Passionate About Pizza: Making Great Homemade Pizza by Curtis Ide Page B
Authors: Curtis Ide
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actively working again and the dough will start rising even more. If the dough disk is not too large or bubbly, just start shaping it as is. If it is very bubbly then prepare it for resting as you normally do and give it a few minutes rest before shaping.
You can help the dough come up to temperature using the same techniques you would use to make dough rise quickly. Placing the dough in a warming drawer, on a warm clothes dryer, or in the microwave on the lowest setting (for a minute at a time) can help it warm up more quickly. However, it also makes it more likely that you will warm the dough past room temperature, so watch carefully if you use these methods. Remember to keep the heat gentle so you do not kill the yeast!
Preparing Frozen Dough for Use
If the dough has been in the freezer, it may take several hours to reach room temperature. The same caveats about the length of time mentioned above still apply but even more so. Once again, because freezer temperatures vary and the amount of the dough may vary, the amount of time it takes to thaw will vary. You will need to ensure that you take the dough from the freezer several hours before you plan to use it. The same suggestions about leaving it too short or too long apply to frozen dough, as well. If the dough retains any hard-frozen parts, it is not yet usable. In this case, you will have to wait a bit longer because you just cannot shape frozen dough.
When dough freezes, the yeast’s activity actually stops. Let it come up to temperature then peel the dough away from the plastic wrap or plastic bag. The dough may have risen just a bit while coming up to room temperature. If you see large bubbles, knead the dough briefly, then make a dough ball, and let it rest. It will be ready for use when it is near room temperature and the dough disk has rested just a few minutes. You can let the dough come partway up to temperature then shape it into a disk and let it further come up to temperature as it rests, if you prefer.
One way to thaw dough is to place it in the refrigerator for a day or two. This will bring it to refrigerator temperature much as you do for a frozen chicken or turkey. Once the dough is no longer frozen, you can bring it to room temperature in an hour or two just before you plan to use it. After the frozen dough has been in the refrigerator for a day or so, it will behave just as if you had refrigerated the dough in the first place. At that point, you can treat the dough just as if it was stored in the refrigerator using the techniques described above.
Accelerating the Thawing Process
What if you just do not have time to let the dough come up to temperature? Well, if the dough is frozen you might have time to whip up a new batch of dough and let it rise. No, really. I typically do not freeze my dough for just this reason; it takes less time to make a batch of dough and let it rise than it does to thaw frozen dough. That is especially true if you use the quick-rise techniques when making dough.
In case of emergency, you can use gentle defrosting techniques that you use for thawing other foods. You can place the sealed bag of frozen dough in cool water; the water will more quickly transfer heat to the dough. You can place the dough in a microwave oven and heat it on the lowest setting or defrost cycle. Regardless of the technique you use to speed the thawing process, please be careful not to heat the dough too quickly or you will cook it. This will kill the yeast and cook the gluten; neither of these is conducive to great homemade pizza!
Shaping Pizza
Once the dough has rested, it is ready for you to shape it into the familiar form of a pizza. You can shape almost any type of dough using any of the techniques described here.
This is the point at which you will notice the consistency of the dough. A very dense dough will take more effort to roll, stretch, or press into shape. Less dense dough, sometimes
You can help the dough come up to temperature using the same techniques you would use to make dough rise quickly. Placing the dough in a warming drawer, on a warm clothes dryer, or in the microwave on the lowest setting (for a minute at a time) can help it warm up more quickly. However, it also makes it more likely that you will warm the dough past room temperature, so watch carefully if you use these methods. Remember to keep the heat gentle so you do not kill the yeast!
Preparing Frozen Dough for Use
If the dough has been in the freezer, it may take several hours to reach room temperature. The same caveats about the length of time mentioned above still apply but even more so. Once again, because freezer temperatures vary and the amount of the dough may vary, the amount of time it takes to thaw will vary. You will need to ensure that you take the dough from the freezer several hours before you plan to use it. The same suggestions about leaving it too short or too long apply to frozen dough, as well. If the dough retains any hard-frozen parts, it is not yet usable. In this case, you will have to wait a bit longer because you just cannot shape frozen dough.
When dough freezes, the yeast’s activity actually stops. Let it come up to temperature then peel the dough away from the plastic wrap or plastic bag. The dough may have risen just a bit while coming up to room temperature. If you see large bubbles, knead the dough briefly, then make a dough ball, and let it rest. It will be ready for use when it is near room temperature and the dough disk has rested just a few minutes. You can let the dough come partway up to temperature then shape it into a disk and let it further come up to temperature as it rests, if you prefer.
One way to thaw dough is to place it in the refrigerator for a day or two. This will bring it to refrigerator temperature much as you do for a frozen chicken or turkey. Once the dough is no longer frozen, you can bring it to room temperature in an hour or two just before you plan to use it. After the frozen dough has been in the refrigerator for a day or so, it will behave just as if you had refrigerated the dough in the first place. At that point, you can treat the dough just as if it was stored in the refrigerator using the techniques described above.
Accelerating the Thawing Process
What if you just do not have time to let the dough come up to temperature? Well, if the dough is frozen you might have time to whip up a new batch of dough and let it rise. No, really. I typically do not freeze my dough for just this reason; it takes less time to make a batch of dough and let it rise than it does to thaw frozen dough. That is especially true if you use the quick-rise techniques when making dough.
In case of emergency, you can use gentle defrosting techniques that you use for thawing other foods. You can place the sealed bag of frozen dough in cool water; the water will more quickly transfer heat to the dough. You can place the dough in a microwave oven and heat it on the lowest setting or defrost cycle. Regardless of the technique you use to speed the thawing process, please be careful not to heat the dough too quickly or you will cook it. This will kill the yeast and cook the gluten; neither of these is conducive to great homemade pizza!
Shaping Pizza
Once the dough has rested, it is ready for you to shape it into the familiar form of a pizza. You can shape almost any type of dough using any of the techniques described here.
This is the point at which you will notice the consistency of the dough. A very dense dough will take more effort to roll, stretch, or press into shape. Less dense dough, sometimes
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