The Dough Experiment

In my culinary explorations, I've been timid with making doughs.  My mom is a fantastic cook and her dinner rolls are coveted at any sort of neighborhood get together or family dinner.  Raspberry cinnamon rules barely have time to cool in our house-fluffy, doughy, and deliciously spice ridden swirls culminate to the perfect rolled center. However, after botching the infamous roll recipe the first time I tried, I have always been hesitant. The science of it is intimidating.  Density, taste and texture depends on precise measurements, kneading time, yeast performance, even weather. Yet, being between jobs and only having on 2-day-week class to occupy my time, I thought it was high time to dive into the realm of yeast, rising, punching, rolling, and baking.  Explorations started with a flatbread, but results were more cracker like than pillowy.  Next, I toyed around with a solid pizza dough recipe. I cook dinner for a group of friends on Fridays, and thought that several differently topped pies would be an excellent Friday supper.   Mostly, I was just looking for some justification for my dough trials and my roommates are good sports.

Fresh Mozzarella and Basil-Friend Voted Favorite

Four pies were delightfully consumed that Friday and the pizzas got progressively better.  The initial pie was a bit too doughy and pale, but the balsamic reduced caramelized onions paired well with rosemary and ricotta.  The next was a rosemary-red potato pie, which still needed  a bit more cooking time.  I do suppose impatience can also be a factor in the perfection of your pizza dough-I was a tad eager to pull them out of the oven.  Pie #3 was an enormous hit-lightly spooned tomato sauce with lots of fresh mozzarella, then topped with basil after being pulled out of the scorching oven. The cornmeal coating on the pizza pan gave good texture, as did a slightly longer baking time.  But the dough was still chewy after that crunch yielded.  Success demanding a repeat, and pizza #4 was an exact replica. I've since played around with pita bread, missing that Middle Eastern staple here in the States.  The dough didn't quite puff into the characteristic pocket, but no where near inhibited it being toasted and topped with honey, cinnamon sugar, raspberry preserves, peanut butter, butter or nutella.  The latest batch didn't even make it past a breakfast item. I think I'll tackle the beautiful bagel next after the success of the Friday pizza night.  For those pies were great- and photographed beautifully.