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Get some help...if you can
This past week-end we had back-to-back pizza parties and I had my good friend Raffy (from this site) come down from Manila and help me. Raffy is a true pizzaiolo. He worked in Cebu for his Sicilian brother-in-law. It was truly a revelation. He straightened me out on so many things, my head is spinning. Everything from bringing me a beautiful SS peel and paddle shovel, with long handles...getting to know my oven, heat management, dough prep and opening the dough ("opening the dough" thats a new term for me). Opening the dough refers to the process from dough ball to a finished stretched-out, ready to top, on the peel, pizza dough. If you think about it, it really describes the process well.
My preparation of dough the night before he arrived proved to be a good lesson in how hydration effects the end resulting pizza crust. Basically his hydration level was much lower than what I have been using. I was hydrating to the point where the dough just pulled away from the sides of the mixer. Raffy's prep was much drier than mine. Once mixed and kneaded in the mixer, his dough was dry to the touch. Not sticky at all, much like play dough. We cold-proofed in the morning and used them that night. The resultant pizzas were very different acting, both in opening the dough and baking. Raffy's dough was very easy to handle and open....particularly in the speed at witch I was able to open the dough. Raffy's was sooo much faster. The most dramatic difference was how the crust formed bubbles. The higher hydration (my dough) formed much more and larger bubbles...resulting in a lot of character, very soft silky interior and a thin crispy crust and a smaller pizza. Not necessarily bad, just different. Raffy's still had nice bubbles, just not as many, and almost as light and fluffy. The higher hydration was nice for a residential situation, but Raffy's was much more geared to a commercial environment. Wish I had pics showing the difference, but no time to take pics and cook pizza at the same time.
I could go on for pages about all the different revelations I had with Raffy here. I guess my point is that, if you have a chance to get some expert hands-on help, training, get-togethers with other FB participants, cooking classes, what ever, do it. It's well worth it.
All-in-all, it was a great Christmas opening for the resort and my pizza skills. Happy baking and Merry Christmas.
My preparation of dough the night before he arrived proved to be a good lesson in how hydration effects the end resulting pizza crust. Basically his hydration level was much lower than what I have been using. I was hydrating to the point where the dough just pulled away from the sides of the mixer. Raffy's prep was much drier than mine. Once mixed and kneaded in the mixer, his dough was dry to the touch. Not sticky at all, much like play dough. We cold-proofed in the morning and used them that night. The resultant pizzas were very different acting, both in opening the dough and baking. Raffy's dough was very easy to handle and open....particularly in the speed at witch I was able to open the dough. Raffy's was sooo much faster. The most dramatic difference was how the crust formed bubbles. The higher hydration (my dough) formed much more and larger bubbles...resulting in a lot of character, very soft silky interior and a thin crispy crust and a smaller pizza. Not necessarily bad, just different. Raffy's still had nice bubbles, just not as many, and almost as light and fluffy. The higher hydration was nice for a residential situation, but Raffy's was much more geared to a commercial environment. Wish I had pics showing the difference, but no time to take pics and cook pizza at the same time.
I could go on for pages about all the different revelations I had with Raffy here. I guess my point is that, if you have a chance to get some expert hands-on help, training, get-togethers with other FB participants, cooking classes, what ever, do it. It's well worth it.
All-in-all, it was a great Christmas opening for the resort and my pizza skills. Happy baking and Merry Christmas.
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