Pizza Dough Toss

I said I would record myself attempting to toss a pizza, so this video is fulfilling that promise. I am really, really bad at properly tossing pizza dough, but it's a start. So far, I have managed to put a lot of holes into the center of my crust, so I am hoping that with practice, I can stop doing that. I've been making pizza from scratch for years, but the crust never seemed to taste the way it does at restaurants until now. When pizza dough is tossed in the air and caught properly, or in my case rudimentarily, the dough is automatically made thinner in the center and slightly thicker on the edges, just like pizza requires. Also, the exposure to air causes the outside to dry out a little, while leaving the inside soft and pliable. This is good for a crunchy outside and chewy inside once the pizza has been baked.

I use a pizza dough recipe from 29 Minute Meals, by Robert T. Teske and Carol R. Guthrie, which is a Working Mother book. Don't ask me what Working Mother is, I have no idea. Other recipes can be found online very easily. I recommend allrecipes.com for finding specific recipes because the recipes are reviewed and are rated by those who try them out. I feel really silly for not attempting the dough toss sooner. When I think about it, I was worried about dropping the dough...which amounts to only a few dollars' worth of supplies. This is what changed my mind, and got me to just give it a try. Heck, if it falls on the floor, it can be picked back up and practiced on again and again until the skill is picked up and simply thrown into the trash! Eventually, I hope to not look like a total idiot while tossing the dough, but for now I am happy with not being afraid to try.

Homemade Tortillas Made Easy

I bought a tortilla press from amazon.com, and decided to give handmade tortillas a whirl. I originally got the press to make dim sum, but I figured it would be fun to use it for its intended purpose as well. Surprisingly, there are only two ingredients for making them: masa and warm water!

I followed the recipe on the bag of masa, and made the dough. Then, I divided it into twelve balls. With each ball, I flattened it a bit with my palm. A Ziploc bag, the edges cut off, makes a great non-stick surface (also blissfully food safe) to place your patty, sandwiched on the top and bottom of it. I had an oops moment and forgot to slip the plastic on top of the patty before I pressed the tortilla, and it stuck to the press!

It's helpful to put the patty slightly off-center. The tortilla press works surprisingly well to flatten out your corn tortillas. Once pressed, the tortilla is gently removed and heated on a griddle at 475-500 degrees, 30 seconds on each side, till it reaches the desired finish. I like mine to puff a little, so I flip it one extra time, for an additional 10 seconds. My griddle isn't that hot, so I had to use a nonstick skillet on the stove top, set on high.

I have to say, I have never been a huge fan of the corn tortilla, but wow, these are good! They are completely different than store bought tortillas, and taste like heaven.