Last week I was watching "Good Eats" (surprise surprise) and the episode Flat is Beautiful caught my eye. For the first time in a while, I wanted to try my hand at a yeast based dough. I always failed with the proofing of yeast, so with instant I could solve the problem, right? After watching the episode a few more times, I decided to go for it.
After my success with Alton's bread recipe, I figured pizza dough would be a piece of cake. Well, I can honestly say that my first attempt was a disaster! Maybe I was over-confident from my recent success, but my sad dough hooks couldn't live up to the kneading task. Or maybe I didn't time it right--I still don't know if I over or under kneaded the dough, but it just became a sticky pile of goo on my countertop. It was beyond saving--very unfortunate.
So I started over. For round two I used the same recipe, only I kneaded the dough by hand. It picked up a lot more flour because of this method, which made it tougher (also, I probably didn't knead it long enough). According to the Alton's recipe, the dough must do a slow-rise in the fridge for 24 hours to get maximum flavor.
Well, in the long run I don't think it helped much. For one, the dough got dried out along the edges (even though I wrapped it the way I was instructed). Second, the flavor wasn't any better than a regular pizza crust.
But I did the pizza toss, as instructed. And I topped it with a tasty trio of cheeses--mozzarella, cheddar, and parmesan.
The pizza stone was definitely a good investment. It did look pretty, and the crust was much crispier than previously baked pizzas.
Since I do not recommend this recipe to any novice baker, I am only providing the link and not repeating the steps here. I wouldn't say the final night of the Midnight Snack Series was a disaster--the pizza was tasty. And it taught me what not to do. At least till I get my hands on that KitchenAid--this recipe was made for a certain method. If you don't follow Alton's steps to the letter, the project can easily fall apart.
In the future, I think I will not go for the overnight rise in the fridge, but stick to a standard 2 hour rise in a warm place. I'm gonna try a new recipe that a friend recommended as well. Keep an eye out for a post!
I did top off the evening with a pretty fantastic treat. Last week I froze my leftover pound cake, so I cut off a slice, heated up my caramel, and added a huge dollop of whipped cream. Who says leftovers can't be as fabulous as the originals?
Happy Snacking!
Antonia
No comments:
Post a Comment