Food Processor Pizza Dough

QUICK PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Put the flour, yeast and salt in a food processor. With the machine running, pour the oil through the feed tube, then add the water in a slow, steady stream. Continue to process for 2 to 3 minutes (the dough should form a rough ball and ride around in the processor). The finished dough should be soft, slightly sticky and elastic. If too dry, add a bit more water; if too wet, a tablespoon or so more flour.
• Lay a 12-inch-long piece of plastic wrap on a clean work surface. Work the dough into a rectangle on the plastic, about 8 inches long and 6 inches wide. Press your fingers into the top of the dough all over, making indentations as though it were a focaccia. Fold the left third of the dough over (as you would a letter) and repeat the indentations. Fold the right third over and make the indentations again. Cover the folded dough with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes.
• Cut the dough in half, form each piece into a neat ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and transfer to the freezer. The morning before you want to make pizza, transfer the dough to the refrigerator to thaw.
• Bring the dough to room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes. Put a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 550 degrees. (If you don't have a stone, oil a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.) Dust a peel or the greased baking sheet generously with cornmeal. Working with the dough in your hands (not flat on a work surface), gently begin to stretch the dough into a circular shape, pressing your fist into the center of the dough and pulling at the edges with your other hand. With both hands, stretch the dough, being careful not to tear it. Working in a circular motion, pull the thicker edges of the dough outward, letting gravity help you. Continue to stretch the dough until it's relatively even in thickness (the edges will be thicker) and you have the size you want. Carefully lay it on the peel or baking sheet.
• Top the pizza as desired and either slide it off the peel and onto your heated stone, or place the baking sheet into the oven. Cook the pizza for 6 to 10 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling.

JAMIE OLIVER'S PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Place flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water, yeast, sugar, and olive oil. Process until a dough has formed.
• Dust a large bowl with flour and transfer dough in bowl. Sprinkle flour on top of dough and cover with a damp towel. Let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Punch down dough and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use immediately, or wrap dough in plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

PERFECT PIZZERIA PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• 1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until foamy, 5-10 minutes. ( Make sure it foams. If it doesn't foam, your yeast may be outdated.)
• 2. In bowl of food processor fitted with large blade, combine flour and salt. Pulse 3-4 times. With motor running (on dough setting, if you have one) slowly add yeast mixture, allowing each addition to mix before adding the next. Continue processing until dough forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl. After the ball forms and cleans the sides, process for a few more minutes. If dough seems dry, add warm water 1/2 TB. at a time until a ball forms. If it's too wet (ball of dough doesn't form) add flour 1/2 TB. at a time. You will know you have the right consistency when the dough ball forms, the dough ball cleans the sides of the bowl and the dough is as smooth as a baby's bottom. =) If it's not a really smooth dough ball, return it to the bowl and follow instructions for too wet or too dry above.
• 3. Coat inside of large bowl with olive oil. Place dough in bowl. Turn once to coat and cover with sprayed saran wrap. Set in warm place and allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours.
• 4. After 1 1/2 hours, your beautiful dough is ready to be placed on a 16 inch pizza pan oiled with 1 TB. of olive oil. (Can sprinkle with yellow corn meal, if you wish.) Press evenly to sides of pan. Don't leave the dough too thick. Add your desired toppings and bake at 400 degrees. No par-baking required. The photo at left is my BLT Pizza... Perfect crust every time!
• 5. *** I like to warm a few TB. of olive oil with a halved garlic clove in the micro until very warm and then brush this on the crust right when it comes out of the oven. Yum!
• 6. ~Just A Few Tips On Yeast Doughs~ ( ...or why it took me so many years of making bad pizza dough. lol) I sure can't speak for everyone, but I made some kind of dumb mistakes (...over and over) when attempting yeast doughs. Let me go over a few so that it won't take you as long to figure it out as me. I am by no means an expert yeast bread maker. There are many outstanding cooks on here who could run circles 'round me. But, I was making some very common, newbie mistakes and it took me awhile to get my act together. So here goes... * Water temp is very important! Too hot or too cold and your dough will not rise and your pizza crust will be hard and chewy. Think very warm bath water. * YES, you do have to proof your yeast. Always. lol Give those little guys a warm bath with a little sugar and you will "wake them up" so that they are ready to get to work on your dough. If it bubbles, your yeast is happy as can be and ready to get to work. No bubbles? Stop right there. Your yeast is either old, or your water temp is off. Buy fresh yeast for the best result. (Throw out the stuff from 3 Christmases ago!) * Use Red Star "Quick-Rise" Yeast. It's wonderful and forgiving if your water temp is too high, another of my newbie mistakes. Not a paid spokesperson and I own no stock in the company (...but I wish I did. Red Star... Give me a call and we'll talk... lol.) * Allow enough time for the dough to rise! If the recipe says rise for 1 hour, it means 1 hour... not 30, 35, 40 minutes. If you don't have time to let it rise, but figure it will be okay anyway, it won't. Save the recipe for another day. * Use the right size pan. If the dough is for a 16 inch pan and you use a 12 inch pan and figure that it's fine... nope. Smaller the pan, thicker the dough. Thick dough equals "bready" crust. Too thin it can be too thin to hold up and may burn. Just like The Three Bears... not too thick and not too thin. Medium is just right. Happy Pizza Making! Peg =)

FOOD PROCESSOR PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Pulse yeast, salt, and 1 2/3 cups flour in a food processor until combined. With the motor running, add 3/4 cup 100°F-110°F water and process until a ball forms, about 30 seconds.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; it should look slightly shaggy and stick to the counter (if dough is too dry, add more warm water by the teaspoonful until tacky). Knead until dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Divide into 2 balls (each will make a 12-14" pizza).
• Transfer balls to separate large resealable containers or bags. Chill at least overnight and up to 2 days.
• Do Ahead
• Dough can be made 3 months ahead; tightly wrap balls in plastic and freeze.

