Cornmeal Pizza Dough Recipes

CORNMEAL PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the warm water. Let stand until yeast is dissolved and mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.
• Combine flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and add the yeast mixture and oil. Slowly stir ingredients with a wooden spoon just until dough starts to come together. Turn out dough on a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Divide dough into four 4-ounce balls. Place balls in a shallow oiled bowl, turning to coat with oil; cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees with a pizza stone on lowest rack. Stretch dough into 6- or 7-inch rounds. Sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza peel or inverted baking sheet. Place dough rounds on top, and cover with toppings, as desired.
• Slide rounds onto pizza stone, and bake until crust is crisp and golden and toppings are bubbling, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven; serve immediately.

CORNMEAL PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Stir warm water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Brush a large bowl with oil, and set aside.
• Stir together the flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the yeast mixture and the oil; stir mixture until all of the flour-mixture is incorporated. Continue to stir until a stiff dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead with floured hands, dusting with as little flour as possible if dough seems sticky, just until the ball becomes smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Reshape the dough into a ball. (Alternatively, pour 5 cups all-purpose flour, cornmeal, the salt, yeast mixture, and oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until dough is smooth and slightly sticky to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes. If dough seems too sticky, add up to 1 cup flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing after each addition. Knead 4 or 5 turns on a clean work surface to form a ball.)
• Place dough in oiled bowl, smooth side up. Tightly cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.
• Remove plastic wrap; punch down dough. Fold dough back onto itself 4 or 5 times; leave smooth side up. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise again until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Punch down dough, and transfer to a clean work surface. Cut dough with a bench scraper or knife into sixths. Knead each piece 4 or 5 turns to form a ball. Cover all but one with plastic wrap.
• On a lightly floured work surface, flatten remaining dough ball into a disk. Loosely cover with plastic wrap; let rest 5 minutes. Using a rolling pin or your fingertips, flatten and push dough evenly out from center to form a 9-inch circle (or a 7-by-11-inch rectangle or rough oval).
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and sprinkle with flour. Place dough on top. Cover with another sheet of parchment, and sprinkle with flour. Roll out and stack remaining dough balls.
• Wrap baking sheet with plastic wrap; refrigerate pizza dough until ready to use, up to 1 day.

PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a large bowl stir together 1/3 cup water, yeast, and sugar and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/3 cup water, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 3/4 cups flour, cornmeal, and salt and blend until the mixture forms a dough. Knead dough on a floured surface, incorporating as much of remaining 1/4 cup flour, as necessary, to prevent dough from sticking, until smooth about 5 to 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.
• Lightly oil the sides and bottom of a large bowl with oil, add the dough, turn to coat in the oil, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Gently punch the dough down and divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece on a lightly floured surface into a 10-inch circle that is 1/8-inch thick. Brush off excess flour and transfer the dough to a baking sheet, cover each circle of dough with plastic wrap and continue stacking rolled out pieces on top of each other. Wrap well with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to grill.

CORNMEAL PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Fit the kneaded blade on a heavy-duty mixer.
• Proof the yeast in 1/2 cup water with 1 teaspoon sugar until foamy (about 8 minutes).
• In the stainless steel bowl place 5 cups flour, salt, sugar, oil and cornmeal.
• When the yeast is proofed, add to the bowl along with 1-1/2 cups warm water; start kneading adding in more flour as needed to create a soft smooth dough.
• After the kneading is finished, let the dough rest in the bowl for 8-10 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and shape in a ball.
• Place into a well greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• Punch down dough and let rest for 10 minutes before shaping (this is important, the dough must rest for 10 minutes).
• Roll out the dough into two 16-inch circles.
• Place into lightly greased pizza pans.
• Top as desired.
• Bake in a 400 degree oven until lightly golden brown (about 15-20 minutes).

CORNMEAL MINI-PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 deg. F.
• In a food processor, combine 1 cup flour, yeast and sugar. With motor running, pour in the hot water.
• Turn motor off and add remaining ingredients. Process mixture until it forms a ball, and then process 15 seconds longer to knead.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead 10 times. To make two pizzas, cut into half; wrap one half well and freeze for up to one month.
• Divide remaining piece in half. Roll or press out each half into an 8" circle. Transfer to a baking sheet and lightly brush or spray with additional olive oil.
• Top with favorite toppings, season with salt and pepper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is melted.
• Note1: white cornmeal works just as well. While the recipe calls for hot water, I usually use room temperature or even cool water - the action of the FP can heat up the dough quite a bit, so I would rather allow a little more time.
• Note2: toppings must be thinly sliced; meats and some veggies should be cooked - this pizza is in the oven only a short time. I've never used a pizza sauce with this - if you do and it works, let us know!

QUICK CORNMEAL PIZZA CRUST (GLUTEN-FREE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prepare two 10-inch squares of parchment paper.
• Whisk together the oat flour, cornmeal, almond flour, ground flaxseed, baking powder, salt, and cumin (if using) in a large bowl.
• Add the milk and lime juice, and knead lightly with your hands until the mixture forms a stringy but not sticky dough. Divide the dough into two rounds.
• To make the pizza crusts, lay one parchment square on a clean work surface, and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place one round of dough on the parchment square, sprinkle it with more cornmeal, and roll it out to a 6-inch disk with a rolling pin. (The rolled-out dough should be about ⅛ inch thick.) Gently push around the edges of the dough with your hands to build up a slight edge, if desired. Slide the parchment and dough disk onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Lightly brush the tops of the crusts with milk using a pastry brush or a small spatula. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top of the crust(s) is dry and crisp.
• Top the crusts with your desired pizza sauce and toppings. Return the pizzas to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the toppings are hot and cooked through.