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This is crackly, yet chewy with good crumb and holes. It is a 3 day process and it is wet dough. It is based upon my 6 months of trying to perfect Ciabatta and then building from there.
I have found the combo of large quantity of pre dough, OO flour with additional notes with small amounts of Rye, Wheat Germ and Teff flour gives complex and distinctive flavor and strength. I don't use any oil in making the dough. I do however coat the edges of the pizza just before putting it in the WFO. High hydration and slow rise with the right handling gives a good crumb and taste for pizza.
PRE- DOUGH INGREDIENTS:
500g 00 flour
1 teaspoon malted barley syrup
500g water
2 gram rapid rise yeast
First off, use a digital scale you can zero and life is much easier. All measurements are by weight.
Combine the flour, water and yeast in a mixer just to incorporate stuff for a minute. You aren't trying to develop the gluten or anything. 2 grams is the only yeast I use and half in the pre dough. Take a soft spatula or something and scrape everything to the bottom of the mixer bowl and cover it with some saran wrap. You want to let it ferment for preferably 24 hours in the refrigerator. Long slow fermentation of the pre dough adds flavor.
The pre-dough is ready once you see lots of bubbles on the surface and has more than doubled. Pull it out of the refrigerator an hour before you use it and let it come to room temp. It will be over-ripened if you will notice signs of the dough receding within the bowl. Depending on the amount of yeast and temperature, your pre-dough development time will vary, so you will need to check it until you can tell it's ready, and before it over-ripens.
FINAL DOUGH INGREDIENTS:
All of the Pre dough: 1030 grams
500 grams OO flour
340 grams Water(by weight)
4 gram yeast
30 grams Rye flour
10 grams Wheat Germ
5 gramsTeff Flour
30 grams kosher salt
10 grams honey
I pre mix all the flours without the salt and dissolve the yeast and honey in the water. Add to the mixer bowl with the pre-dough. Turn on the mixer with the hook and let it run for a bit on the slowest setting to combine things and then turn the mixer up to the medium high and add the salt after it is mixed for 6 minutes. Take care not to forget the salt- I have done this 2 times!
Let the mixer run for another 6 minutes or until it clears the bowl. If you measured well, it should do it about 4 minutes. Mix until it clears the bowl and stops sticking to the edges.
Let it rest for 30 minutes and then pour the dough out on a well floured table.
Stretch it and fold it 2-3 times onto itself and incorporate a bit of the OO flour you put on the table. Put it in the fridge overnight.
After letting the final dough ferment for 24 hours, let it come to room temp. Then roll it into a 4-5"(110 to 125mm) diameter log. If you are going to use the dough that night, split it into equal pieces for individual pizzas. Otherwise, freeze the dough. When you are using it, put each floured dough ball into its own air tight container until you cook. I got some stackable 8" by 3.5" proofing pans from the internet that seal on themselves and a few lids. I like them because they are aluminum and chill quickly and they are pretty reasonable size. This is key because I can put 2 stacks of these proofing containers in my small bar refrigerator for their slow rise without disturbing them:
I take the dough out a couple of hours before using them.
Preserving the natural growing structure of the dough is very important- Your handling of the final dough will determine your success on the crumb and whether it has the nice big airy holes I am trying so hard to achieve.
Basically I let the rising process do most of the work so I don't have to "roll" out the pizzas and I preserve the air pockets by handling it as carefully as possible from here on.
At this point, there is usually a lot going on with a pizza party et al and I really like how effortless this dough can be turned into pizza. You dust the top and your hands with some flour and gently get the ball out of the container without deflating any of the wonderful bubbles inside. Gently stretch it with your knuckles and try to leave the edge a bit more. With this dough, you do not flatten or roll, you simply stretch it a bit and it almost forms into a pizza itself because it is so hydrated and relaxed. Try to set it on a well floured paddle and let it sit for a bit if you want or dress with toppings and into the oven it goes. It is airy, chewy and crackly all at the same time and effortless to stretch into a pizza shape.
