Dough'nt Be Afraid

DOUGH'NT BE AFRAID ~ SIMPLY PERFECT PIZZA DOUGH

I remember the first time I made pizza dough - what a disaster!  I don't know if it was my fear of trying something new, a really bad recipe, or a combination of both.  The sweat dripped off my forehead as I fought with the dough, not willing to give up.  After several hours of proofing, mixing the dough, waiting for it to rise, punching it down and waiting for it to rise again, I was so spent that the idea of making a pizza was ludicrous.  Not to be done in by a ball of pizza dough, I studied the recipe, this time having all my ingredients assembled before I began the process.  This helped, but the dough was still not to my liking.  Several years have passed since my clumsy first attempts at making homemade pizza dough; each time tweaking my recipe just a bit until finally - the perfect, yeasty, silky textured ball of dough sat on my wooden board.  Ah, victory is sweet!
I recently watched a re-run of an old episode of Julia Child, entitled Pizza Variations.  I actually had to laugh out loud as I watched her mix the dough in an electric mixer, flour shooting out over the edges of the bowl and onto the counter as she talked.  It only got funnier as she placed the dough on her counter, floured it and began to knead it.  She directed viewers on how to knead the dough saying 'lift it up and slap it - you've got to be rough with the dough."  She did just that as she slapped the dough onto the counter time and again from shoulder height, flour flying everywhere - what a great show!  I am actually too much of a neat freak to make that kind of a mess while making pizza.  Julia was in a class of her own, though.  This was evidenced when she opened the hot oven, licked one of her fingers and touched it to the quarry tile, to make sure it was sufficiently heated.  I prefer saving my fingers and using a kitchen timer - I'm definitely no Julia Child. 
Food processors simplify dough making, especially if you are lucky enough to own one with a dough blade attachment.  It not only mixes your dough, but kneads it for you.  All you have to do is shape it into a nice ball, place it into an oiled bowl, turn it over so the oiled side is up, cover and set in a warm place for about one hour.  That's when I appreciate living in Arizona, I have no difficulty finding a warm place in which to proof my dough.   

Tips on handling prepared dough:  Until ready to use, keep dough covered to prevent it from drying out.  Allow your dough to rest at least ten minutes before shaping it.  Bring the dough to to room temperature if it has been refrigerated; this takes between one half and one hour.  You can begin the stretching process by rolling the ball of dough out slightly with a floured rolling pin then gently coax it into shape using your fingers.  This allows air pockets to remain in your dough so gas can expand during baking,  producing blisters and variations in texture that make each pizza unique.  Detailed instructions for stretching and shaping pizza dough are included in Pizza Memoirs.  Now that you know how simple it is to make pizza dough, don't you want to give it a try? 

Dough'nt be afraid ~ go for it!