Every yeast is not created equally.
I can’t believe I just typed that. It’s so…snobbish.
But it’s true. Just like every flour company is different, ever sugar is different – yes, even yeast is different. I never really thought about it…I just assumed that yeast is yeast.
Wrong.
Breads and yeasted foods are tough for me. Well, they USED to be. I thought it must be my chilly house that kept dough from rising. Or, perhaps I over-kneaded. Under-kneaded. Too wet. Too dry.
Wrong.
It was my yeast.
After introducing myself to Red Star Yeast – not a single bread or dough fail. Seriously. How does that happen? Honestly – don’t tell me. Doesn’t matter. As long as I get success, I am happy!
Red Star asked me to take this newfound success and photograph a couple of their recipes for them from their website (which rocks, by the way) – so, I chose this basic pizza dough. It’s fantastic, comes together easily, and has a great flavor. Give it a shot!
Red Star Basic Pizza Dough
1 Cup Water
2 Tbsps Olive oil
3 cups Bread Flour
1 tsp Salt
2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
Combine dry mixture and liquid ingredients in mixing bowl of Stand Mixer with paddle or beaters for 4 minutes on medium speed. Gradually add remaining flour and knead with dough hook(s) 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Let dough rest 15 minutes. Divide into 2 parts. Press each half into a generously greased 12-inch round pizza pan sprinkled with cornmeal. Prebake for 10-12 minutes in pre-heated 400°F oven until edges of crust begin to turn light golden brown. Add desired toppings and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Need other mixing methods? Like, with a hand mixer? Using a Food Processor? Using a bread machine? It’s a quick click away – you can find those methods here!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
This recipe could not be MORE confusing. Why not give us the yeast amount in packet form? 2 1/4 tsp? Since I can only find the packets in the grocery store and each packet is 1/4oz, what do I use and how much? And combine all wet and dry ingredients is the instructions? Seriously? Most recipes call for yeast to sit in warm water, are we bypassing that or are you saying combine ingredients based on the assumption that we’ve already done that?