Pizza is probably on a par with smoking for obsession and chasing perfection. I've been making homemade pizzas for decades, and STILL chase perfection.
I love a sourdough tasting crust, but don't use a sourdough starter. Biga (50% water by weight to flour weight) and poolish (1 to 1 water to flour by weight) fermented on the counter overnight gives me the flavor start I enjoy. Adding the rest of the ingredients and cold fermenting in the fridge for 2-5 days completes the process.
Now I'm experimenting with total hydration. Some folks believe a dough between 60-70% hydration is best. I'm in the 80% range. Gives a crisp bottom, nice crust rise, and a tender crust interior.
I learned that most AP flours in the US are ground to 00 level, but the type of wheat used makes a HUGE difference in elasticity. 00 Caputo, the gold standard for pizza dough, runs 12 to 12.5% protein. Most AP flours run 8.5 to 10%. King ARTHUR AP runs 11.7%. Their bread flour runs 12.7%. I've been mixing 1 part KA bread flour to 2 parts KA AP and have been VERY happy with the results. 1 to 1 works well, too, as long as it isn't kneaded too long (it gets tough).
I finally got my hands on some semolina flour for final prep of the dough and the peel. First pizza tonight got a little stuck on the peel because I forgot to dust the peel with semolina before sliding the rounded dough on it. I called that pizza my Cosmic Comet pizza.
The second one slipped right off perfectly. I have finally learned how to use my peel!
BTW, I brushed the Comet pizza crust with EVOO after a 5 minute parbake. I did not brush the second one to see what difference it made. The EVOO brushed crust was browner and crispier.
The Cosmic Comet pizza.
The Peel Slider Pizza!
I love a sourdough tasting crust, but don't use a sourdough starter. Biga (50% water by weight to flour weight) and poolish (1 to 1 water to flour by weight) fermented on the counter overnight gives me the flavor start I enjoy. Adding the rest of the ingredients and cold fermenting in the fridge for 2-5 days completes the process.
Now I'm experimenting with total hydration. Some folks believe a dough between 60-70% hydration is best. I'm in the 80% range. Gives a crisp bottom, nice crust rise, and a tender crust interior.
I learned that most AP flours in the US are ground to 00 level, but the type of wheat used makes a HUGE difference in elasticity. 00 Caputo, the gold standard for pizza dough, runs 12 to 12.5% protein. Most AP flours run 8.5 to 10%. King ARTHUR AP runs 11.7%. Their bread flour runs 12.7%. I've been mixing 1 part KA bread flour to 2 parts KA AP and have been VERY happy with the results. 1 to 1 works well, too, as long as it isn't kneaded too long (it gets tough).
I finally got my hands on some semolina flour for final prep of the dough and the peel. First pizza tonight got a little stuck on the peel because I forgot to dust the peel with semolina before sliding the rounded dough on it. I called that pizza my Cosmic Comet pizza.
The second one slipped right off perfectly. I have finally learned how to use my peel!
BTW, I brushed the Comet pizza crust with EVOO after a 5 minute parbake. I did not brush the second one to see what difference it made. The EVOO brushed crust was browner and crispier.
The Cosmic Comet pizza.
The Peel Slider Pizza!