Campsite Scratch Pizza Dough...

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

I played around with some dough making yesterday, hopeful to come up with a scratch dough, which could be made while camping...
I came up with the following, which easily yielded a trimmed 14" pizza skin, which gave me a 1" lip of dough around the perimeter of a Lodge 14" Camp Oven.

Ingrediants
3 Cups - White Flour
1/2 Cup - Yellow Corn Meal (Fine Ground, not Coarse)
1/4 Oz. - Dry Yeast (With Future Use By Date)
1/2 Oz. - Dry Yeast (With Expired Use By Date, for a stronger yeast taste) *Optional
1/2 Tsp. - Sea Salt
1 Tblsp. - Sugar
2 Tblsp. - Olive Oil
1 1/4-Cup - Water (Next time, I'm gonna subsitute with flat beer)

Instructions
Start the yeast mixture by using 1/4 cup of warm water, half of the sugar and 1/4 Oz. of the new yeast. Mix well and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add the flour, salt olive oil, remaining sugar and 1/2 Oz. of expired yeast. (If available) Mix well.

When yeast mixture becomes foamy, (signs of being active) add to the mix.

Add remaining water and mix well, with a fork, then graduating to hand until dough is a consitent ball.

Knead dough with both hands for about five minutes. (Dough should be smooth and elastic)

Place dough in a lightly olive oiled bowl, cover and allow dough to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.

Dough should be doubled in size now... Punch down the dough and allow to rise a second time. (covered amd warm)

After at least one more hour, punch dough down and on a flat surface, covered with parchment paper... roll dough out to at least make a 15" circle.

Dock the dough with a dough docker. (fork works too)

Place a 14" bowl upside down on dough and trim the dough to a finished 14" diameter.

(Optional Step) Sprinkle dough surface with coarse corn meal, cover with additional layer of parchment paper and flip the "sandwich over with a pizza peal and lightly redock trimmed pizza skin.

Place trimmed pizza skin and parchment paper into cold 14" Lodge Camp Oven, using the pizza peal.

Center trimmed pizza skin by moving overhanging parchment paper and form a 1" wall of dough around the bottom of the oven wall. Trim excess parchment paper, that sticks up above wall of oven.

Add sauce, cheese and other ingredients and place lid on the oven.

Place 20 briquettes below the oven and 50 briquettes on the oven lid.

Bake for 25 minutes, with one quater rotation of oven and lid at 12 1/2 minutes.

Here are some shots of yesterday's BLT with this dough, which BTW had an awesome yeasty taste to it...


50 Brquettes on top and 20 underneath...


25 minutes later...


Cover hot pizza with a thin layer of mayonaise and allow mayo to melt just a bit...


Slice the pizza into desired amount of pieces...


Add chilled lettuce and chilled tomatoes...


And enjoy with your friends!!!...

[Kurt (Indiana)]

Dean , I just have to try that. I have personal pizzas in my 8" DO.
The flat beer is for the recipe, and the Good Beer is for the meal I presume?

One question, Were you cooking at 450F?

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Kurt,
I worked for a friend of mine part time at night at his pizza joint, after my day job. He would add flat beer to his dough mix and it was the best pizza dough I've ever had...
Sadly he is gone and his one remaining pizzeria is now owned by somebody else. I have been getting my dough from another close friend who also owns a pizza joint, but it's time for me to take these things to the next level.

I sure hope I was baking at 450, but have no idea...
I'm begining to wonder if this starting out with a cold oven thing, is the start of a bad habit... 'cause I'm sure using way more briquettes than what the charts say...

I'm not able to do the upside down oven thing yet for pizzas, 'cause I don't have a ash ring yet for the bottom of the oven.
I'm a bit leary of trying to place a built pizza into a preheated oven, fearing I'll spill the toppings attempting to place the pizza into the bottom of the oven, that darned oven wall is tricky to deal with... So I just build them right in the oven.

[Kurt (Indiana)]

So I just build them right in the oven.

I guess that is a good idea since after the cooking is done, the one big round piece should come out easier.
I think I'll try this with a warm oven and experiment a little.
It sure sounds good.

[sdtripper2]

:) Guest D:D

Your pictures always come out real nice of the food you put in them kettles!

Half the food eating experience is the visual appearance and smells wafting
into the begging nostrils with a pinch of anticipation.

You got the Visuals down pat "D"!

Yur a Natural @ Big Iron!

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Intial experiment from above recipe...
Beer makes pizza dough sticky.

[Ira]

Mayonnaise on pizza? LETTUCE???

You're a sick man.

Where did you grow up--ALBANIA!?

[rainjer]

Mayonnaise on pizza? LETTUCE???

You're a sick man.

Where did you grow up--ALBANIA!?

I though the same thing about BBQ pizza, until I tried it. At one of the local pizza places they have a taco piiza & honey musatard chicken pizza.

[Steve_Cox]

Mayonnaise on pizza? LETTUCE???

You're a sick man.

Where did you grow up--ALBANIA!?

Ira,

This is authentic California-style cuisine. ... chilled chopped lettuce tossed in mayonnaise and fresh sliced avocados on top of pizza. The Japanese pizza eaters do it too, there are no limits on how they will desecrate a pie.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Ira,
Don't knock it 'til you try it...

OK,
The solution to the sticky dough was easy...
I just coated it with flour, when rolling out my pizza skin.

Tonight will be a historic night...
1st pizza made in a dutch oven at Pamplin Grove.
Also, I'll be mapping out the place, to make a map for the website.

[asianflava]

Although it is pretty common now, I still can't bring myself to eat a ham and pinapple pizza. I want meat and cheese, the more the better.

When we were in France we stopped at a pizza place. The guy gave us some "pizza sauce" we had no idea what it was so I tried it. It is an olive oil infused with spices and peppers. I typically like tabasco on my slice so I really liked the French version, not too hot but had good spice. Our B&B was next to a grocery store so we picked up a bottle.

[Ma3tt]

Good job Guest! I have made two DO Pizzas a breakfast one with egg and spicy sausage and a Thai Chicken with spicy BBQ chicken, peanut sauce, bean sprouts, and green onions. Mmmmm Good. I invert my oven cooking the pizza on the upside down lid, makes it easier to remove it.

[Ira]

Having grown up with mostly Italians, I refuse to accept these concepts.

[madjack]

Having grown up with mostly Italians, I refuse to accept these concepts.

...ditto, ditto, ditto.........first time I had a California pizza with sun dried tomatos, avacado, zuchinni, and sprouts, it was all I could do not to throw it back at the chef...marinara sauce, mozzarella, provolone cheeses and lots of greasy meats...now that's a pizza...
madjack

[AmyH]

Dean, all I can say is "WOW"! That pizza looks incredible!! I only have a few Cast Iron pieces, but you're making me want to add more to the currently itty bitty collection that I do have! The pizza you made in the Flamineta made me end up buying one of those ovens, now I'll be getting a D.O. for pizza...

BTW, beer in pizza dough, now that sounds really yummy!! I love making beer bread, and I have been wanting to come up with a good ziplock recipe for the dry ingredients, so I can just add the beer at the campground. Now I'll have to try beer in my pizza dough too!

Amy