I stretch it out by hand to a "normal" thickness and then use a marble rolling pin to roll it out really thin, like piecrust thin or even thinner. We then precook whether on the grill (way high, he uses wood and gets it up there) or in the oven at 475-500 until the dough is just cooked enough to be more or less stable and then top and finish off. We always get a nice crispy crust that way. Got the idea from when Craig was in Antibe, France, and had pizza with the thinnest, crispiest crust he's ever had. We talked about it and decided they must use a sheeter since it was so uniformly thin and crisp.
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I stretch it out by hand to a "normal" thickness and then use a marble rolling pin to roll it out really thin, like piecrust thin or even thinner. We then precook whether on the grill (way high, he uses wood and gets it up there) or in the oven at 475-500 until the dough is just cooked enough to be more or less stable and then top and finish off. We always get a nice crispy crust that way. Got the idea from when Craig was in Antibe, France, and had pizza with the thinnest, crispiest crust he's ever had. We talked about it and decided they must use a sheeter since it was so uniformly thin and crisp.
OP
OP
Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
Oddly enough, today I watched a repeat on ATK regarding thin crust. It seems the secret is to work with very cold dough. It prevents the dough from rising and from bouncing back when trying to stretch it. Made sense to me.
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Thanks for the tips, Medtran, especially pre-cooking it a little. I hadn't come across that one before.
My problem is gluten related. I can't seem to find that resting time and method when the dough will stretch and stay put without shrinking back.
My problem is gluten related. I can't seem to find that resting time and method when the dough will stretch and stay put without shrinking back.
Thanks PF. I've seen their sauces in the store but never purchased them. It's on my list for next shopping trip !
vitauta
Executive Chef
cws, you give yourself way too little credit, the rest of us far too much. i disagree with your statement that 'being organized is not difficult'. except for brief, temporary spurts, being organized has been an impossible goal for me. i speak from experience--a lifetime inability to develop an organized way of getting things done.
I agree freezers are cheap, but I have limited space. When I was seriously thinking of finding a small one that I could fit here, I decided that I was being silly since I live alone and only cook for myself.
That's when I decided that I'd have to be more organized about keeping my food shopping and preparation planned to fit the space I've got.
It's aggravating sometimes that I want to cook something new and there won't be enough room in my freezer to store left overs, but I make myself use food from the freezer for a few days to make room, and write down my new recipe idea so I can try it later.
That's when I decided that I'd have to be more organized about keeping my food shopping and preparation planned to fit the space I've got.
It's aggravating sometimes that I want to cook something new and there won't be enough room in my freezer to store left overs, but I make myself use food from the freezer for a few days to make room, and write down my new recipe idea so I can try it later.
RPCookin
Executive Chef
Amen! Some people simply have organized minds, but I'm not one of those people. I can arrange, and organize something to death, but after a week or so, it's usually back to the mess I started with. For me, mise en place is essential, especially when I'm baking. When I make bread, I start by proofing the yeast in warm water with a little bit of sugar, then while that's happening, I get everything else measured and ready to go. Even doing this, I have still been known to forget something, usually some finishing touch like a sprinkle of Parmesan or herbs that isn't applied until after the last rise.
Most people can train themselves to be organized, but it takes constant effort and attention. For others it's just the natural way of doing things.
Oldvine
Sous Chef
I didn't see any anger in the first comment in re: the instant roux. Just a straight forward comment about yet another "huh?" product.
I agree, I thrive on Organized Chaos! Being organized is against my natural thinking process. I'm a ditherer, a nervous nelly and spastic to boot!
Dawgluver
Chef Extraordinaire
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- Apr 12, 2011
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- 25,033
I agree, I thrive on Organized Chaos! Being organized is against my natural thinking process. I'm a ditherer, a nervous nelly and spastic to boot!
I like to think of it as being Creative. My Disorganized Chaos is very Creative, I keep telling myself.
vitauta
Executive Chef
totally, oldvine! puffin doesn't mince words, calls it the way he sees it--i love that about him, without the need to agree with all of his points...
Kayelle
Chef Extraordinaire
I'm another one lacking in organization skills but I think it's a talent, not something you can acquire. Everyone can sing, but not everyone does it well even with practice. Just ask my husband.
Kathleen
Cupcake
I'd love a freezer, but I do wonder whether items will get away from me. I'm a clumper and am not so great with inventory. 
You would be surprised what people have found in the back of some pantry shelves.
You would be surprised what people have found in the back of some pantry shelves.
CWS4322
Chef Extraordinaire
Well, there are areas of my life that are not organized <g>. I am organized in the kitchen. I think my brain was trained a certain way because of all the languages I studied. I went from German to French to Latin to Spanish class or Italian class. I had to turn off German and turn on French. I never mixed up words or grammar. I have a compartmentalized brain. I label my cupboards so I know at a glance what is in them (I love my label maker - and it doesn't destroy the finish). Also, after living in the house for almost 20 years, I reorganized the kitchen and had to break the habit of looking for things in certain cupboards because I no longer keep a lot of the things in the same places that I used to keep them. And, I have an inventory written on the front of the freezers...otherwise, I wouldn't know what was in them. I do sometimes go to get something and pull out something else because it is closer to the top. And, I do know what people keep at the back of their pantries...I have to clean my parents' pantry (and their freezers) every time I go there. I am amazed at some of the stuff I find...especially since my mother no longer cooks and my father opens boxes/jars/cans to make everything.
