Pizza

For Michael Kalanty's Prebiotic Pizza Dough recipe with ProBiotein, click below to download the PDF.

(click to download printable PDF)

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Here’s a video on making pizzas at home, using ProBiotein.

Ashley's Favorite Pizza Dough Recipe

— Ashley Thornberg

Peter Reinhart's Neo-Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe — Peter Reinhart's Recipe

Ashley notes: ProBiotein adds a tangy flavor so feel free to start with 1% and work up to 3%. Or, for less sourdough-like tang, use 1% to 2%.

(click to download printable PDF)

Ingredients

5 1/3 C unbleached bread or pizza flour
2 C + 2 T room temperature water
1 tsp instant yeast
2 T Olive Oil
2 tsp course salt
2 T (optional) sugar
4 tsp ProBiotein® (3% of flour weight)
Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting

Directions

1. Toss all your ingredients into mixer, mix for about a minute with the paddle attachment. Or mix by hand.
2. Let the dough rest 5 minutes to fully hydrate.
3. Switch to the dough hook briefly, or continue mixing by hand.
4. On a countertop (oiled if possible) with your hands oiled, do a few quick stretches and folds, rotating it each time until it “fights” you, then take a break.
5. Break into 5 equal pieces, put 4 into pre-oiled bags and freeze, and leave 1 in the fridge in an oiled bag overnight.
6. Next day, about 90 minutes before you want the pizza, take it out of the fridge, stretch and fold it once or twice, then form into a tight ball.
7. Put it in an oiled pan, and cover it with plastic wrap.
8. If you have a pizza stone, put it in the oven and heat the oven as high as you can for an hour. Temperature of 500F to 550F is ideal. If you don’t have a pizza stone, use a cookie sheet and you don’t have to have the oven on for a whole hour.
9. After the oven has warmed and the dough has rested for a good hour, take the dough and put it on a pre-floured surface, then pat the dough ball down.
10. Use your fingertips around the edges to get it into a disk form. Lift the dough, get the knuckles of your two hands under it, use your thumbs to work the edges to stretch the dough to the size you want.
11. If you have a pizza peel, dust liberally with flour or cornmeal. Add crust and toppings. Slide assembled pizza into oven. If you're using a cookie sheet, grease it and then assemble pizza and bake.
12. Check the pizza after 4 minutes, as it cooks quickly. Remove the pizza once the crust is lightly browned and crispy.

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Best Pizza Dough Ever Recipe — www.101.Cookbooks.com — Heidi Swanson

Peter Reinhart's Napoletana Pizza Dough Recipe — Peter Reinhart's blog

Heidi notes: Peter's recipe says the olive (or vegetable oil) is optional. I use it every time - always olive oil, not vegetable oil. I love the moisture and suppleness it adds to the dough, and it makes your hands soft too.

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups (20.25 ounces) unbleached high-gluten, bread, or all-purpose flour, chilled
• 2 Tablespoons ProBiotein (take out 2 T of flour and replace with 2 T ProBiotein)
• 1 3/4 (.44 ounce) teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil (optional)
• 1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) water, ice cold (40°F)
• Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting

Directions:

1. Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). With a large metal spoon, stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment), If you are mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the metal spoon into cold water and use it, much like a dough hook, to work the dough vigorously into a smooth mass while rotating the bowl in a circular motion with the other hand. Reverse the circular motion a few times to develop the gluten further. Do this for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are evenly distributed. If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet and doesn't come off the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour just until it clears the sides. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a tea- spoon or two of cold water. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50 to 55F.
2. Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with baking parchment and misting the parchment with spray oil (or lightly oil the parchment). Using a metal dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you are comfortable shaping large pizzas), You can dip the scraper into the water between cuts to keep the dough from sticking to it, Sprinkle flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, dip your hands into the flour again. Transfer the dough balls to the sheet pan, Mist the dough generously with spray oil and slip the pan into a food-grade plastic bag.
3. Put the pan into the refrigerator overnight to rest the dough, or keep for up to 3 days. (Note: If you want to save some of the dough for future baking, you can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag. Dip each dough ball into a bowl that has a few tablespoons of oil in it, rolling the dough in the oil, and then put each ball into a separate bag. You can place the bags into the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer them to the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza.)
4. On the day you plan to make the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before making the pizza. Before letting the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours, dust the counter with flour, and then mist the counter with spray oil. Place the dough balls on top of the floured counter and sprinkle them with flour; dust your hands with flour. Gently press the dough into flat disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil, and cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag. Now let rest for 2 hours.
5. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone either on the floor of the oven (for gas ovens), or on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven as hot as possible, up to 800F (most home ovens will go only to 500 to 550F, but some will go higher). If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but do not preheat the pan.
6. Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal. Make the pizzas one at a time. Dip your hands, including the backs of your hands and knuckles, in flour and lift I piece of dough by getting under it with a pastry scraper. Very gently lay the dough across your fists and carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, carefully giving it a little stretch with each bounce. If it begins to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue shaping it. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss as shown on page 208. If you have trouble tossing the dough, or if the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again. You can also resort to using a rolling pin, though this isn't as effective as the toss method.
7. When the dough is stretched out to your satisfaction (about 9 to 12 inches in diameter for a 6-ounce piece of dough), lay it on the peel or pan, making sure there is enough semolina flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide. Lightly top it with sauce and then with your other top- pings, remembering that the best pizzas are topped with a less-is-more philosophy. The American "kitchen sink" approach is counterproductive, as it makes the crust more difficult to bake. A few, usually no more than 3 or 4 toppings, including sauce and cheese is sufficient.
8. Slide the topped pizza onto the stone (or bake directly on the sheet pan) and close the door. Wait 2 minutes, then take a peek. If it needs to be rotated 180 degrees for even baking, do so. The pizza should take about 5 to 8 minutes to bake. If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone to a lower self before the next round. if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone for subsequent bakes.
9. Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving, to allow the cheese to set slightly.

Makes six 6-ounce pizza crusts.

from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart (Ten Speed Press)

Five Minute Tomato Sauce — Heidi Swanson

I'm very particular about the tomatoes I use in this sauce. Look for canned crushed tomatoes, some cans you will come across will say "with added puree" - this is also fine. I avoid diced tomatoes, pass on pureed, and skip whole tomatoes as well. Avoid the crushed tomatoes with added herbs, seasonings, etc. You want pure crushed tomatoes if possible. I also look for organic crushed tomatoes which can be tricky, I often come across the Muir Glen brand, it has added basil in it - that one is actually fine. The San Marzano crushed tomatoes are great as well. Any leftover sauce keeps well in the refrigerator for three or four days.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 3 medium cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 28-ounce can crushed red tomatoes
• zest of one lemon

Directions:

Combine the olive oil, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and garlic in a cold saucepan. Stir while you heat the saucepan over medium-high heat, saute just 45 seconds or so until everything is fragrant - you don't want the garlic to brown. Stir in the tomatoes and heat to a gentle simmer, this takes just a couple minutes. Remove from heat and carefully take a taste (you don't want to burn your tongue)...If the sauce needs more salt add it now. Stir in the lemon zest reserving a bit to sprinkle on top of your pasta. Makes about a quart of tomato sauce.