The path to Pizza Dough is littered with wine bottles...

The path to a good pizza dough is littered with red wine bottles....my kitchen was not littered with wine bottles today because I just so happened to have a half bottle of a delicious "Tridente Tempranillo, Castilla y Leon" in the fridge. I know what you are thinking "RED WINE IN DOUGH??????" are you insane!!!  Yes,  I am crazy.....I am a crazy foodie who has been looking for the ultimate thin crust pizza dough...and I found it.

The dominant flavors in a Tempranillo include cherry, dried fig, cedar, tobacco, and dill. Age impacts the flavors of Tempranillo significantly, with Roble and Crianza examples imparting juicy fruit flavors and heat. Reserva and Gran Reserva examples feature deeper, darker fruit notes, dry leaves.

While famed for pairing with red meat and ham, Tempranillo is a surprisingly versatile food wine that can match well with roasted vegetables, smoke, starches, hearty pastas.

Yeast or baking powder

I say YEAST pizza dough because baking powder produces an almost instantaneous reaction, then it fizzles and neutralises. Yeast, on the other hand, reproduces and makes air bubbles in the dough much more slowly. The bubbles are stronger and keep growing until cooked. 

The marriage between Tempranillo wine and classic dough will lead you into a food coma like bliss.

Red Wine Pizza Dough

1/4 cup Tempranillo red wine (if you will not drink it, you don't cook with it)

3/4 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)

1 1/2 ounces yeast

1 tbsp. pure honey

1 tsp.  Maldon salt

1 tbsp. EVOO

2 1/2 cups 00 flour & 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted together

 Combine the wine, water and yeast in a large bowl and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the honey, salt and olive oil and mix thoroughly. Add 1 cup of the flour and mix with a wooden spoon to make a loose batter. Add 2 more cups of the flour and stir with the spoon for 2 to 3 minutes to incorporate as much flour as possible.

    Bring the dough together by hand and turn out onto a floured board or marble surface. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes, until you have a smooth, firm dough. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Set aside to rise in the warmest part of the kitchen for 45 minutes.

  Cut the risen dough into 4 equal pieces and knead each portion into a round. Cover again and let rest for 15 minutes.

    To make the pizzas: Dust a clean work surface lightly with flour. Working with one piece of dough at a time, use your fingers and palms to flatten the dough into a 10- to 12-inch round, each about 1/8-inch thick.

Grow Harvest Cook Eat

Jenn