Another semolina crust pizza

I like homemade pizzas. I try making the semolina crust pizza again. Last time my hubby mentioned that there is something in the crust that tastes strange to him. I thought it's because of the very long fermentation. This time I try it with exactly the same ingredients, but with a more controlled fermentation process. However, he still tastes that same flavor in the crust. So it has to be either the semolina flour or the oat bran. We'll find out next time.

Recipe: Semolina pizza (for 2)

Ingredients:

Crust

- 1/4 cup KAF all-purpose flour

- 3/8 cup fine semolina flour

- 1/8 cup oat bran

- 1/4 tp kosher salt

- 1/2 tp active dry yeast

- 1/4 to 1/2 cup warm water

Toppings

- 1/2 to 1 cup tomato sauce

- 1" salami, sliced and browned to drain off excess fat

- 1 fresh italian sausage, removed of casing and browned

- 1 tp mini pepperoni, browned and drained off fat

- 8-10 slices turkey pepperoni

- 2 slices of pineapple

- ample fat-free mozzarella cheese, shredded

Procedure:

1. Mix flours, bran and salt in a bowl. Proof yeast in 1 TB water. Add to the mixture and knead to form a dough. Add water incrementally while kneading the dough. Aim for a somewhat moist dough. 

2. Allow dough to ferment in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

3. Roll dough out on a greased wax paper. Dust a pan with corn flour. Flip dough over carefully. Allow to proof until puffy.

4. Spread tomato sauce and add toppings just before baking.

5. Bake at 500F on lowest rack in the oven, 4 minutes. Add shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake for another 2 minutes until cheese has melted.

Results:

12:01pm, ingredients (except oil):

12:04pm, mixing:

12:13pm, initial dough formed:

12:20pm, texture of initial dough after kneading:

12:23pm, dough needing more hydration:

12:33pm, oil-free dough ready to rest in fridge:

4:57pm, dough chilled in fridge for 4 hours:

4:57pm, texture of dough after chilling:

6:00pm, dough warmed up on counter top for 1 hour:

6:01pm, texture of dough after warming up:

6:01pm, oiling wax paper to stretch dough:

6:03pm, dough oiled and being stretched:

6:06pm, dough fully stretched and allowed to rest while preparing pan:

6:09pm, pan dusted with corn flour (finer than cornmeal but not cornstarch):

6:10pm, dough flipped onto pan:

6:13pm, dough allowed to proof on pan:

7:11pm, dough proofed for 1 hour:

7:11pm, dough's puffiness after proofing:

7:14pm, tomato sauce spread on dough (perhaps too much sauce):

7:17pm, sausage, mini pepperoni, turkey pepperoni, salami and pineapple:

7:19pm, baking started at 500F, lowest rack:

7:23pm, pizza baked 4 minutes:

7:24pm, cheese sprinkled on top:

7:25pm, baking resumed at 500F:

7:27pm, pizza baked for 2 more minutes, cheese completely melted:

7:27pm, edge of pizza:

7:28pm, bottom of pizza very lightly cooked, soft and not at all crispy:

7:28pm, melted cheese:

7:31pm, cut edge of pizza:

7:30pm, very very soft crust:

7:32pm, a slice:

Observations:

1. The crust is not crispy at all. But then it only takes 2 minutes for the mozzarella to melt. So next time I may reduce the amount of sauce used, bake the pizza for 6 minutes first, then add cheese and bake for another 2 minutes.

2. The toppings of this pizza is moist. 

3. Because almost all the sausage meats used in this pizza have been browned and drained before baking, this pizza has relatively low fat content.

My hubby says that the ultimate test for a pizza is whether it can go with a guinness. Despite the little something in the crust that does not please his palate, this pizza still passes his guinness test.

Semolina crust pizza

I am not good at following recipes. At best, I take a recipe as a reference, and try to add or subtract things from it based on my imaginations. Here is a recipe taken from KAF all-purpose cook book, which again has subjected to my experimentation. I make this specially for my husband, who has been going through so much lately. He needs a moment of refreshment after a long day of hard work.

Recipe: Semolina crust pizza (make one 12" thin pizza)

Ingredients:
Crust
- 1/4 cup KAF all-purpose flour
- 3/8 cup fine semolina flour
- 1/8 cup oat bran
- 1/4 tp kosher salt
- 1/2 tp active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water
Toppings
- 1/2 to 1 cup tomato sauce
- 3 slices of cooked bacon
- 2-3 TB mini pepperoni
- 2 slices of pineapple
- ample fat-free mozzarella cheese, shredded

Procedure:
1. Mix flours, bran and salt in a bowl. Proof yeast. Add to the mixture and knead to form a dough.
2. Allow dough to sit for an hour.
3. Roll dough out on a greased wax paper. Dust a pan with corn flour. Flip dough over carefully. Allow to proof until puffy.
4. Spread tomato sauce and add toppings just before baking.
5. Bake at 450F or 500F on lowest rack in the oven, 4 minutes. Add shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake for another 4 minutes until cheese has melted.

