Hey Brenda! King Arthur question

[Mik]

Oh yeah, and a little fennel pollen after the bake too.

[Mik]

First piece. Pretty good.

[jon-nyc]

Damn that looks good.

[xenon]

Very. Good size as well. I always have a tough time stretching the dough out and keeping it thin.

[Mik]

well, this one was bought re-tossed and I cut it it into quarters to fit because I did not want to mess with re-stretching it. It cooked about 5.5 minutes and was a bit overdone. This one I'm trying 4 minutes.

[brenda]

@Optimistic
Yes to the thermometer, too. Doesn't have to be expensive. I like my water to be about 108 to 110F, but anywhere from 108 to 112 is fine. I prefer to have it a little lower than 110, just because it seems like a little longer rise means I'm not rushing to get everything ready for shaping, etc. I tend to make large batches, so the prep for the step of shaping and putting the loaves on trays or in pans can take a little time. Plus, I'm usually multi-tasking, and I may need to finish up the thing that's my in-between project. I've heard that a slightly slower rise develops a nicer crumb, too, instead of the giant blowout bubbles. LOL I don't know that it matters for that reason. Mostly, I just like to have time for a little second project, even if it's just prepping for dinner.

[Mik]

I must preface this with I have never had much luck at pizza especially since it wasn't one of my favorite foods. Until I found real, chewy crust Neapolitan pizzas.

Here's the next one, with a garlic olive oil and Italian seasoning base. It looks better. Turned it down to 500 and less time. The key is putting it on a hot surface down low in the oven.

[brenda]

@mark Yes, swapping some whole wheat into the recipes is yummy!

I really like the bread flour for certain recipes. Not all of them need it. Usually, the recipe will say if it's the preferred type to use. If the recipe recommends bread flour, it's usually for the extra protein, which gives the bread more body.

[brenda]

@Aqua-Letifer LOL, Aqua!

[brenda]

@Mik I add both whole and ground fennel to my homemade sauce. LOVE IT!!! Lots of other spices in the sauce, too, but the fennel puts it over the top and makes it extra good.

If we're having some grass-fed ground pork on the pizza, I sometimes sprinkle a little more ground fennel on it. Pork and fennel are a match made in heaven.

[brenda]

@Mik Darn good pizza there, Mik!

[Mik]

Thanks, Brenda. Best I have done to date. The second one better than the first. This was made with local pasture raised pork sausage, but I'm going to talk to the guy about making me some with half the salt and twice the fennel.

[brenda]

@Mik
We get our ground pork with no seasoning at all. That way we can do anything we want with it. Yes to the fennel!

[Mik]

I have several pounds in the freezer, so I suppose I could do what I want there too.

[Jolly]

Two points:

1. Seasoning is more even when ground with the meat.
2. I would never trust my sausage seasoning to anybody but me. The classic approach is to season, grind a half pound or so, cook a small party and taste. Preferably with a piece of bread or cracker and a little water to recalculate the palate. Remember, you can always add, but you can't take away

[brenda]

We're just a tad fussy about the seasoning of our pork for different purposes. It's really difficult to get things just the way you want them seasoned from a meat locker or butcher. Their tastes are not ours. We just do our own to make it suit the purpose, be it for breakfast sausage or pizza or some other use. Hubby likes to try different flavors, too.

[brenda]

@Jolly True and true, Jolly!

[Optimistic]

@Mik Ooh, I love those burnt bubbles!

[Mik]

A trademark of Dewey's crust.

The crust that is my ideal is Pizzeria Locale, a Denver outfit that opened here for a couple years, but closed. Best damn pizza crust ever, and excellent toppings - ham and corn, etc. Now that they have pulled out I need to contact them and see I if Can persuade them to share.

[brenda]

@Mik and share again! Here!