CUISINART FOOD PROCESSOR PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a 2 cup liquid measure, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 3-5 minutes. Insert dough blade in work bowl and add flour, salt and 2 teaspoons olive oil.
• With machine running on dough speed, pour liquid through small feed tube as fast as flour will absorb it. Process until dough cleans sides of work bowl and forms a ball. Then process for 30 seconds to knead dough, which may be slightly sticky. Coat dough evenly with 2 teaspoons olive oil; transfer to a plastic food storage bag and seal the top. Let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes. While dough is rising , prepare any pizza toppings.
• Place dough on a lightly floured surface and punch down. Roll into desired crust sizes.

PIZZA DOUGH IN FOOD PROCESSOR

Steps:

• Put in the food processor, yeast, sugar, the 3/4 cup flour, salt, olive oil and water.
• Process for 15 seconds.
• Add the next one cup flour, Blend.
• Add the last one cup flour, til a ball forms.
• Knead approximately.
• 10 times or so.
• Let sit 20 minutes in a covered greased bowl.
• While dough is resting, prepare all your preffered toppings, sauce, pepperoni, sausage, cheese.
• Roll out.
• Makes two pizzas.
• Place dough onto an oiled pizza pan, or a cornmeal sprinkles pan.
• Top with toppings, and bake in a very hot oven 400 to 450 degrees for approx 12 to 15 minutes or until done.
• October 2004 my food processor bummed out, so I made the recipe using my Kitchen Aide with dough hooks. The recipe worked out very nice.

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH - PROCESSOR METHOD

Steps:

• Add the yeast and water to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon. Allow the yeast to dissolve until it is incorporated into the water, about 5 minutes. Add the olive oil, salt and 1 1/2 cups of the flour. Stir the mixture with a spoon until until the dough forms a ball, or place all the ingredients in a food processor until the dough forms a ball. After a few seconds of mixing or processing, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour. The dough should be soft but not sticky. If it is too sticky, add a bit more flour and process for another minute.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead dough for 2 to 3 minutes, adding enough additional flour if necessary to form a smooth and elastic dough. Dough should not be sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled 2 or 3 quart bowl and turn to coat dough with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, usually at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F and if you have one, place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven.
• Divide dough into 2 portions (for 2 (12-inch) pizzas) and form into balls. (See note below for calzones.) Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 15 minutes, then transfer to a lightly floured surface, shape as desired and roll out to a thickness of 1/2-inch. Transfer dough to a pizza peel and top with toppings of choice. Transfer to the preheated pizza stone and bake until crispy and golden brown, usually 12 to 18 minutes (depending on the toppings). Remove from the oven with a metal peel or spatula and serve immediately.
• Note: For calzones, divide the dough into 4 equal portions and form into 4 balls. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 15 minutes, then transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll out into 4 6-inch circles. Place filling of choice in the center of one side of each circle, then fold dough over filling to meet edges of filled side. Crimp edges with a fork or your fingers, then cut a small slit in the top of the calzone to allow steam to escape while cooking. Cook on a preheated pizza stone in a preheated 475 degree oven for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until well-browned. Remove from the oven with a metal peel or spatula and serve immediately.

FOOD-PROCESSOR PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade, combine the flour and salt and process with 3 or 4 pulses. With the motor running on the dough speed, slowly add the yeast mixture, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding more. Continue processing until the dough forms a ball and cleans the sides of the bowl, about 1 minute, then process for 1 minute more.
• Coat the inside of a large bowl with the olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1⁄2 hours. Divide the dough in half and roll out as directed in the pizza recipe.

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH (MADE IN FOOD PROCESSOR)

Steps:

• Grease pizza pan(s). Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Stir yeast and sugar into the warm water and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Insert metal blade into Cuisinart food processor, and add flour and salt to bowl. Pulse briefly to combine flour and salt.
• Turn machine on and pour yeast mixture into feed tube. Process about 45 seconds, until all liquid has streamed into the flour and the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn off machine.
• With oil ready to be added, turn on machine again and add the oil to the feed tube and process for another minute. If dough is sticking to sides of bowl, you can add another tablespoon of flour, one at a time, until it does leave bowl.
• Remove dough very carefully from bowl. If making two 14″ round pizzas, divide the dough in half. Can also be divided into small pizza pans or left intact if making pizza on a a very large baking sheet. Working with the dough for one of the pizzas, lift the dough and begin stretching and pulling, rotating the dough, working all edges. When dough is stretched, but not tearing, lay it in the center of one of the pizza pans. With fingertips, press and work dough out t the edges of the pan. If dough resists, let it rest for a few minutes, and then retry. Poke bottom of pizza crust a few times with the tines of a fork.
• If you wish to pre-bake your crust, place it in the over and bake for about 6 minutes. Remove from oven and add toppings as desired. Return to over and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes or until hot and bubbly and crust is browned.
• If you don't wish to pre-bake your crust, add toppings as desired on uncooked pizza dough. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly and crust is browned.