Originally Posted by
gfunkdave
OK, so my inaugural pizza didn't turn out quite right. It tasted good...but I couldn't figure out how to do the nifty turn-and-stretch maneuver to get a nice round pie. So I made a rectangular one. So far so good. But apparently I hadn't floured the cutting board enough, so the dough stuck to it. And I didn't realize this until I had all the ingredients on it and was tipping it into the oven.
Long story short, I used a spatula to get the pizza off the cutting board, and wound up with a misshapen calzone thing.
BUT I did have enough dough for a second pie. I floured the cutting board (probably excessively) and got it all ready. I'll slide it in the oven tomorrow when I have had a chance to clean the pizza stone.
Well done for persevering - and let me assure you that the WHOLE point of home made pizza is for it to be irregular shape. This is to prove to the world that you made it. That pizza is nothing to be ashamed of! The bread mix looks good to me .....
I suggest that you prepare your final pizza base (prior to cooking) on a cutting board so your only moving the cutting board to the oven rather than a wobbly pizza on a spatula! Use lots of flour or if you have it semolina is better. Semolina, or very fine ground polenta or any flour made from corn or maize but not thickening cornflour. If you look closely semolina is what many pizzaria use for the final stretching as it adds crunch to the base. If you see what looks like a yellow tinged flour then they're using semolina.
Having kneaded and had a first rise of the pizza ball in a covered bowl then spread and pull your mix on the heavily floured board. Another trick which genuinely works. Pull the pizza out and stretch it as much as you can. Let it rest for a few minutes ... then stretch it further again. Repeat the process of pulling and covering and resting a few times. Each time you do this the stretchability will seem to be rejuvenated ie the allowing to recover and rest adds more to the ability to pull and stretch. It's something to do with gluten. Keep pulling and stretching and when it keeps springing back give it a rest for a few minutes then try pulling and stretching again. You want the base as thin as possible but preferably not as a result of using a rolling pin which kills the elongated air bubbles which is a requirement of good pizza.
When big and thin enough cover with oiled cling film for 30 to 40 minutes. It's important that the pizza should still be able to move around on your chopping board so it must be well floured. Ensure your tomato mix has been cooked down to a intensive flavour and apply the leanest of smear so the base doesn't get too wet. A simple canned tomato mix with sugar, salt a touch of tomato paste, garlic or garlic salt, and if you have a bottle - a small drop of ouzo adds an intense aniseed undertone which is as good as basil. The tomato mix must be a cold mix when you add it to the pizza base. Then whatever else goes on top .... but please ..... less is more ... but from the picture I think you understand that! The whole pizza can now be taken to your pre-heated base and slipped and coaxed onto it.
You may also want to keep a small basil plant by your window to help with your pizzas!
Finally ...... if you can bring yourself to ....... try and save some of your current dough to use as a sourdough starter for your next set of pizzas. Add some more liquid and perhaps a few grains of sugar and try and make it forment again ie leave it in a warm place. The aging of the dough is what adds the real flavour to pizza dough and is prized in pizza making. It's called a biga in Italy when used for Pizza or bread making and poolish in France when used for baguette making. It's the main secret for giving character and flavour to dough/bread.
edited to add: Salt kills yeast and an error made by many pizza makers is to add too much salt to the dough mixture.