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OP
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Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
I have a standard freezer at the top fridge and a stand alone cabinet for other foods. It is the freezer I have a problem with. Can't seem to remember to label meats when I break them down and rewrap them. Because my dry goods cabinet is only two items deep, I can always see what I have and need to replace. I try to have two of everything in there. When I use one, I add it to the grocery list for the coming month. I keep a grocery list on the computer and open it at least two or three times a week to add to. I try to shop the sales for meats for the freezer. And I do break them down to individual servings. Two per meal in one packet. I bought this time a very large chuck roast with a minimal of bone. Cut the bone out and ground up the rest for hamburg. The trimmings and bone went into the freezer for stock. Of course I forgot to label it. Had to pull it out and do that.
I also have a life long supply of Post It Notes. You will find them all over the place with items of food written on them. Every so often I will gather them up and bring the over to the computer.
If organized chaos is a system, I guess I am organized.
I also have a life long supply of Post It Notes. You will find them all over the place with items of food written on them. Every so often I will gather them up and bring the over to the computer.
If organized chaos is a system, I guess I am organized.
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
I'd love a freezer, but I do wonder whether items will get away from me. I'm a clumper and am not so great with inventory.
You would be surprised what people have found in the back of some pantry shelves.
when i was in the hospital this past fall, my wife took it upon herself to clean out my freezer (again, we have 2 kitchens in our tiny 2 family house, of which we live throughout. i get the downstairs kitchen. sort of like downton abbey, lol. just call me bucky patmore)
i was heartbroken at first to see all of those beautiful lamb and beef bones, chicken carcasses and parts, and containers of leftovers like soups and sauces, and freezer bags full of tomatoes and peppers from previous years' gardens had gone.
but then it occurred to me that the key was in that last sentence, previous years. she said that everything was freezer burned, so she chucked it. i tried to argue that an empty freezer uses more energy, but to no avail.
i guess it's for the best. i probably would have done the same, bit by bit over time. now i get to refill an empty freezer and this time learn to try to stay organized.
and i'm learning to pick my battles.
CWS4322
Chef Extraordinaire
In 2008, I cleaned my parents' pantry and freezers for the first time since they had moved (about 13 years). I threw out so much stuff from the freezer--freezer burned, way out of date (1996!). It broke my heart to haul so much frozen stuff to the dump (and canned goods). I tried to institute a system of keeping track of what is put in the freezers and pantry (this cupboard is about 3 ft deep) to no avail. Now when I go there, I put the year on every can. I know there are codes on the cans, but this is an easier way for them to realize that one can of soup has been there longer than any new stuff they've added. The problem is my dad buys stuff when it is on special so he has stockpiles of what he considers staples--mandarin oranges (27 cans), cream of mushroom soup (17 cans), I think you get the picture. A freezer is a wonderful thing to have. I tend to eat out of the freezer during the winter months so that I'll have room for the stuff from the garden come August. One thing that I find helpful as the freezer empties is to put 2l-4l containers with water (preferably containers with lids) to take up the empty space as I'm emptying the freezer. This helps reduce the energy used to keep the other stuff frozen. I also move stuff out of a smaller freezer into a larger freezer so I can unplug it when it is empty. I keep the stuff I use more often in the freezer compartment of the fridge (ginger, frozen mushrooms, peppers, lemon/lime juice, etc.) and the bigger stuff in the larger freezers.when i was in the hospital this past fall, my wife took it upon herself to clean out my freezer (again, we have 2 kitchens in our tiny 2 family house, of which we live throughout. i get the downstairs kitchen. sort of like downton abbey, lol. just call me bucky patmore)
i was heartbroken at first to see all of those beautiful lamb and beef bones, chicken carcasses and parts, and containers of leftovers like soups and sauces, and freezer bags full of tomatoes and peppers from previous years' gardens had gone.
but then it occurred to me that the key was in that last sentence, previous years. she said that everything was freezer burned, so she chucked it. i tried to argue that an empty freezer uses more energy, but to no avail.
i guess it's for the best. i probably would have done the same, bit by bit over time. now i get to refill an empty freezer and this time learn to try to stay organized.
and i'm learning to pick my battles.
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
thanks for the tip about the 2 and 4l containers of water, cws. when i need the freezer space, i'll just move one down to the fridge which will help keep that a bit cooler as it melts. great idea.
I have a standard freezer at the top fridge and a stand alone cabinet for other foods. It is the freezer I have a problem with. Can't seem to remember to label meats when I break them down and rewrap them. Because my dry goods cabinet is only two items deep, I can always see what I have and need to replace. I try to have two of everything in there. When I use one, I add it to the grocery list for the coming month. I keep a grocery list on the computer and open it at least two or three times a week to add to. I try to shop the sales for meats for the freezer. And I do break them down to individual servings. Two per meal in one packet. I bought this time a very large chuck roast with a minimal of bone. Cut the bone out and ground up the rest for hamburg. The trimmings and bone went into the freezer for stock. Of course I forgot to label it. Had to pull it out and do that.
I also have a life long supply of Post It Notes. You will find them all over the place with items of food written on them. Every so often I will gather them up and bring the over to the computer.
If organized chaos is a system, I guess I am organized.
I think that's organized. It eventually gets on the grocery list, and that's the aim.
