Cookbook talk:Basic Pizza Crust

Don't know if the person who created this recipe is looking but how much yeast in in your packages? I've had ones with 7g and others with 11g. Does it matter?

Yeast Measurement.
Rather than buy packets of yeast, i buy the 4 oz. jar of Fleischman's rapid rise. I updated the recipe, reducing the 5 cups flour to 3½. Also, i made careful adjustments to the steps need to mix the ingredients.


 * This dough formula profile is closer to what's known in the U.S. as Sicilian or Chicago deep dish style crust. Everyone has their own ideas of what tastes good, that said, had I chosen to alter the recipe, I would have increased the water, instead of decreased the flour.  Once the baker's % water had been increased, then a lower flour weight could be chosen, and grams and volumetric measures recalculated. With the decrease in the flour instead, flour relative amounts of all other ingredients increased.  I made up a quick table with baker's percentages to better explain, and the only change is the flour amount.  The red text shows the low value that could have been increased instead.


 * {| style="text-align:center;"


 * align="center"|
 * align="center" width=135|flour
 * align="center" width=135|flour
 * ||3.5 cups||5 cups
 * align="left"|water||54.17%||style=color:red;|37.92%
 * align="left"|dry yeast||5.49%||3.84%
 * align="left"| honey||9.60%||6.72%
 * align="left"| salt||1.37%||0.96%
 * align="left"| flour||100.00%||100.00%
 * align="left"| olive oil||12.34%||8.64%
 * ||182.97%||158.08%
 * }
 * Oil and dry yeast are high. Dry yeast is high in both, though if it was fresh yeast, it's perhaps only high in the 3.5 cup formula. Dry yeast is concentrated, and is different from "yeast," presumed as "fresh yeast" or "compressed yeast", dry yeast uses less than half the weight of fresh for equivalent fermentation times, and instant dry yeast even less. Salt is low in both, and honey is on the sweet and rich side in both. In the original formula, salt may have been decreased to speed fermentation, with sugar amounts high, osmotolerant yeast may be needed, so salt may have been decreased intentionally, and dry yeast increased, in order to compensate for a lack of osmotolerant yeast.
 * align="left"| honey||9.60%||6.72%
 * align="left"| salt||1.37%||0.96%
 * align="left"| flour||100.00%||100.00%
 * align="left"| olive oil||12.34%||8.64%
 * ||182.97%||158.08%
 * }
 * Oil and dry yeast are high. Dry yeast is high in both, though if it was fresh yeast, it's perhaps only high in the 3.5 cup formula. Dry yeast is concentrated, and is different from "yeast," presumed as "fresh yeast" or "compressed yeast", dry yeast uses less than half the weight of fresh for equivalent fermentation times, and instant dry yeast even less. Salt is low in both, and honey is on the sweet and rich side in both. In the original formula, salt may have been decreased to speed fermentation, with sugar amounts high, osmotolerant yeast may be needed, so salt may have been decreased intentionally, and dry yeast increased, in order to compensate for a lack of osmotolerant yeast.
 * align="left"| olive oil||12.34%||8.64%
 * ||182.97%||158.08%
 * }
 * Oil and dry yeast are high. Dry yeast is high in both, though if it was fresh yeast, it's perhaps only high in the 3.5 cup formula. Dry yeast is concentrated, and is different from "yeast," presumed as "fresh yeast" or "compressed yeast", dry yeast uses less than half the weight of fresh for equivalent fermentation times, and instant dry yeast even less. Salt is low in both, and honey is on the sweet and rich side in both. In the original formula, salt may have been decreased to speed fermentation, with sugar amounts high, osmotolerant yeast may be needed, so salt may have been decreased intentionally, and dry yeast increased, in order to compensate for a lack of osmotolerant yeast.
 * Oil and dry yeast are high. Dry yeast is high in both, though if it was fresh yeast, it's perhaps only high in the 3.5 cup formula. Dry yeast is concentrated, and is different from "yeast," presumed as "fresh yeast" or "compressed yeast", dry yeast uses less than half the weight of fresh for equivalent fermentation times, and instant dry yeast even less. Salt is low in both, and honey is on the sweet and rich side in both. In the original formula, salt may have been decreased to speed fermentation, with sugar amounts high, osmotolerant yeast may be needed, so salt may have been decreased intentionally, and dry yeast increased, in order to compensate for a lack of osmotolerant yeast.


 * There are a lot of different pizza crust recipes or formulas, and they are generally distinct from each other. With the low water amount in the original recipe coupled with the large oil amount, I suspect this dough was originally intended as lining for a deep dish style crust (or perhaps it was a commercial formula designed to be pressed between the rollers of an expensive dough rolling machine).  That would be a different formula from a Neopolitan style, which is closer to NY style big slice.  What I'm trying to say is it might be a good idea for there to be more than one pizza dough formula for particular uses, and those uses elucidated in each recipe, rather than trying to make one "all purpose" pizza crust formula. If I was going to make a "basic" pizza crust formula, as the title of this article suggests, it would only have four ingredients: Flour, water, yeast, and salt, and that would be much like what is known in the U.S. as Neapolitan crust. From that basic formula, then other ingredients, such as oil, or sugar, could be added as variations. Gzuufy (discuss • contribs) 11:44, 27 October 2014 (UTC)

Straight dough

 * To both of the questions below, you will find guidance in the straight dough article. Punch down is briefly explained with references for further reading, and to the question of when it's best to add fat, there are different ideas, once again, depending upon the usage. Broadly speaking, you can first mix the oil with the water, and then add flour, but that will result in a different crumb structure than if the water and flour are combined, and mixed for a time before adding the oil followed by more mixing (or kneading).  There is no one right way, but each way has different results. Gzuufy (discuss • contribs) 18:24, 27 October 2014 (UTC)

Olive oil?
Why is there olve oil in th eingredients list, yet there is nothing in the instructions on when to add it, how to use it, etc?
 * Seconded --Irrevenant (talk) 11:36, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Punch dough down?
What does 'punch dough down' mean? That's an unfamiliar culinary term that should be described - either here or via a link --Irrevenant (talk) 11:36, 8 July 2009 (UTC)