The Times ran an article yesterday on achieving great pizza crusts at home. The gist of it is, let the dough rise slowly. So many pizza recipes call for an hour's rise. That's way too fast. Not only does a slow rise give the dough a better flavor and texture, it makes it easier to handle, in my experience.
The article also has some accompanying recipes, tips on using a sourdough starter for your dough, and advice from my baking guru, Peter Reinhart. I now have three of his books, and he's one of those guys who won't let you down if you follow his advice.
Speaking of sourdough, the Times article, like most that I've read on the subject, recommends discarding part of your starter every time you feed it. I did sourdough for a while, until I unthinkingly used up my entire starter in one batch of bread, and after doing some research and through trial and error, I found that unnecessary. When I used my starter for baking, I'd use all but a small portion of it, then feed it twice, several days before my next batch. Each time you feed it, you double it. By the time I was ready to bake, I had enough healthy, active starter for baking, and I just repeated the process, using it all but about a half cup. Worked for me, and a lot less wasteful.
NY Times article on making pizza at home
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