Crusty French Frog Bread

We couldn't find a really good pizza place here in Cottonwood, so as usual I made our own. This recipe is not part of the Fr. Cooky archives and thus it does not include the usual entertaining story along with the recipe. It is however, regularly made by Fr. Frog and shared with his good friends when they break bread together. It's secret is the semolina flour which gives the crust that great pizza parlor flavor instead of tasting like bread.

For best results you need a baking stone. (If you don't have one, you're either not a baker or you've been hiding in the back woods too long.) These are available from King Arthur Flour at http://www.kingarthurflour.com .

Note aluminum foil blocking the open areas on the sides of the baking stone. Depending on your oven this may help
with the baking process as the crust will brown quicker than the topping thus avoiding the "burnt topping syndrome.
Try it with and without the foils and see what works best for you.

I have two different recipes that you can try. Both of these recipes utilize a baking stone and a 500 deg (yes, five hundred degrees!) oven. Note that it may take 20-30 minutes to get there depending on your oven, with a baking stone in place and you should let it continue to heat for 15 or so minutes after the temperature is reached to insure the stone is hot..

Mix the dry ingredient (except the "dusting" cornmeal) and add the olive oil and 1 cup or so of the warm water. Knead, by whatever means you like (I use a Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook), and add additional water as necessary, to get a smooth soft dough, and then place the ball in a warm and greased bowl. Then turn the dough ball over so the greased side is up, cover with a towel and allow to rise until doubled in a warm (80 - 85 degree) place--about 45 minutes.

Punch down and cut ball into two pieces and form into desired shape on a lightly floured surface. I like thin crust but do what you like. You may need to let the dough rest a couple of times as you form your pizza to keep it from pulling back. Transfer to a cornmeal dusted baking sheet (single thickness--not one of those "air" sheets) and top as desired. Slide the baking sheet onto the stone and bake for about 2-3 minutes (this makes it easier to handle the pizza). Then using a pel or baking sheet slide the pizza directly onto the stone and continue baking until the bottom of the crust is dark golden brown. Remove from oven, slice, and eat. See note below on pizza making hints.

True Italian Napoletana Crust (Meets the Associazione delle Vera Pizza Napoletan / DOC standards if made without the oil)

This is a bit more work but is worth it if you like a crispy crust. The 3 cup of flour recipe makes 2 - 12 x 14" thin crust pizzas or 2 - 14+ inch round pies. This is the recipe we make all the time now.

INGREDIENT	RECIPE SIZE
FLOUR*	2 cup	3 cup	4 cup	5 cup
KOSHER SALT	1⅓ tsp	2 tsp scant	2⅝ tsp	3¼ tsp
SEMOLINA	⅛ cup	⅛ rounded cup	¼ cup	¼ rounded cup
YEAST	⅜ rounded tsp	½ rounded tsp	¾ rounded tsp	1 tsp
WATER	6 oz	9.5 oz	13 oz	16 oz
OPTIONAL OLIVE OIL	1 tsp	2 tsp	1 TBS	1 TBS + 1 tsp

* King Arthur offers an "Italian style flour" that in my opinion is the absolute best flour for pizza dough. Their regular unbleached flour works fine too.

To make a NY style crust replace the "optional oil" in the above chart with the ingredients below and don't roll quite as thin.

SUGAR or HONEY	1¾ tsp + ⅛ tsp	2¾ tsp scant	3 ½ tsp + ⅛ tsp	1½ TBS
OLIVE OIL	1 TB + ½ tsp	5½ tsp	2½ TBS scant	3 TBS

Mix all dry ingredients well, add water, and mix on low speed (1) with a dough hook for about 4 minutes until a coarse ball is formed. Let rest for 5 minutes. Mix at medium low (2) for an additional 5 minutes or longer until the dough clears the side of the bowl and holds its shape. If the dough is too soft to hold its shape mix in a little more flour in very small amounts or if too stiff or dry add a little more water a tablespoon at a time. Test the dough by pinching off a small piece and gently flattening and stretching it until it is paper thin and translucent. If it tears while doing this test continue kneading the dough for a couple of minutes longer.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and dust the top of the ball with a little flour and then fold in the 4 corners and form a ball. Place the ball in a bowl coated with olive oil, turn the dough to coat it, and then cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down, reshape into a ball as above, return to the bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours or more.

About 2 hours before you are ready to make your pizza remove the dough from the refrigerator. Gently, trying to deflate as little as possible, transfer the dough to a floured surface and divide into the number of pieces you want. Shape the pieces into 2 balls and lightly coat with olive oil with your hands or a brush. Place dough balls on a greased baking sheet or on a parchment covered baking sheet. Lightly cover the dough balls with plastic wrap and allow to sit for about 2 hours or so. Then shape your pizza, add your toppings, and bake on a baking stone in a preheated 500 degree over until desired brownness.

You can shorten the refrigeration and warming cycles but the dough tastes better if the recipe is followed. I make the dough in the morning, after breakfast, if I know we're having pizza for dinner.

We like THINLY sliced red & green sweet peppers and onions, or spinach, black olives, and mushrooms, or simply plain with lots of good sauce and cheese. Use your favorites and don't be skimpy! Serve with your favorite red wine or beer, and good friends.

A note about flour. If you use "bread" flour or other high gluten flour instead of "all purpose flour" you will have to add 1 tsp olive or vegetable oil per cup of flour to get things to work right.

While you can use your favorite commercial (choke, gasp!) sauce, if you click here you'll find two really great and easy to make homemade pizza sauce recipes.

1) When you start to shape your pizza from the balls of dough do so on a heavily floured surface and dust the top of the ball with flour to. The flour keeps the dough from sticking to your surface and allows you to rotate the dough as you shape it so it is easier to get a circle. Flop the circle of dough over several times as you shape it and keep the surface well floured. Makes a big difference in the ease of making the pizza.

2) Once the dough is shaped into a circle or rectangle of the desired thickness place it on a sheet of baking parchment and then top as desired. Using your pel or a baking sheet pick up the pizza and the parchment and slide them both onto your baking stone and bake for 1 to 2 minutes to set the dough. Then use your pel or the baking sheet to lift the pizza, pull the parchment out from under it and finish baking the pizza directly on the stone. Using the parchment paper prevents the dough from sticking to your pel or baking sheet. You can reuse the paper for the next pizza in the batch.

3) Use garlic flavored PAM to grease your rising bowl and the dough balls for some extra flavor.

4) Try adding the cheese after you add the veggies or other toppings to the sauced pizza. It seems to seal in the juices and flavors. Most folks usually put the topping on top of the cheese.

Fr. Frog's Gourmet Pizza