Jeffs Epic Homemade Pizza Dough Food

TRUE CHICAGO-STYLE DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Mix sugar, yeast and 11 ounces room temperature water (about 80 degrees) in a bowl and let bloom for 15 minutes. Combine flour, salt and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Once yeast has bloomed, add to dry ingredients along with corn oil. Gently combine with a rubber spatula until a rough ball is formed.
• Knead on low speed with the dough hook for 90 seconds. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and proof until doubled in size, about 6 hours. Punch down and let dough settle for 15 more minutes.
• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
• Coat bottom and sides of a 12-inch cake pan or traditional Chicago style pizza pan with melted butter. Using your hands, spread out about three-quarters of the dough across the bottom and up the sides of the pan (save the remainder for another use). Cover entire bottom in mozzarella, all the way up to the edge. Cover half with a thin, even layer of raw sausage. Cover the other half with the pepperoni. Top with a couple handfuls of crushed tomatoes. Spread out with hands to the edge. Sprinkle top evenly with grated Parm.
• Bake, rotating halfway through, until golden around the edge, about 25 minutes. Let rest for about 5 minutes, then either gently lift pizza out of pan or just cut your slice out of the pan like a pie!

JEFFS EPIC HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a medium bowl (I used a measuring cup), combine the WARM water (not too hot or you'll kill the yeast), sugar and yeast until dissolved. Leave for 5 - 10 minutes until the yeast activates and the mixture develops a layer of froth on the surface.
• In a large bowl, mix the sea salt and flour and make a well in the center. Add the yeast and olive oil. Mix together with a fork or wooden spoon, and then use your hands until the dough comes together.
• Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth, shiny and elastic (about 5 - 10 minutes) or allow the kitchen aid to do this. If the dough is too sticky or soft, add a little extra flour or if it's too dry and crumbly, add a little water.
• Shape the dough into a round ball and place in a large, oiled bowl. Cover with a damp cloth for roughly 45 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.
• Punch down the dough to remove the air and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Divide in 2 and shape each piece into round disks (this step requires common sense, meaning if you want small 6" pizzas or if you scale the recipe for more people you will need to divide the dough into more balls).
• Place the dough balls on a sheet of parchment. Cover with a light coating of oil and let them rise again, for about 20 minutes.
• Dough is now ready to add whatever toppings you like bake in a 400°F oven for approximately 15 to 20 minutes (less or more time as required). Keep an eye on it until the cheese browns and the crust looks done to your liking.

OLD WORLD CHICAGO-STYLE THIN CRUST PIZZA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the milk, water, yeast and sugar. Lightly whisk and let sit until bubbly and the yeast is bloomed, about 5 minutes. Add the oil.
• Mix the all-purpose flour and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Set the mixer to medium-low speed and slowly add the yeast mixture until entirely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl to get everything homogenous. Knead on medium low until the dough is glossy and forms a rough ball, about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set it in a warm part of the kitchen until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
• Split the dough into 2 balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the balls of dough as THIN as possible with a rolling pin. To get an even "trimmed" circle, use a large round lid to trim a rim around the dough. Sprinkle some semolina flour on a pizza peel. Carefully transfer the round of dough to the peel. Dock the crust with a fork or docker, poking holes all over the surface to keep it thin and crispy.
• Working quickly, add half of the pizza sauce almost all of the way to the edge of the crust, leaving about a 1-inch border. For the pepperoni side, place an even layer of pepperoni directly on top of the sauce on half of the pizza. Combine the skim- and whole-milk mozzarella in a large bowl and top the entire pizza with half of the cheese. Top the pepperoni side with some more scattered rounds of pepperoni. For the sausage side, spread half of the giardiniera on top of the cheese, then dollop with hunks of the Italian sausage on top. Transfer to the pizza stone in the oven and bake until golden and bubbly, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board with the pizza peel. Make another pizza with the remaining ingredients.
• Let the pizza rest for 4 or 5 minutes, then cut into small squares--never triangles. This is called the party cut. Why? Because no matter what's going on, when you're eating Chicago thin crust, it's always a big ol' party.

HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• This is a double-rise dough typical of Neapolitan pizza. Two different rise methods are provided, one overnight in refrigerator and the other with a sponge.
• Refrigerator Rise Method: Mix 2 1/2 cups flour with salt, yeast, and water. Mix in remaining flour until dough is slightly sticky and not dry. Knead 15 minutes on a floured surface (10 minutes in a machine) until smooth. Place dough in bowl dusted with flour and covered with plastic wrap in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, punch dough down and divide in fourths (approximately 7 ounces each) or halves. Dust dough portions with flour and put in ziploc bags and return to refrigerator until ready to use.
• Sponge Rise Method: Prepare dough sponge by mixing yeast, 1/2 cup flour, and 1/2 cup water in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour. (Throw out and start over with fresher yeast if not foamy.) Stir dough sponge to deflate. Mix 1/2 of remaining flour with salt, remaining water, and dough sponge. Mix in remaining flour (dough should be slightly sticky and not dry). Knead 15 minutes on a floured surface (10 minutes in a machine) until smooth. Place dough in bowl dusted with flour and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled (2 to 3 hours). Punch dough down and divide in fourths (approximately 7 ounces each) or halves. Dust dough portions with flour and put in ziploc bags in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Remove dough portions from refrigerator when ready to shape into crust. Punch down dough thoroughly and roll out dough on a floured surface to half of its final size. Let rest for 10-15 minutes (while you prepare toppings). Stretch out dough over your floured knuckles and fly 2-3 times until desired size is achieved. Move dough crust to pizza peel spread with flour. Add sauce, cheese, and toppings and bake in preheated 500° F oven directly on the pizza stone for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool 2-3 minutes on a wire rack before cutting and serving.
• note:This recipe makes two 12" or four 9" crusts.