The Homemade Pizza Thread

[DavidDetroit]

I would bet that the 3-day, multiple-step, fridge rise is about the same as the 24-hour countertop rise.
What impressed me, recently, was the 00 flour effect on the final dough.
I'm about to make a batch of dough and when cooking time comes around, I'll be putting them on pizza screens in the oven at 550°F (288°C) and using a pizza stone. No outdoor pizza oven but my BBQ can go a lot higher than my stove so I might try that also.

 

[will4009]

I do a 24hr room temp proof for most bases. You can turn on CT on PizzaApp in Menu-Settings to include a cold temp proofing period if you want to add one in.
The app adjusts the yeast quantities to take into consideration the times and temperatures that your planning.
I haven’t found that adding a cold temp step adds much to the end result personally.

Ah ok. Thats great, I did wonder how a 24hr room temp proof would work. I shall give that a try.

So, if I do a 24hr room temp prove. Do I knead, then prove for 24 hours, then ball and leave for 30 mins before I stretch and use the dough? or, should I leave them balled for longer?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Alastair70]

Ah ok. Thats great, I did wonder how a 24hr room temp proof would work. I shall give that a try.

So, if I do a 24hr room temp prove. Do I knead, then prove for 24 hours, then ball and leave for 30 mins before I stretch and use the dough? or, should I leave them balled for longer?

Thanks for the help.

I mix for 10 minutes in the KitchenAid on 1 with a dough hook, them let it rest for 20 minutes. I'm a bit of a fiddler so I like giving it some stretch and folds over the next hour before shaping into a tight ball to bulk prove overnight. If I'm doing a higher hydration dough, this step is essential, but 60% is pretty much good to use out of the mixer.
I ball up 6 hours before cooking, the individual balls then have time to gas up before stretching and topping.

I would bet that the 3-day, multiple-step, fridge rise is about the same as the 24-hour countertop rise.
What impressed me, recently, was the 00 flour effect on the final dough.
I'm about to make a batch of dough and when cooking time comes around, I'll be putting them on pizza screens in the oven at 550°F (288°C) and using a pizza stone. No outdoor pizza oven but my BBQ can go a lot higher than my stove so I might try that also.

I haven't noticed much difference in adding cold proof steps into yeasted doughs, they do make a bigger difference to sourdough bases, mostly increasing the sour flavours. If I'm going to start 48hrs ahead with straight yeasted dough I'll do a poolish (30% of the total flour at 100% hydration with wahtever amount of yeast the PizzaApp calculates). This is mixed into a claggy ball and left at room temp for 18hrs. It turns in to a bubbly funky mess that smells amazing. This is added to the remaining flour and water (and yeast in some cases, sometimes all the required yeast is in the poolish). and the bulk dough is mixed. The rest of the process is the same from there on. A few of the poolish bases have rivalled sourdough in depth of flavour.
I've also tried a Biga on a couple of occasions (like a poolish, but lower hydration and needs extra strong flour), also tastes great but the Poolish is easier to work with.
I totally agree, 00 Flour makes a massive difference. I use Caputo Nuvola and Dallagiovanna Pizzeria in the most part and Caputo Cuaco or Manatoba for Poolish and Biga respectively.

 

[DavidDetroit]

@Alastair70
Thanks for the info, especially about the flour.

 

[Irishwizard]

An interesting thread, since I make bread about 3 times a week. Got to admit that sourdoughs are beyond my patience. I do a few breads that ferment overnight (peasants bread) and then crack on in the morning. Bit of an effort, but the results are good - I guess its a sort of half way house - WDYT?

 

[Alastair70]

An interesting thread, since I make bread about 3 times a week. Got to admit that sourdoughs are beyond my patience. I do a few breads that ferment overnight (peasants bread) and then crack on in the morning. Bit of an effort, but the results are good - I guess its a sort of half way house - WDYT?

Preferments definitely deliver a big flavour boost. As does longer slower fermentation. I find sourdough less effort overall and bake it a lot more. Total time with the dough is a lot less, and it’s spread out over a couple of days. I like that laid back easy vibe, it kind of reflects my personality a lot

 

[DavidDetroit]

An hour-plus for that poolish. 300ml of water and 300g of 00 flour, 2t of dry yeast and a 1/2 t of unprocessed sugar (can't remember what it's called at the moment).
I'm now way too excited about Saturday and pizza making. I'm thinking that I will, for sure, do one on the BBQ. because of the ability to hit 371°C on it.
I was excited enough that I bought mushrooms, Canadian bacon and artichokes from Costco (wholesale place, popular here).
FYI: I have a great alfredo sauce for white pizza--neighbor hates anything tomato so I had to consider something else. For him, we're looking at BBQed chicken and something that would go well with that. Suggestions are welcomed. I was thinking fresh basil, onion and the chicken I mentioned.

 

[DavidDetroit]

@Alastair70
I almost asked you today if I could do a poolish on the same day I was going to make the pizza. I ended up making the poolish tonight for Saturday. So, I'm okay now but I panicked for a minute.
On square dough, I'm solid but that Neapolitan dough, which you seem to understand, is where I'm a rookie.
Cheers.

