Homemade Pizza Dough

As though it were a trophy of my accomplishment today, I have a burn on my index finger, the outer surface, on the knuckle, about the size of a pencil eraser. This lovely reminder of my mortality was bestowed upon me when I was trying to separate the aluminium foil from the flatbread pizza whilst the pizza was still in the jelly roll sheet. The pan was appropriately of volcanic temperature since it'd just been baking at "hot as my oven will go." I have such slow reactions to pain. What was that they said on Mythbusters, that a slow physical reaction to pain means I have a poorly functioning Parietal Lobe. Yet I have cat-like reflexes. Another way to put a positive spin on this is the say that I have a high tolerance for pain.

The flax meal dough I prepared last night was a success. I put the dough under the dough hook for a few minutes in order to amp up the gluten formation and elasticity. After letting the dough rest for 2 hours, I put olive oil on a foil sheet which lined a jelly roll pan. I turned out the dough and it expanded across the surface, decreasing its entropy. It took a few tries before I figured out how to spread the sticky, gooey dough across the surface of the pan without most of it sticking to my hands. Trick is to not use your hands. Yes. A brush for the oil or a scrappy thing works wonders at prodding the dough to the edge of the pan. When both hands are embroiled in muck, the realization that I can not touch anything makes me pull a face. Short of panicking, I get the urge to wash my hands. At least one hand has to be clean. Because, if both hands are dirty, as was the case today, opening a jar of flour with my elbows makes for a comical experience.

Since there was flax meal in this dough, I watched it carefully for any change in texture. Flax meal can make baked goods a little gummy. Similar to the sensation of okra. But it behaved itself and went into the oven without a hitch. The cheese browned nicely. The bottom crust browned nicely. Cutting through the crust yielded a satisfying "crunch." I consider this a success on the merits for flax meal bread. I will continue to make these flat crusty bread things. They taste delicious.

Next up is shortbread jam tarts.