Results:
2:12pm, proofed yeast and mixed dry ingredients:

4:31pm, dough rested 2 hours:

5:05pm, dough stretched out on greased wax paper:

5:08pm, dusted pan:

5:09pm, dough transferring to pan easily:

5:11pm, dough on pan, ready to proof covered with wax paper:

9:09pm, dough and toppings left on counter to room temperature:

10:00pm, dough with toppings, ready to bake:

10:11pm, pizza baked at 500F for a few minutes:

10:15pm, pizza topped with mozzarella:

10:19pm, pizza baked another 4 minutes, done:

10:22pm, bottom of crust when done:

10:23pm, pizza top:

10:31pm, a slice for someone important:

Observations:
1. Semolina flour gives a flavorful crust that is soft.
2. After fermenting for over 4 hours, the crust has developed some taste of alcohol!
3. The cheese hardens up when the pizza is cooled. I wonder if this is because I use fat-free mozzarella.

Originally, I prepared the dough to be ready for baking when my husband comes home in the early evening. As it turned out, he came back late at night. So the dough goes into the fridge during the extra waiting time, until about 1 hour before he comes back. When he steps into the house, the freshly baked pizza parades out from the oven to his table. He really enjoys it. Two-third of the whole pizza has disappeared before the pan comes back to the kitchen. However, this pizza does not taste as good the next day. My husband says that, when reheated the second day, it has some different taste that is not there on the first day. I wonder if that's from the over-long fermentation.

Atta crust pizza

Good things are meant to be shared. At the visit of my dear special friend, April, I decide to set before her a table of surprise. It's a homemade pizza. Normally, when people use white dough, they let the dough ferment overnight to get the flavor out of the flour. But I have tried atta flour and have found it very flavorful. So, given 2 hours, I make a thin pizza with nice crust.

Recipe: Atta crust pizza (for 2)

Ingredients:

dough

- 1 cup atta flour

- 1/4 tp coarse kosher salt

- 1/2 tp active dry yeast

- a little less than 1/2 cup water

- about 2 TB vegetable oil for coating

toppings

- about 1 cup or more of tomato sauce

- 2 slices of cooked bacon, torn to small pieces

- mini pepperoni

- pineapple pieces

- white onion thin slices

- ample shredded 2% mozzarella cheese

- corn flour to dust pan

Procedure:

1. Proof yeast in 2 TB water.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients of dough. Add proofed yeast. Then add water 2 TB at a time. Mix dough and give it a minute to hydrate after each addition of water.

3. When dough is formed, knead for a few minutes. Then coat dough with 1 tp oil and allow it to rest covered in a bowl until volume doubles.

4. Punch dough down. Adjust hydration level until the dough is soft and smooth.

5. Stretch dough out on a wax paper coated with 1-2 TB vegetable oil. Rub top of stretched dough with oil.

6. Dust a pizza pan with corn flour. Flip the dough onto the pan. Remove the wax paper.

7. Cover the top of the dough loosely with the same wax paper. Allow the dough to rise on the pizza pan until puffy.

8. Spread tomato sauce on dough. Then spread cooked meats and pineapple on top of the tomato sauce.

9. Put a rack at the lowest position, closest to the bottom heating element. Turn oven with bake setting to the highest (500F). Place the pizza pan on the lowest rack and allow to bake for about 4 minutes. Check every 2 minutes to make sure the crust is not fully cooked.

10. When the pizza is half cooked, take it out. Top with cheese. Return to oven. Bake for another 4 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Results:

10:18am, initial dough:

10:31am, dough allowed to rest for 15 minutes:

10:49am, dough stretched on oiled wax paper:

10:50am, pan dusted with corn flour:

10:51am, dough flipped onto pan:

10:56am, dough ready to proof on pan:

10:56am, dough covered with the same wax paper during the proofing time:

11:38am, dough proofed 40 minutes:

12:13pm, dough proofed 75 minutes:

12:26pm, dough with toppings added:

12:31pm, pizza baked 5 minutes at 450F, ready to top with cheese to be baked for another 5 minutes:

1:15pm, pizza done, cut out to be eaten up:

My friend enjoying it:

Observations:

1. This time I set the temperature to 450F. So, though the pizza is fully cooked, its crust is not crispy like cracker. The crust tastes more like thin bread. 

2. My friend gives me very favorable comments on the pizza. She said that when she eats pizza hut pizza, her stomach usually react to its high fat content. But she could enjoy this pizza without having any discomfort. It's a good sign that this pizza is on the healthy side.

3. The atta flour provides ample fiber without too strong a taste of wheat. It seems to make a good crust for pizza without the need for overnight fermentation.

It's such a joy!