ISO tried & true chewy pizza crust recipe

[Lilymax]

Anyone have a good one?

 

We're making homemade pizza tonight and it's been a while. I can't remember which of my two dough recipes we liked better, but I do recall that neither was all that great.

 

I really don't want to Google it and be disappointed again. It sounds like there are a lot of great cooks here, so I thought it was worth asking for a tried and true pizza crust recipe that turns out nice and chewy like Papa John's or other carryout pizza.

 

Thanks in advance!

[KatieJ]

I have been making pizza for a very long time...tried every recipe and this one gets rave reviews every single time. I think it's the olive oil and corn meal.......but it's delicious. I haven't tried it with any whole wheat flour yet, but that is next.

 

Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup warm milk

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Combine warm water, yeast and sugar in large mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Let stand 5 minutes. Add warm milk, olive oil, salt, cornmeal and 3 cups of the flour; stir until well-blended. Add 1 cup of the flour; mix with your hands until the flour is thoroughly incorporated. Add remaining 1/2 to 1 cup flour, about 1/4 cup at a time, mixing after each addition, until a soft dough is formed that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 6 to 8 minutes, adding small amounts of flour as needed to keep dough manageable. When finished, the dough should be slightly soft but should spring back when pushed. Lightly oil the surface of the dough and put in the rinsed mixing bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place 60 to 90 minutes or until doubled.

Punch down dough. Knead about 1 minute. Oil the surface again and place back in bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 60 minutes. (Or let rise in refrigerator for several hours. Let the dough stand at room temperature 30 minutes before proceeding.)

Punch down dough. Briefly knead. Divide dough in half for two 14-inch deep-dish pizzas or into quarters for four 8- to 10-inch pizzas.

To make the pizzas, lightly grease the pans and roll out dough to a circle about 1 inch wider than the pan. Place dough in pan and let rest 15 to 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Add the sauce (1 cup), toppings and cheese (about 2 cups grated) and bake 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Makes two 14-inch pizzas or four 8- to 10-inch pizzas.

Source: Breaking Bread with Father Dominic by Father Dominic

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[cjbeach]

We're Philly/Jersey people and we are very particular about our pizza. So much so that we have begun to make our own (my dh would **never** eat a chain store pizza LOL).

Anyhow I use the crust recipe from Tammy's pizza and though we eat it we think it would taste even better if we were up North (it's the water, I hear, that makes the difference in the breads).

http://www.tammysrecipes.com/homemade_pizza

[Lilymax]

Thank you, ladies! Saving these now! :)

[JennyB]

This is the pizza dough recipe that we love around here after trying tons of recipes over the years.

 

6 c flour

3 cups warm water

4 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp corn syrup

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp instant yeast

 

Put 1/2 the flour, salt and yeast into your mixer. (I use a bosch) Put the sugar and corn syrup into the warm water. Stir until dissolved. Turn your mixer on and add the water all at once. (Don't try to pour it in slowly, your flour will clump up and the water will slosh around. If your mixture is to liquidy then add a little more flour. You are only wanting a cake type batter.) Mix this for 2 minutes. Add the oil and the rest of the flour. (You don't want a stiff dough at all. But you will be mixing it for a long time so you don't want to start with it too runny. I put in flour until the sides of the mixer come clean.)Knead for 6 min. Turn off mixer and let rest for 5 min. Knead again for 6 min. and your done. Divide into dough balls. Cook the pizza at 500 degrees for 6-10 min.

 

Anything in parenthesis is my own addition not the official recipe. I am not even sure where I got this as I have adapted it. This is such an easy recipe. I can start this and within an hour have a pizza out of the oven.

 

For my family of 7 we double this recipe (2 teenage boys :D) and have enough for leftovers the next day for lunch. This makes 4 -5 large pizza and 2 cheesesticks.

 

We love the cheesesticks and they are so easy to make. We use an old metal pan that is a little larger than a 9x13 put your dough in the bottom of the pan, add cheese and pepperoni. (no sauce) Cook in the oven for 6-10 minutes. As soon as you take it out of the oven spread butter on top and then sprinkle a mixture of garlic powder and parmesian cheese on top. My husband makes this I think it is a 1:10 ratio. Cut it up and dip in sauce and eat. Half of my family prefers these over pizza.

 

We eat this once a week and everyone loves pizza night. My husbands brothers will show up on mondays just in time for dinner. (Oh... I didn't know it was pizza night! :lol:)

 

 

Have fun.

[Lilymax]

Thanks, Jenny! Those cheesesticks sound amazing...my boys would love those!