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  • Dough!! Please help.

    I am using all the right ingredients and cooking my pizza at 500 degrees on a stone in my oven. The pizza comes out way too hard/crunchy on the outside and undercooked in the middle. It's not even edible! What am i doing wrong? Thanks for any advice.

  • #2
    Re: Dough!! Please help.

    If you are making pizza in your home oven, I suggest you trip over to pizzamaking.com. There you will find a repository of fine posts of basic to advanced pizza making skills. After a lot of practice, you will think your home oven is a magic box. Crawl, walk, RUN. Good luck.

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    • #3
      Re: Dough!! Please help.

      Ciao Mauro,

      Have you read the FB eBook on wood-fired pizza? I tried to include just about everything I know there, and the dough preparation section works the same for pizza stone and pizza oven baking. You can find it here. Let me know if that helps.

      Wood-Fired Pizza e-Book (pdf) :: eBooks & CD ROMs :: Forno Bravo Store

      James
      Pizza Ovens
      Outdoor Fireplaces

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      • #4
        Re: Dough!! Please help.

        Thanks! I will do it.

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        • #5
          Re: Dough!! Please help.

          Sorry about your toes, James.
          I consider your place an advanced pizza site relating to wood fired ovens.
          Mauro is asking questions about basic fundamentals. His 2 posts aspire to a WFO restaurant. I just thought he needed to paint a few fences before he tackles the Sistine chapel. My apologies.

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          • #6
            Re: Dough!! Please help.

            Yes, I need lots of practice with the pizza making. I already have experience running a business...I am considering purchasing an oven to practice with at home. I am also very close to Marina del Rey where they offer the one week class, so I will sign up for that too. My parents were born about 2 hours away from Naples, so cooking/food is in my blood!

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            • #7
              Re: Dough!! Please help.

              No toes stepped on at all.

              I like to think we have some good pizza making expertise at FB and on the FB Forum -- I worked hard on that dough chapter. Hah hah. :-)
              James
              Pizza Ovens
              Outdoor Fireplaces

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              • #8
                Re: Dough!! Please help.

                I read somewhere that it is good to use two stones in the oven....one to set the pizza on and one on the shelf right above it. Also, be sure and preheat both stones about 45 minutes so they absorb the heat well. I have had a decent pizza made this way....although not quite as good as the WFO, but it is a good substitute.

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                • #9
                  Re: Dough!! Please help.

                  Absolutely! ...Not a substitute for a woofer.
                  The unglazed quarry tile set up attempts to mimic a narrow slot gas or electric oven.
                  It works very well. The top tiles act as a heat sink and reflect / heat the top to insure a well baked NY style pizza. Tons of posts on this subject. Dig it up.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Dough!! Please help.

                    Originally posted by mauro ciarmoli View Post
                    I am using all the right ingredients and cooking my pizza at 500 degrees on a stone in my oven. The pizza comes out way too hard/crunchy on the outside and undercooked in the middle. It's not even edible! What am i doing wrong? Thanks for any advice.
                    I suggest placing the stone on the very bottom rack position. I do that in my oven @ 555 deg. F. and pizza comes out perfect in 6-8 minutes depending on the topping.

                    If you place it higher in the oven the top will burn before the dough is fully baked.

                    Let me know if this works for you.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Dough!! Please help.

                      Mauro - I have way too many questions for you, before I can give you any advice:

                      1) What is the hydration % of your dough?
                      2) Are you using any oil, dry milk, or sugar?
                      3) What brand & type of flour are you using
                      4) What type of yeast (IDY, ADY, fresh)?
                      5) How are you working your dough?
                      6) How much yeast (%) are you using?
                      7) How long are you letting the dough rise?
                      8) How are you shaping your skins? (Toss, stretch, rolling pin)
                      9) How much do your dough balls weigh?
                      10) How big are your skins? (Diameter)

                      There are too many factors involved in making dough to pinpoint your particular problem without the above info. Post your recipe and technique and I'm sure we can figure it out.

                      I make different doughs based upon where I will bake them. My WFO doughs are made with Caputo flour, 64%+- hydration, and 1.5% salt. I'll also make up "indoor oven" dough (please don't ban me!). I'll use Caputo, KA Bread Flour, or Con Agra Kyrol hi-gluten flour, a slightly lower hydration (62%-64%), same salt 1.5%, and add 1.5% evoo. I let my dough rise in the fridge for 16-24 hours and then another 2 hours on the counter before I use it. I haven't gotten the hang of tossing, so I stretch my dough to shape on my knuckles and the counter, and I use 250g ball for a 12"-13" pizza, which is pretty thin.

                      To bake in my "indoor oven", I put my round baking stone on the bottom rack and my Pampered Chef rectangular stone on the top rack and heat the oven to 525* for about an hour, if I'm in a hurry, longer if I'm not. Dress the skin lightly with sauce, cheese & other toppings and bake until the cheese and crust start to brown. If you cook too long the dough will be tough, as it will also be if you roll out the dough with a rolling pin, or work the dough too much while making the skin. It could also be tough due to a low hydration % or some other technique your (or are not) using. Give us some more info.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Dough!! Please help.

                        With the right stone in a gas oven I have found it best to place the stone on the bottom and crank the oven all the way up - 550?. But getting the right stone is important, Don't use the thing you get at Target or some such place. I don't remember where I got mine, probably right here through FB. But it takes the heat without breaking. My quest for perfect pizza in a conventional oven ended. I am planning on building my first WFO and I am convinced that is the final ingredient to absolutely divine, perfect pizza.I think what makes my stone such a great one is the material and the thickness. I believe it's refractory material such as used in preformed WFOs.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Dough!! Please help.

                          I still have my pizza stone that I bought at King Arthur years ago. 50 bucks or so - about a half-an-inch thick and probably 16 X 24 inches.

                          I think the bottom shelf idea makes the most sense. I'm pretty sure that's what I did as well. Preheat at 550 degrees for a half hour before putting in the pizza. Keep the sauce to a light coat. Practice, practice.

                          G.
                          GJBingham
                          -----------------------------------
                          Everyone makes mistakes. The trick is to make mistakes when nobody is looking.

                          -

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                          • #14
                            Re: Dough!! Please help.

                            When I'm forced indoors, I use two- one on the bottom shelf and one on the top (as far up as I can put it). The heat stays better with the two stones, and I get really good top browning. Still not like my wfo, but I'm sort of becoming a weenie about having to stand in the rain... my next oven has a cover over the whole area.
                            Elizabeth

                            http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/e...html#post41545

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                            • #15
                              Re: Dough!! Please help.

                              I'm in the same boat. Weather impacts use here as well. If the forcast if for rain, I throw out plans for pizza. Looks like building a cover over your oven would be as easy as mine. Just a matter of planning and getting to work.
                              G.
                              GJBingham
                              -----------------------------------
                              Everyone makes mistakes. The trick is to make mistakes when nobody is looking.

                              -

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