 cups of flour. -The ATK 3 Day Fridge Rise recipe uses 1/2 tsp yeast per 3 cups of flour. -The K.A. pizza flour 12-24 Hour Room-Temp Rise recipe uses 3/16 tsp per 3 cups of flour. I'm sure it will taste fine. I wonder what the "texture" quality will be (I added diastatic malt powder.) One commenter on the You Tube video said it gave a "honey sheen" to the crust (whatever that means.) I did like the technique of putting the pizza on a cookie sheet, then cooking the first 5 minutes directly on the floor of the oven. I bet that's better than using a pizza stone.
I saw the "honey sheen" comment and thought the same thing. It's more likely that the olive oil is giving the sheen, but whatever. I like yeasty stuff so I'll probably like the additional yeast for flavor. I thought that sounded like a lot but Wolfgang probably knows better than me.
I've seen bread recipes with extra yeast. It's a fast-rise time saver, just like adding sugar. For some reason, rapid rise stuff gives me heartburn (I may have mentioned this before.) I could (and have) eat half a loaf of Italian bread with no issues because the starter proofs overnight and the bread dough proofs for a total of 4 1/2 hours. There's something that disagrees with me that gets broken down over time.
I made 2 pizzas from the Wolfgang Puck recipe...a white (Fontina cheese) pizza and a regular tomato sauce pizza. This is a keeper dough, I just need to tweak it for the flour & malt powder that I use. I used KA pizza flour and diastatic malt powder. The dough sat in the fridge for 24 hours, then came to room temp for an hour. The dough was much more relaxed than other dough I've made. I usually have a hard time stretching out a pie because the dough springs back to the center. But even on an oiled pan, I stretched this crust to the edge, let it relax for 5 minutes, then stretch it one more time, and it stayed put. And these are the roundest pies I've ever made because they were so easy to shape. I think this is the combination of using KA pizza flour (for the first time) and diastatic malt powder. Or perhaps that extra yeast made the difference. The crust was flavorful, airy & chewy, while the edges were crunchy. I did have one odd thing. I've never been able to make a dough that's "tight" enough to put directly on the stone. I always leave the pie on the pan, then put the pan on the stone for the first half of the cooking time. That sets the crust so I can then slide the pie off the pan and onto the stone for the second half of cooking. So I took these out at the halfway mark (5 minutes), and the dough had puffed up but not set enough to slide off of the pans. And even though I oiled the pans, I had to scrape both pies free of their pan in a few tiny spots. So after scraping them free (they did not tear), I put them back in the oven still on the pan, and after they finished baking, I slid the pies directly onto the stone for a minute or two to brown the bottoms. The crust was strong enough to firmly hold up a slice of the plain cheese, but not the one loaded with sauce & toppings. But it was no weaker than a pizzaria pizza. The only other thing I'll add to my blather is that the baking technique on the video (500° oven, set the pan on the bottom for 5 minutes, then finish on a rack) would yield a perfect pie with this dough. The Breville only goes up to 480°. The bottom of an oven is gonna be hotter than 500°.
I have the Wolfgang Puck pizza dough resting in the fridge; it made a lot of dough so I'm not sure if I'll try freezing the leftover or what. I made it in the bread machine on the "pizza dough" setting and the only addition I made was some of the King Arthur pizza dough flavoring stuff. I expected that to smell garlicky but it's more oregano-ish.
Pizza turned out excellent!! I really like that crust recipe; it was crunchy on the bottom but chewy inside. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I even grated mozzarella, @John Brunner !! Not the prettiest I've made but very tasty. I formed the crust on a silicone baking mat, then transferred it to a cookie sheet with a lot of semolina on it. After loading it up it actually slid off the sheet and onto the preheated stone. It's the small things in life I gotta tell ya. This is Italian sausage, bell pepper (green and red) and onion...
Looks good, @Beth Gallagher. And you even grated your own cheese!!! I hope your knuckles are intact. I've taken to adding a little sharp cheddar with the mozzeralla just to add some flavor. I agree, the recipe is a keeper. So what did you do for a sauce? Do you make your own?
I make an easy sauce with canned whole tomatoes, salt and a little basil in the blender. Brush the raw crust with olive oil, add the tomato sauce, then toppings. I don't like a lot of sauce. Oh, and I used my rotary grater for the cheese. That thing is the bomb.
My sauce recipe is also uncooked, although I used to make a pretty good cooked one when I was into the deep-dish pizzas. My uncooked sauce has 6-7 spices, salt, garlic cloves, anchovy and red wine vinegar. I almost bought a rotary grater based upon your zeal, but decided I didn't need another gadget cluttering up the drawer when I can use the box grater when I need to. The only time the rotary grater would be of real benefit is when I grate hard cheeses (Parmigiano Reggiano or Peccorino Romano.) I do a whole block at a time and put it in the freezer, keeping small amounts in the fridge. That way I don't waste any.
I have tried several sauce recipes but to me the simpler the better. I don't like a lot of sauce anyhow. I LOVE that rotary grater. It makes quick work of any cheese, hard or soft. I also love it for grating onion and other vegetables like zucchini and yellow squash. We love zucchini sauteed with onions which is so quick and easy now that I don't use the old box grater.
This is the one I have, https://www.hsn.com/products/kitchen-hq-speed-grater-and-slicer-with-suction-base/20202980 There are several similar ones on Amazon.
Thank you. When I looked on Amazon and on Walmart, they looked like cheap crap and the reviews generally supported that perception. Even that one has less that 4 stars and a bunch of "It grates plastic into my food" reviews. I think this is why I hit a hard stop before. So I assume you've not had issues with it grating plastic, not suctioning properly, etc. (I already know the answer, since you recommended it.) I see my local·ish Belk has a couple of metal ones for around $70. It's time to check out EBay... edit to add: 9,900+ results for cheese grater. I won't brb
It seems very well made to me; I don't understand the poor reviews but I suppose there are going to be manufacturing defects and dumbass users with everything. It suctions really well on my granite and seems well made for the price. The grater disk things are weighty stainless and even the plastic base has a nice feel to it. It is simple to use and simple to clean. As with most gadgets with parts, it's a pain to store so I bought a plastic "tall shoe box" that everything will fit into.
John, is your stand mixer a Kitchenaid? These are a nice option if your mixer is convenient on the counter. If you have to drag it out then not so convenient. https://www.kitchenaid.com/refurbis...prep-slicer-shredder-attachment.rksmvsa.html? I own those but somehow I always forget about them.