Piiiiiizzaaaa

I tried a different pizza dough recipe today. I had been reading about this guys recipe, and he was a fanatic -- must be this, cannot be that, absolutely this, never that -- and I thought whoa, I'm not that intense. Peter Reinhart will never genuflect at my table. So I pulled out a dough recipe I'd used before, and was surprised to see that I had stuck a second one, right underneath. I tried it, and its not at all bad -- yields a wet dough that rises easily, and bakes into a nice, soft crust. I found it at cucinabodanza.blogspot. The notes and such are from the original site, though I agree with them.


4 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour (You can also replace some of the AP flour with whole wheat.)
1 packet active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup olive oil
1 good squeeze of honey
1 rounded tsp salt

Measure flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. Into the well add yeast, sugar, and warm water. Proof yeast several minutes, until it foams. In the meantime, combine milk, olive oil, salt, and honey in a microwave-safe container and heat for about 40 seconds. You don't want cold milk but you don't want hot milk. Plus, you need to dissolve the honey. Let this container sit in the microwave while the yeast proofs.

Once the yeast has proofed, gradually add milk mixture to the flour as you begin to combine the wet and dry ingredients with a spatula or wooden spoon or even your hand. Once reasonably incorporated, continue to knead right in the bowl or turn out onto a floured surface and knead. I usually don't knead the dough very long, about five minutes. If dough is sticky, gradually add more flour as you knead. It's better to have a sticky dough and add flour than try to add moisture to a dry dough.

Form the dough into a smooth ball. Lightly rub with olive oil and place right back in the mixing bowl, seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap, wax paper, or a damp kitchen towel and set someplace warm and free from drafts. The oven is a good place. I turn on the oven to the lowest temperature for a few minutes then shut off.

When the dough has doubled, divide it into however many portions you need. This recipe will make one big pizza (which is what I made) two normal-sized pizzas or four personal pizzas for hungry folks. I don't "punch" down the dough and wait for a second raise. I usually just gently handle it enough to stretch it into the pan(s). It continues to rise as I'm preparing toppings or doing other general kitchen tasks. Then I top it and bake it in the lower middle of the oven at around 400. Sometimes I use a stone, sometimes I grill it.