Soft and Chewy Semolina Pizza Dough (Fast!)

As much as I love the simple, brilliant dough Reinhart offered in his Bread Baker's Apprentice, I can't help but tinker with it. I have my usual standby up til now, the Best Overnight Dough, but I think I may have improved upon it with one simple change. At least, if you listen to my husband, I have.
In a hurry and without a dinner plan, I made up my favorite recipe, but I knew that the lack of overnight refrigeration would give me a less than terrific dough. (I'm serious about pizza.) I've made it and used it right away before, and it just isn't as good. The overnight fermentation creates so much flavor, softens the texture, and makes for such an awesome dough--give those little yeasty beasties some time to party, and let the enzymes out to play, and you've got fabulous pizza dough. (Any dough, actually. More on that later.)

But adding just a smidge of dry milk will offer the benefits of adding fresh milk--softer texture, even crumb, nice color--without inhibiting rise. Dry milk has been treated at a high temperature, disabling enzymes that can interfere with the rise. Plus, it's darned convenient. I keep a plastic storage container of it in my fridge, to toss into bread doughs.
So sorry Peter, but I think I may have found something that suited my taste just a bit better!

Soft and Chewy Pizza Dough
by Anna

100g semolina flour
350g bread flour
45g oil
2 tbsp honey
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) instant yeast
300g warm water
8g (2 tbsp) powdered milk

Mix all ingredients together in mixer bowl, and knead by machine for 8 minutes, until dough clears the bottom of the bowl but still clings to the side when the mixer is off, and your fingers when touched--it should still be quite tacky. You can add more bread flour as needed by the teaspoon if dough is too sticky. You can also do this by hand, for about 10 minutes, but it helps to oil your hands and your board rather than flour it, or the dough will become too dry.
Divide dough into three even pieces, oil and cover each with plastic wrap, and let rise for about an hour, until doubled. (You can also divide this into three pieces, place each in an oiled bag, and refrigerate overnight up to three days. This will make the dough even better! Remove from fridge two hours before you need it.) Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 500 degrees, and place a stone on the floor of your oven, or the very bottom rack.
Working with one piece at a time, roll to about 1/2 inch thickness, which should be about a 12-inch round. Dust a piece of parchment with semolina flour or cornmeal, and place dough on it. Brush dough with olive oil. Using a peel or the flat back of a sheet pan, slide parchment and dough onto hot stone. Let bake 5 minutes, and remove from oven. Top with sauce and toppings of choice (go easy with the toppings, overloading it will lead to a denser pizza) and place back in oven for 5-7 additional minutes. The cheese should be melted and just browned, and the edges should be nicely colored. Check underneath, you should see nice dark spots and a nice crisp crust, but no blackened areas. (This may take trial and error to get it right in your oven, sometimes the bottom will burn too fast, or the top won't be done--you can try different positions until you find the right configuration.)
Remove and let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

This post proudly submitted to Yeast Spotting.