 

[will4009]

I mix for 10 minutes in the KitchenAid on 1 with a dough hook, them let it rest for 20 minutes. I'm a bit of a fiddler so I like giving it some stretch and folds over the next hour before shaping into a tight ball to bulk prove overnight. If I'm doing a higher hydration dough, this step is essential, but 60% is pretty much good to use out of the mixer.
I ball up 6 hours before cooking, the individual balls then have time to gas up before stretching and topping.


I haven't noticed much difference in adding cold proof steps into yeasted doughs, they do make a bigger difference to sourdough bases, mostly increasing the sour flavours. If I'm going to start 48hrs ahead with straight yeasted dough I'll do a poolish (30% of the total flour at 100% hydration with wahtever amount of yeast the PizzaApp calculates). This is mixed into a claggy ball and left at room temp for 18hrs. It turns in to a bubbly funky mess that smells amazing. This is added to the remaining flour and water (and yeast in some cases, sometimes all the required yeast is in the poolish). and the bulk dough is mixed. The rest of the process is the same from there on. A few of the poolish bases have rivalled sourdough in depth of flavour.
I've also tried a Biga on a couple of occasions (like a poolish, but lower hydration and needs extra strong flour), also tastes great but the Poolish is easier to work with.
I totally agree, 00 Flour makes a massive difference. I use Caputo Nuvola and Dallagiovanna Pizzeria in the most part and Caputo Cuaco or Manatoba for Poolish and Biga respectively.

That's great. Will give it a try. When you ball, do you leave them at RT for 6 hours?

If I do a shorter prove, let's say 4 hours at RT. How long would you recommend balling the dough for then?

 

[Alastair70]

That's great. Will give it a try. When you ball, do you leave them at RT for 6 hours?

If I do a shorter prove, let's say 4 hours at RT. How long would you recommend balling the dough for then?

Yes, room temp the whole way. I haven’t done shorter than 8 hrs, but if your going for 4 I’d ball up either straight after mixing or maybe an hour later. You want as much gas in the dough as possible to get the thin base and puffy crust.

 

[will4009]

Double post

 

[will4009]

Yes, room temp the whole way. I haven’t done shorter than 8 hrs, but if your going for 4 I’d ball up either straight after mixing or maybe an hour later. You want as much gas in the dough as possible to get the thin base and puffy crust.

Will give it a try tonight.

I have about 8ish hours. So, knead, prove for an couple of hours at RT. Then ball up for 6-ish hours at RT.

Sound about right?

 

[Alastair70]

Sounds ideal, if your using PizzaApp, check you’ve got the right type of yeast selected. I’ve made that error before.

 

[Alastair70]

View attachment 57039
An hour-plus for that poolish. 300ml of water and 300g of 00 flour, 2t of dry yeast and a 1/2 t of unprocessed sugar (can't remember what it's called at the moment).
I'm now way too excited about Saturday and pizza making. I'm thinking that I will, for sure, do one on the BBQ. because of the ability to hit 371°C on it.
I was excited enough that I bought mushrooms, Canadian bacon and artichokes from Costco (wholesale place, popular here).
FYI: I have a great alfredo sauce for white pizza--neighbor hates anything tomato so I had to consider something else. For him, we're looking at BBQed chicken and something that would go well with that. Suggestions are welcomed. I was thinking fresh basil, onion and the chicken I mentioned.

David, that poolish looks awesome. Let us know how the bases ended up tasting.

 

[moto748]

I'm jumping to the end of this thread, but I make sourdough as a staple (occasionally yeasted bread), and although I make pizzas regularly, I don't use sourdough, only conventional strong flour and yeast. I'm happy with the pizzas I do make these days, though.

 

[DavidDetroit]

Doing pizzas with alfredo sauce fell through (next time I hope) but I'm still going to make four, large (40cm) rounds. We bought a peel today to slide the dough onto the pizza screen. 00 is far more delicate than bread flour so I needed to adapt.
The peel was what I considered rough so I sanded it well.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I haven’t found that adding a cold temp step adds much to the end result personally.

Agreed - I think the main utility of a cold temperature rise is to extend the timings so as to fit the process in around your life :-)

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I'm jumping to the end of this thread, but I make sourdough as a staple (occasionally yeasted bread), and although I make pizzas regularly, I don't use sourdough, only conventional strong flour and yeast. I'm happy with the pizzas I do make these days, though.

Exactly the same here - I find the pizza toppings obscure the SD taste so I just take the easy route and use packet yeast :-)

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

So much accumulated expertise on this thread, I’m blown away! This rivals anything I get on the SD baking forums I frequent

 

[Alastair70]

Exactly the same here - I find the pizza toppings obscure the SD taste so I just take the easy route and use packet yeast :-)

I’m in the other camp, the flavour of the base is at least 50% of what I’m chasing. Whether it’s sourdough or a long prove yeasted dough, I’ll always aim for a big depth of flavour from the dough. I do a lot of big flavoured and very spicy toppings too, the goal is to get a balance between the two.

I’ve only ever used instant dried yeast for straight doughs, bread and pizza. I can’t imagine fresh is any different. Just like I can’t imagine WLP001 and US-05 producing a different end result either.