Personal Best Pizza

[texassourdough]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

Hi BYP!

It doesn't sound like the dough was 67%. You should definitely recheck your calculations. What flour were you using? What percent protein? IF it was Italian 00 or bread flour it should IMO be balled on forming (or within a half hour or so). If you wait the dough has too much memory and will be tough and difficult to work with. In my experience 00 and bread flour doughs benefit from extended relaxation before forming. And...it could be both hydration and late balling. The biga was no part of the problem. Something else went astray.

Good Luck!
Jay

[heliman]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

Sounds like a good outcome overall.

You should be able to perfect the technique over time so keep at it...

Check at the biga preparation and make sure you use a minuscule amount of IDY (.1%) and knead well. Don't overproof on the bench - perhaps try placing the prepared biga directly into the fridge and don't bench proof at all.

[BackyardPermaculture]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

So I baked the pizzas in the WFO tonight using that weird biga that I made this week.

The dough was very unusual to me; it seemed quite dense and solid. I'm pretty sure it was 67% hydration, but it didn't feel like it. For various reasons I had to make the dough late Friday night so I couldn't let it rise - I just mixed it (incorporating the biga), 5 minute auto, some hand kneading (including stretch-and-fold which may be a bad idea), and put it in the fridge in a large bowl.

I made 10 small pizzas in the WFO. The first couple were difficult; the dough was hard to work with and kept tearing in a way I've never experienced. I've had thin spots and holes, but not tearing. But as the dough balls proofed on the bench for a while the later ones were much better to work with. They still didn't feel like 67% hydration to me though, and behaved really differently to the doughs I've made before.

As far as cooking; every pizza was great. Really good spring, even though the WFO wasn't really hot enough. The fire almost went out after about 20 minutes from first lighting (kindling all burnt but logs didn't get going), so it was hard to get it all really hot from there. But really happy with the pizzas anyway - our last-minute guests loved them.

[texassourdough]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

The formal distinction between biga and poolish is somewhat muddled although the terms are Italian, and French, respectively. The problem is that there is no singular definition of what either is and they can overlap.

That said poolish is usually wetter (100% hydration for convenience) and bigas are typically drier - say 60 percent or so but range from roughly 60 percent all the way to 100. And at 100 there is no difference. For simplicity I will treat the biga as 60% and the poolish as 100.

Poolish has a finer time iine for it "ripens" faster than a drier preferment. As a result, biga can typically be held longer between uses. Some say poolish gives more extensibility to the dough but...I suspect that is hard to prove. It certainly is easier to mix in. And poor mixing will result in uneven distribution of yeast in the final dough with the potential result of superlarge bubbles and uneven texture in the bread.

It is IMO simply personal preference!
Jay

[dregnier]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

Is there any advantages or differences in using bigga versus poolish? I find using the poolish easier to blend in with the remainder of the ingredients the next day?

Den

[heliman]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

What is the recommended hydration level for a WFO cooked pizza?

I would have thought 67% is pretty high... remember I am using olive oil (4.2%) as well and the 67% is only the water component.

BTW I am not really chasing "bubbles" - is that a desirable quality in a pizza?

[texassourdough]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

Hi splatg!

The eggs were fried in a two egg size skillet - say 6 to 7 inches across - sunny size up with soft yolks so when you cut them the oozed all over the pizza. I am pretty sure they did not cook the eggs in the pizza oven for that would tend to overcook the yolk though they may have simply used a skillet heated in the oven. We were at a table where I couldn't see instead of my normal perch right by the oven.

