[Sca-cooks] pizza dough/alton brown conundrum? (OT)

[Terry Decker]

I would consider 15-30 minutes of kneading a little excessive, but there is 
no problem as long as the gluten doesn't break down.  Other sources give 1 
to 5 minutes kneading using a power mixer.  I don't worry much about time. 
I work the dough until it is elastic and smooth (and feels right, which is 
hard to transmit without hands on instruction).

Channel surfing, I only caught bits and pieces of the show.  Alton was doing 
one of the quick and dirty methods of making pizza dough.  If you want 
better flavor in the crust, make a sponge the night before and use that to 
leaven the dough.

Bear

> Ok, so it's OT. We're watching the Alton Brown show on pizza, and he
> says that you should knead the dough for 15?! minutes with a stand
> mixer, twice that if you are kneading by hand. I'm no master baker, but
> I've made my share of bread and my family made pizza for years nearly
> every Saturday night, and I've NEVER kneaded dough for half an hour.
> What gives? Is the great scientist Alton in error?
>
> -- 
> -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net