(Makes Four 12 in pizzas)
Ingredients:
2 cups of light beer (any kind but should be a light color) **or water** warmed to room temperature
2 tbs malted milk powder
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs olive oil
1 ½ tsp pink Himalayan salt
1 tbs yeast
4 ½ cups bread or bakers flour
Cornmeal for dusting
Pizza Sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Pizza toppings
Directions:
Add all ingredients into a bread machine in the order listed. Turn on the machine to the dough cycle. **note that this is a fairly large recipe and you should have a machine that can handle a 3lb loaf. If you have a smaller one, simply half the recipe.
When dough cycle is complete, Preheat oven to 425F
Fold the dough onto a floured surface and cut into 4 or 5 equal pieces (depending on size of pizza you want). Shape into a ball and then Roll out into a circle in the desired thickness (this dough is excellent for a thinner crust). Spread cornmeal onto a heated pizza pan or stone and place pizza dough on it. If you have a pan with holes, just spread some cornmeal on one side of the dough itself and make sure you put that side down on the pan. Add sauce, mozzarella cheese and any toppings, then place in the oven for 5-7 mins or until cooked through and cheese is melted and bubbling and starting to brown lightly.
Variations – While the alcohol cooks off as you bake the pizza, if you prefer not to use the beer, you can substitute water. Also, try brushing the crust with garlic infused olive oil before adding toppings or garlic infused melted butter on the outside crust when you remove it from the oven for a nice additional kick of flavor. Want a stuffed crust? Quarter some string cheese sticks and roll them into the edge of the crust before adding your toppings and baking. If you don’t want to use right away, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and remove 1 hour prior to baking to let it come to room temperature.
The story:
I’m always looking for new ways of doing things. I happened to have half a can of beer left over after cooking some sausages, and while I would normally just drink the rest I honestly didn’t feel like it. I also happened to be making some experimental pizza dough that I was preparing to freeze for use later. I figured why not? Let me sub the water out for the beer. Wow, so much flavor! The dough came out wonderfully crispy on the outside and nicely chewy on the inside with a fabulous yeasty flavor. I have gone through so many different types of pizza dough in the last couple of years trying to find one that works well and tastes good without being too crispy, too floppy, too hard to stretch, etc. This dough is the end result of all those tries and while it takes a few strange ingredients (malted milk powder and Himalayan salt) it is a clear winner. I don’t think I need to experiment any more!