The melding of flavors was exceptional. Doug does a house burrata that uses truffle oil that Peter Reinhart thought was the best he had ever tasted. (I took him there after a bread class here in SA.) The burrata di bufalo is imported from Italy and is really special also though I prefer the house version. The mushrooms were oven roasted with shallots, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper and I think that is it. The burrata is cut into chunks and spread around the pizza. The mushrooms are scattered over that. Toppings before cooking probably cover less than half of the dough. That goes in the oven. When it comes out the toppings probably cover 60-70 percent of the surface. The eggs go on top in the middle. Then, at the table, they shave fresh black truffle on top. We probably got close to a quarter ounce! The truffle hit the warm pizza and the aroma of truffle erupted in a waves of sensous aroma that had nearby tables commenting! I have never had a more perfect flavor combo! It was probably R- or X-rated!

We had a wine with it that was new to me. Layer Cake Primitivo from Puglia. It is a steal at about $12 at my local liquor store. It is a near perfect red for pizza!

Salud!
Jay

[splatgirl]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

It's funny, those pizzas look very nice, but I could tell right away that they weren't cooked in a WFO. I am looking forward to seeing the same recipe done WFO, as I would agree with Jay that you'll need a higher hydration/less handling to get big bubbles. BUT...those pies look exactly like the ones I have done in my indoor oven using my dough that I know gives lots of big holes and leoparding in the WFO, so who knows.

Jay, that pizza sounds fantastic. All of my favorite things! Were the eggs fried first and then put onto the pie/into the oven or cracked onto the pizza raw? I still have not perfected my bacon and egg pizzas in the WFO. The eggs get cracked right onto them before they go into the oven which works great for the longer cooking times in an indoor oven, but in the WFO, it's so fast that the egg never has time to cook as much as I'd like it to.

[texassourdough]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

Hi Rossco!

I think you are going to need more hydration or different handling to get bigger bubbles to get leoparding but....???? you won't know until you try it!

The WFO at temp is definitely a different environment!

At at my favorite pizzaria Wednesday and had a spectacular pizza. World class dough topped with burrata di mozarella di bufalo, oven roasted mushrooms, two fried eggs (sunny side up), and shaved black truffle. It was to die for! One of the best pizzas I have had in years. A stunning flavor combination!

Eat well!
Jay

[lwood]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

Crust looks perfect to me.

[heliman]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

Thanks Jay ...

Yes, will defiitely have to crank up the WFO to see how the dough performs in that environment. I will aim to get that elusive leoparding that has pretty much eluded me so far...

No more baking this weekend unfortunately as we are going out to a restaurant for spare ribs tomorrow night, and Sunday I'll be making a meat only BBQ.

Anyone baking this weekend??

[texassourdough]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

Those look just about perfect Rossco. My biggest criticism would be that they look too perfect to be "rustic" and "handmade". You are turning out pizzas so round and smooth they look machine made! But not the crust puff! It is perfect though there are those who like some larger bubbles so you get some char - and this may do that but you will need to use the WFO to find out.

You seem to have definitely found a combo that works for you! NICE JOB!
Jay

[heliman]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

Thanks for the kind comments czaunb2...

This evenings bake-off, done in the electric oven.

I seem to be able to keep the consistency going and tonight was no exception. I was pleased with the results overall. One observation however was that the biga was slightly more proofed than previously. Whilst this wasn't a problem, I did see increased crust puffing which was fine though and the taste was still very good.

Kicked off with salami, Danish fetta and mushroom with a light sprinke of fresh chilli from the garden.

Then I made the standard anchovy, capers and mushroom, followed by a wife-pleaser... the caramel and banana with cinnamon and caramelised sugar.

[texassourdough]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

Hi Mick!

My comments were based on your statement you were expanding to 1000 grams of "dough" not flour so....my comments aren't quite so meaningiful. Your biga seems strange. It shouldn't be like that if it was mixed (but in your case maybe overmixed due to the low hydration is part of the blame?) Whatever it is it shouldn't look like that! (Again, not that I think it hurts much)

Gotta think about this. I will get back to you!
Jay

[czaunb2]

Re: Personal Best Pizza

Looks so great! It makes me so eager to finish so that I can finally make good looking food. The rosemary pizza looks so good--almost seems like it has a similar texture to naan bread. YUM!