If you find that you can’t roll it out, that it’s fighting you and springing back, the best thing to do is to just cover it with a towel and walk away from it for about 10-15 minutes. That will give the chance for the gluten in the dough to relax and it will let you pull it out. If it fights you again, you can let it relax again. Usually just that one relax period will help. Usually what I’ll do is punch it down after it’s rising period and divide it and form it into balls, and then just let it sit covered for about 10 mins. Then I’ll try to form it. I’ll form it as best I can. If it starts to spring back I’ll go to another ball and put it aside. Come back to it later and it’s much more forgiving once more.

The basic recipe can be found here http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/breads/yeast/pizzadough.html

I tweaked it a bit by adding a little more honey (about 1/4 cup total for each batch) and by using equal amounts whole wheat and bread flour. I also make 2 batches every time because we have 5 kids to feed.

I roll out the dough to be a circle (approximate shape ;-D, at least) that is a bit bigger than the pan or stone, because the circle tends to shrink in transition from the counter. To transfer I fold the circle in half, then half again, and then it’s easy to move, placing on one quarter of the pan, and unfolding. The folding method only works if your dough is not too sticky.

The wonderful thing about switching to stone is that the crust doesn’t need to be prebaked; it always seemed like it needed to be when I made pizzas on a metal pan. Just preheat the stone in the oven for 15-20 minutes, while you’re assembling the pizza. Also, sprinkle cornmeal on the stone before transferring the pizza to the stone.

I used to get really blah pizza crusts with no flavor, and what you want is not necessarily the greatest flavor ever, but to not notice that something is lacking. I’ve found that sprinkling garlic powder on the entire surface of the crust (before toppings) works wonders, or garlic salt. Also, I’m an oregano addict, and sprinkling that on too makes for a nice flavor.

I pick up my dough and gently stretch it with my fists. Sometimes I let it hang down (dangle it a little) and use gravity and the weight of the dough to pull it. If it seems to be tearing, let it rest for a few minutes and it will soften. I never actually take a rolling pin to it.

Prebaking it can help, or precook your vegetables so the water drains out ahead of time. Make your sauce on the thicker side.

I season with garlic, honey, or freshly grated Parmesan.

Hope that helps.

Anyway, I have found that my pizza crust gets done better in the middle (i.e. it’s not soggy) if I let the crust bake for about 10 minutes before I pull it out and put the toppings on it. Another 5-8 minutes is enough to melt the cheese and get everything nice and bubbly in my oven. And just in case it matters, I use HUGE pizza pans (about the size they use in the restaurants) and bake at 350 degrees.

Hope that helps! I love reading your blog. We moved from the Butler, PA area just 2 years ago, so I can really relate to your posts … And I miss Aldi!! :)

(Sophia)