ISO help with pizza dough

[emilyjoy1]

i am making pizza dough and was trying a new recipe. it called for
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon yeast.
1 1/4 cup warm water.
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

the dough does not seem to be rising. do you think it's the recipe or did i do something wrong? how can i fix it to make the dough rise correctly...i am hungry!!!!

can you also include any good pizza dough recipes you know for me to try in the future?

 

[expatgirl]

your yeast may not be good.........happens to all experienced bakers too.......I really don't give mine a chance to rise much cause I split it up and put it in the refrigerator overnight or freeze it......then I pull out what I need and roll it out .........it rises quite a bit while it's baking

Go ahead and take the risk of putting it in the oven and see what happens.....that's what I'd do.......others may weigh in with other suggestions too--------if it's any consolation mine doesn't rise that much either but it sure does in the oven........don't worry, worse things can happen to even good cooks.........I'll round up some of my recipes for you, too

 

[LaurenG]

I think the yeast might be the problem... sometimes the warm water isn't enough to wake up the yeast, you can try to add a tiny dash of sugar to the warm water so the yeast has something to nibble on.

 

[expatgirl]

I went back to my files and one of the best recipes I've gotten is from Allrecipes and I have never had a problem with it........but be sure you have yeast that is not expired......to be doubly sure you can make a yeast sponge first......add yeast to 1/4 cup water and some sugar then gently stir in your yeast.....let set for 15 minutes and if it's good if should rise and become frothy.....that's how you know it's viable and you can then add it to the rest of your ingredients minus the 1/4 water.....it's fun to watch as the yeast goes crazy

 

[LadyCook61]

could be the water was too hot or too cold or as the others have said , maybe the yeast is old.

 

[miniman]

Where is it rising. It needs to be in a warm area to grow at the best rate. I usuall have mine on top of the cooker with the ovens on.

 

[GHPoe]

I bet your yeast is bad as well. Also try using different types of flours. i.e. 1 1/2 cup unbleached, 1 1/2 semolina. Not until I tried this, did I even come close to mimicking something that I would expect from a pizzeria.

 

[divascancook]

yep, sounds like the yeast to me

 

[Dumpandstir]

Yes sounds like a yeast problem. I agree that it could have been either too hot or too cold. If you get the water from the tap then take it just as the water starts to get warm. That should be about the right temp, if its just a bit on the hot side some of the yeast might die but not enough to matter much.

Your recipe is almost the exact one I use. I would also increase the sugar just a bit. I always get the yeast started first. I put the water into the mixer and add sugar yeast and salt. I wait till it is creamy then I add the flour. I also use bread flour.

You can get crazy and experiment with spices and such, but your basic recipe looks sound to me.

 

[toni1948]

Emily, I read somewhere recently that if your local water has a lot of chlorine in it, it can actually kill off the yeast cells. My local water smells like swimming pool water. I buy bottled water just for baking purposes for that reason alone.

You could have a yeast problem, but you could have a water problem, too.

 

[jabbur]

Emily, I read somewhere recently that if your local water has a lot of chlorine in it, it can actually kill off the yeast cells. My local water smells like swimming pool water. I buy bottled water just for baking purposes for that reason alone.

You could have a yeast problem, but you could have a water problem, too.

My sister has a well that provides her water and she was always having problems getting yeast to rise. She tried everything! Finally I suggested she try bottled water. Yep that did the trick! Her water tastes fine and has been tested is potable but there must be something there that kills yeast. When she's making any yeast bread now she makes sure to pick up a gallon of water at the store.

 

[Babs7]

Pizza Crust Help

Yeast is a 'touchy beast'.... I keep mine in a glass jar in the freezer for years!! Just test your yeast by putting it in a small amount of WARM water ( hot water will kill it!! ) and put a little bit of sugar in with it to see if it is active. Also, I think only 1 tsp. isn't enough yeast for that amount of flour ~ I would use at least 1 T. Hope this helps!!

An easy recipe for pizza dough is: 2T. shortening (Crisco)
1 T. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup boiling water
1 pkg. yeast
1/4 c. LUKE WARM water
2 c. flour

Put shortening, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add boiling water and dissolve shortening. LET COOL. Using your little finger (pinky test) place your finger in the water and count to 10! IF you can keep your finger in the entire time, then you are good to continue.. IF it is TOO HOT, let it cool a little longer! When cool, add the yeast mixture. In a measuring cup, sprinkly the yeast over the look warm water and let it stand to soften. Stir soften yeast to dissolve into water. Add to first mixture. Add 1 cup of flour and beat until smooth. Stir in 1 more cup of flour and mix til flour disappears. Knead with fingertips for 5-7 min. until dough is no longer sticky. Put dough in greased bowl - turn over once. Cover tightly and let it raise at least until it's double in size. Punch down and knead to stretch to fit pizza pan. Put your desired toppings on and Bake at 425*F. for 25-30 min. Enjoy!!