Red Star Pizza Dough
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!
