"Ben" > wrote in message
ps.com...
> hi, i'm really not a cook, but in the last month i've been trying to
> work on pizza making at home... already it tastes so much better than
> any delivery i've had, but still want to improve it a bit.
>
> got a book that describes a neapolitan type crust recipe -- i tried to
> double the yeast amount, in order to make it rise some more, but it
> didn't help... in fact, what it did do is make it really hard to
> stretch the dough...
>
> can anyone offer tips to 1) how to make it rise more 2) what makes it
> so it's hard to stretch ? was it the added yeast ?
>
>
> here's the recipe i used:
>
> 1 tsp active dry yeast (i used 2, and it didn't make it rise more)
> 1 1/4 warm water (made sure to measure temp to 115 F & used bottled
> water)
> 1 cup cake flour
> 2 1/2 cups all-purpose non bleached flour
> 2 tsp sea salt

Way too much salt. 1 teaspoon only. Salt does inhibit yeast. Cake flour
is absolutely wrong for bread. It does not contain enough protein to give
you gluten which is the foundation of bread. I use bread flour only and as
high protein content as you can get. I don't see how you get by with that
little flour. I'd need at least 4, closer to 5. Are you kneading the dough
enough? You are trying to develop the gluten which is the structure of the
bread. Knead for about 10 minutes, keep adding flour. Rest if you get
tired. The dough should be very satiny and smooth and quite elastic when
done. You seem to be aiming for a thick, soft crust. You won't get that
with cake flour. You'll get cracker consistency instead - crumbly and dry.

> I tried various rising methods... (over the counter / put in
> refrigerator for 24 hrs, punching down serveral time) -- also when i
> take the dough ball out of the refrigerator I let it sit at room temp
> for 2 hours...
>

Your water is pretty hot. I don't even bother with proofing when I make
pizza dough. I just use ordinary filtered water at room temperature. I let
the yeast rest in the water just to hydrate then I make the dough and do an
overnight rise in the fridge. Fresh yeast makes all the difference. Check
the date stamp on your yeast packages.

Let the dough rest before you roll it out. It will be springy but it should
give up and stretch out. Don't work it too hard at this point or it will
get very tough to work with.

Paul