Tonight I made pizza using a dough recipe from Cook's Illustrated and it came out really good- more than really good, it came out just wonderful!
I recently bought myself a subscription to Cook's Illustrated and it cost a lot more than I have ever paid for a magazine but it was so worth it. The recipes in this magazine are all winners and I have learned so much through the three issues I have received so far. I am not getting paid to say this, no one at Cook's Illustrated even knows who I am- I just really love this magazine and I urge anyone who likes to cook and who loves to make really good food for their families to at least sign up for a free trial issue (you can write cancel on the bill and won't owe any money).
So, on to the pizza. I used this recipe (just the dough part). I know it seems a bit weird to make your dough three days before you are planning on having pizza and letting it rise in the refrigerator for all of that time but it really is worth it. It actually works out so well doing it this way because you make the dough earlier in the week when you have a little time and then when it is pizza night you pull the dough out of the fridge an hour before you want to make your pizza and you're set.
For a little back story on my pizza making past- my husband and I bought a pizza stone awhile ago and every time we tried making pizza it stuck to the stone and tasted blah. This is why we were so amazed with this recipe- the dough did not stick at all (even with minimal flour between it and the pizza stone) and the crust was crispy and tasted like Papa Gino's pizza crust.
The only thing I want to change the next time is using different cheese. We used Kraft mozzarella and it tasted so bland compared to the awesome crust. Maybe I can try real mozzarella cheese or a blend of different cheeses to get the taste I want. My goal is to make a pizza that far surpasses any take out pizza we can buy.
In conclusion to my rantings of a mad woman, this recipe for pizza dough is a keeper- I swear it is better than any other recipe out there!
Sorry that there is no picture but this pizza was scarfed down pretty quickly.
Sounds like a cookbook that would be a lot more interesting to look at than actually use.
ReplyDeleteThanks Erica! I have had the same problems that they mention in the article when I have made pizzas at home. I can't wait to try it out.
ReplyDeleteI made pizza this weekend and we did make your own so that everyone had exactly what they wanted. I used the frozen mozz cheese that I had on hand and added fresh parm and romano mixture (and a little oregano on top). It was great. It added that extra flavor you are looking for with much less cost than other choices out there :) I highly suggest trying it.
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