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Making Pizza Crusts for the Freezer

"Schmitt, Barbara E." <BSchmitt@goulstonstorrs.com>
Mon, 8 Dec 2003 09:22:50 -0500
v103.n052.1
In honor of the publication of Peter Reinhart's new pizza book (well, 
actually just because my supply in the freezer was running low) I made a 
double batch of pre-baked pizza crusts for the freezer this weekend.  Each 
time I do this I learn a few new tricks, so I thought I would share them.

I start with Peter's NY Style crust recipe (that's not the one that he 
recommends for par-baking and freezing, but I like the taste of this one 
better and it works fine for me).  Caveat:  I don't have my copy of the 
book yet, so I am working from the recipes he circulated for testing a few 
months ago.  I don't know how the actual book differs, but I suspect not 
too much. I make the dough and then divide it and coat each ball with oil, 
place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and cover with plastic wrap 
that has been heavily sprayed with Pam.

I retard the dough overnight, and then let it warm up slightly before 
shaping (I turn on the oven that has the baking tiles in it to 525F and 
when the oven is ready, I start making the crusts).

Here is how I made them yesterday, and it worked beautifully:

I shaped each ball of dough by stretching it out on a Silpat sheet.  (I 
know, makes a rectangular rather than round pizza, but stay with me.)  Each 
ball of dough fills the sheet almost perfectly.  The sheet sticks to the 
counter without slipping or wrinkling, and the dough clings to the sheet 
when you stretch it, but ultimately releases easily.  Next, I put a piece 
of parchment on top of the dough, then flip the whole thing over onto a 
rimless cookie sheet (in other words, a peel that you probably already have 
in your kitchen without knowing it) and peel off the Silpat.  I trim off 
the excess parchment so it doesn't burn in the oven.  Dock the dough all 
over by pricking it with a fork -- this is important to avoid lots of 
unbelievably large air bubbles.  Turn the oven down to 400F, and slide the 
dough and parchment off the cookie sheet and onto the tiles.  Bake for 
about 3 1/2 - 4 minutes, until it is just starting to  get a few brown 
spots.  Remove from oven by sliding the cookie sheet under the crust and 
parchment, cool on a rack, and then freeze in a 2-gallon zipper bag.

I did these assembly line style and had 8 crusts ready for the freezer in 
no time (well, after I trimmed each one a bit because I had made it longer 
than the zipper bag!).  When we want fast pizza, I pull one or more out of 
the freezer, top with sauce (Peter's basic marinara is great; I freeze it 
in one-pizza size quantities) and cheese, and pop in the oven with the 
tiles heated the same way (heat to 525F but bake at 400F) for about 5 
minutes, until the cheese melts.

I know the purists on the list will be horrified at the shape of the pizza 
and the fact that I bake it on parchment, but it works well for me and 
gives us take-out quick pizza that tastes a lot better.  Best of all, I 
consistently get a crust that is uniformly thick, transfers easily from 
counter to oven to cooling rack, and fits well into freezer bags.  My 
husband has banned "bought" pizza ever since the first of Peter's recipes 
that I tested on him!

Barbara