Cornmeal Dough Recipes

Steps:

• Whisk cornmeal with 1 1/2 cups cold water.
• In a medium saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups water, salt, and pepper to a boil.
• Gradually stir in cornmeal mixture. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring often, until very thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in butter until melted.

Steps:

• Stir warm water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Brush a large bowl with oil, and set aside.
• Stir together the flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the yeast mixture and the oil; stir mixture until all of the flour-mixture is incorporated. Continue to stir until a stiff dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead with floured hands, dusting with as little flour as possible if dough seems sticky, just until the ball becomes smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Reshape the dough into a ball. (Alternatively, pour 5 cups all-purpose flour, cornmeal, the salt, yeast mixture, and oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until dough is smooth and slightly sticky to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes. If dough seems too sticky, add up to 1 cup flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing after each addition. Knead 4 or 5 turns on a clean work surface to form a ball.)
• Place dough in oiled bowl, smooth side up. Tightly cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.
• Remove plastic wrap; punch down dough. Fold dough back onto itself 4 or 5 times; leave smooth side up. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise again until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Punch down dough, and transfer to a clean work surface. Cut dough with a bench scraper or knife into sixths. Knead each piece 4 or 5 turns to form a ball. Cover all but one with plastic wrap.
• On a lightly floured work surface, flatten remaining dough ball into a disk. Loosely cover with plastic wrap; let rest 5 minutes. Using a rolling pin or your fingertips, flatten and push dough evenly out from center to form a 9-inch circle (or a 7-by-11-inch rectangle or rough oval).
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and sprinkle with flour. Place dough on top. Cover with another sheet of parchment, and sprinkle with flour. Roll out and stack remaining dough balls.
• Wrap baking sheet with plastic wrap; refrigerate pizza dough until ready to use, up to 1 day.

Steps:

• Prepare the butter and lard, if using. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch (12-mm) cubes (a bench scraper is perfect for this, but a sharp knife works well too), and cut the lard into small pieces. Return them to the fridge to cool.
• In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk and vinegar. Refrigerate the mixture until ready to use.
• On a clean flat surface or in a large shallow bowl, toss the flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, sugar, and salt together lightly to blend. Add the butter and lard (if using) to the dry ingredients and, using the tool of your choice, cut the fat into the flour with speed and patience, until the fat has been reduced to small pea-sized chunks. Try to use a straight up-and-down motion, as the more you press on the flour the more tough gluten will develop. Avoid using your fingers, as the heat from your hands will melt the fat and further encourage gluten development. Unlike with pasta or bread, gluten is the enemy of pie dough, so be gentle, and be quick!
• Once your fat has been cut down to size, spread your mixture out to expose as much surface area as possible. Gently drizzle about half of your milk mixture over the flour, trying to cover as wide an area as you can. Using bench scrapers or a large spoon, lightly toss the flour over the liquid, then spread everything out again, and repeat the process with the second half of the liquid.
• You should now have a dough that will just hold together when pressed against the bowl, with visible little chunks of butter. If you need to add more liquid to bind it, do so with more cold milk, adding a tablespoon at a time until you reach the right texture. It's not an exact science, as everything from the humidity in the air to the dryness of your flour will affect the consistency of your dough.
• Once you've reached your goal, cover the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour. The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 week, well wrapped, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Steps:

• In large bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers, mix in butter until crumbly. In a small bowl, combine egg yolks and 3 tablespoons ice water. Add egg-yolk mixture to flour mixture. Using a fork, mix quickly and lightly. Knead dough lightly in bowl until dough holds together; add up to 1 tablespoon ice water if dry. Divide dough into four equal balls. Press each ball into a disk; wrap in plastic. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the warm water. Let stand until yeast is dissolved and mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.
• Combine flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and add the yeast mixture and oil. Slowly stir ingredients with a wooden spoon just until dough starts to come together. Turn out dough on a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Divide dough into four 4-ounce balls. Place balls in a shallow oiled bowl, turning to coat with oil; cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees with a pizza stone on lowest rack. Stretch dough into 6- or 7-inch rounds. Sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza peel or inverted baking sheet. Place dough rounds on top, and cover with toppings, as desired.
• Slide rounds onto pizza stone, and bake until crust is crisp and golden and toppings are bubbling, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven; serve immediately.

Steps:

• Mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl or in food processor. Either cut in butter using fingertips or a fork to make a crumbly mixture, or add butter to processor and pulse until crumbly.
• Beat egg and buttermilk or yogurt together and stir in, mixing to make a very soft dough. Add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of buttermilk, if needed, to hold the dough together.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, butter, cornmeal and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; cook and stir until thickened, 5-8 minutes. Cool to 110° - 115°., In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cornmeal mixture, yeast mixture and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 30 balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover with a clean kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes., Uncover rolls; brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cornmeal. Bake at 375° until golden brown, 13-17 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks; serve warm.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers, work in butter until small crumbs form. Stir in buttermilk.