Daddy Bread

Yesterday I mentioned Pepperoni and Cheese Daddy Bread. Daddy Bread is a dough recipe that my wife Yvonne researched. It is a handy way to have ready to use yeast dough with very little effort.

Daddy Bread Dough

3 C Lukewarm Water
1.5 T Kosher Salt
1.5 T or 2 Packets Yeast
6.5 C Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

In a container that you will be leaving in your fridge, I use a gallon plastic container with a lid, combine the water, yeast and salt. Add the flour. Stir to combine. If it doesn't seem to be coming together, press the dough together with very wet hands.

Place the container someplace not chilly for about 2 hours. Place in fridge covered but not sealed (yeast has to breathe) for up to ten days. The dough is officially ready to use after a day in the fridge but I have used it after the initial rise. Immediately after the initial rise it is still very soft and a bit hard to work but it will still make a pizza skin. You will find after a day the dough is very workable and makes very convincing bread and pizza

This dough will be very wet and takes a lot of flour when you start working it.

Here is how it can be used for pizza dough;

Preheat your oven as high as it will go with your pizza stone or inverted cookie sheet on the middle rack. Mine oven says 500 degrees F but it is more like 575.

Sprinkle your pizza peel (or whatever you will slide the pizza into the oven with) with a goodly amount of corn meal.

Grab a hunk of dough about the size of a grapefruit (about a pound) with well floured hands and toss on to a well floured board. You will probably be adding flour at about every manipulation of the dough. Shape it into a disc and roll it as thin as you can. At this point you will want to be ready with your sauce and toppings as you do not want the pizza skin to stick to your peel.

Place your pizza skin on the corn-mealed peel. Spread with the tomato sauce of your choice. I doctor the store bought sauce with the shortest ingredient list I can find with Italian herbs, garlic and red wine. Top with grated cheese and whatever else suits you. Italian herbs and pepperoni works great.

Slide the pizza onto your pizza stone or cookie sheet and start checking it after 5 minutes. It will be done when the crust is brown and crusty and the cheese is browning and melting. Yum.

Some topping combinations that we have liked are; smoked oyster and mushroom; sliced tomatoes and three raw eggs cracked on top (they poach in the oven and the magic doesn't happen until you puncture the runny yolks); and plain old pepperoni is awesome!

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