Kittencals Pizza Dough Recipes

AN ITALIAN'S CLASSIC PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a small bowl combine salt, honey, olive oil, and cool water.
• Mix well and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, combine warm water and yeast. Allow to proof for ten minutes.
• After proofing combine honey mixture and yeast in one large mixing bowl.
• Add flour, one cup at a time, into the combined liquid mixture. Dough is an art - depending on your paradigm you may want to work this with your hands, add a T of water if it is dry.
• Place dough ball on lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
• Place dough in covered buttered (melted) bowl and allow dough to rest for 30 minutes. A slightly warmed oven (90 degree) is great.
• Divide into two equal sized dough balls.
• If using a pizza stone, place stone in oven and preheat oven to 450 for at least ten minutes.
• Roll out into two pies and add your favorite sauce and topping combinations.

ROBERTA'S PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine flours and salt.
• In a small mixing bowl, stir together 200 grams (a little less than 1 cup) lukewarm tap water, the yeast and the olive oil, then pour it into flour mixture. Knead with your hands until well combined, approximately 3 minutes, then let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.
• Knead rested dough for 3 minutes. Cut into 2 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Place on a heavily floured surface, cover with dampened cloth, and let rest and rise for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature or for 8 to 24 hours in the refrigerator. (If you refrigerate the dough, remove it 30 to 45 minutes before you begin to shape it for pizza.)
• To make pizza, place each dough ball on a heavily floured surface and use your fingers to stretch it, then your hands to shape it into rounds or squares. Top and bake.

KITTENCAL'S ITALIAN-STYLE BREAD

Steps:

• Prepare a heavy-duty stand mixer with the kneading attachment.
• Pour in 2-1/2 cups flour, cornmeal, 2 teaspoons sugar, olive oil and salt into the stainless steel mixing bowl.
• In a measuring cup proof the yeast with 1-1/4 cups warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar for about 8-10 minutes or until foamy.
• Pour the water/yeast mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture in it, then start kneading adding in more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl, and dough is soft and smooth not sticky and wet (kneading should take about 6-8 minutes).
• Transfer the dough into an oiled bowl.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 45-50 minutes, or until doubled (watch the dough closely since you are using a smaller amount of flour, and using 3 teaspoons of yeast, the dough rises a little quicker!).
• Punch down; cover and let rest for about 10-12 minutes in the bowl (this is important, the dough must rest for 10-12 minutes after punching down and before shaping!).
• Transfer the dough onto a lightly-floured surface and evenly divide in half.
• Shape each half into a thin 10-12-inch long loaf (or you can shape in one thicker shorter loaf if desired).
• Place the shaped loaves onto a 15 x 10-inch baking sheet that has been lighly greased and then sprinkled with about 2 tablespoons cornmeal.
• Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise for about 25-30 minutes.
• Spray the tops of the bread with cooking spray (I use Pam olive oil spray for this).
• Bake at 400°F for about 20-22 minutes for 2 small long loaves, or until golden brown (adjust baking time longer for 1 large loaf).
• Cool on a wire rack.