I hope you will find it as interesting a crust as I have. Having realized my dream of building my own WFO almost entirely because of this site, I wanted to share.
On a final note, dough schedule:
1. Pre-dough - make late at night
2. Final dough- mix 18-24 hours later
3. Ferment final dough 12-24 hours in the refrigerator
Pull out of the refrigerator in the proofing pans sealed from air 3-4 hours before you plan to make them into pizza
Gt40
I have found the combo of large quantity of pre dough, OO flour with additional notes with small amounts of Rye, Wheat Germ and Teff flour gives complex and distinctive flavor and strength. I don't use any oil in making the dough. I do however coat the edges of the pizza just before putting it in the WFO. High hydration and slow rise with the right handling gives a good crumb and taste for pizza.
PRE- DOUGH INGREDIENTS:
500g 00 flour
1 teaspoon malted barley syrup
500g water
2 gram rapid rise yeast
First off, use a digital scale you can zero and life is much easier. All measurements are by weight.
Combine the flour, water and yeast in a mixer just to incorporate stuff for a minute. You aren't trying to develop the gluten or anything. 2 grams is the only yeast I use and half in the pre dough. Take a soft spatula or something and scrape everything to the bottom of the mixer bowl and cover it with some saran wrap. You want to let it ferment for preferably 24 hours in the refrigerator. Long slow fermentation of the pre dough adds flavor.
The pre-dough is ready once you see lots of bubbles on the surface and has more than doubled. Pull it out of the refrigerator an hour before you use it and let it come to room temp. It will be over-ripened if you will notice signs of the dough receding within the bowl. Depending on the amount of yeast and temperature, your pre-dough development time will vary, so you will need to check it until you can tell it's ready, and before it over-ripens.
FINAL DOUGH INGREDIENTS:
All of the Pre dough: 1030 grams
500 grams OO flour
340 grams Water(by weight)
4 gram yeast
30 grams Rye flour
10 grams Wheat Germ
5 gramsTeff Flour
30 grams kosher salt
10 grams honey
I pre mix all the flours without the salt and dissolve the yeast and honey in the water. Add to the mixer bowl with the pre-dough. Turn on the mixer with the hook and let it run for a bit on the slowest setting to combine things and then turn the mixer up to the medium high and add the salt after it is mixed for 6 minutes. Take care not to forget the salt- I have done this 2 times!
Let the mixer run for another 6 minutes or until it clears the bowl. If you measured well, it should do it about 4 minutes. Mix until it clears the bowl and stops sticking to the edges.
Let it rest for 30 minutes and then pour the dough out on a well floured table.
Stretch it and fold it 2-3 times onto itself and incorporate a bit of the OO flour you put on the table. Put it in the fridge overnight.
After letting the final dough ferment for 24 hours, let it come to room temp. Then roll it into a 4-5"(110 to 125mm) diameter log. If you are going to use the dough that night, split it into equal pieces for individual pizzas. Otherwise, freeze the dough. When you are using it, put each floured dough ball into its own air tight container until you cook. I got some stackable 8" by 3.5" proofing pans from the internet that seal on themselves and a few lids. I like them because they are aluminum and chill quickly and they are pretty reasonable size. This is key because I can put 2 stacks of these proofing containers in my small bar refrigerator for their slow rise without disturbing them:
I take the dough out a couple of hours before using them.
Preserving the natural growing structure of the dough is very important- Your handling of the final dough will determine your success on the crumb and whether it has the nice big airy holes I am trying so hard to achieve.
Basically I let the rising process do most of the work so I don't have to "roll" out the pizzas and I preserve the air pockets by handling it as carefully as possible from here on.
At this point, there is usually a lot going on with a pizza party et al and I really like how effortless this dough can be turned into pizza. You dust the top and your hands with some flour and gently get the ball out of the container without deflating any of the wonderful bubbles inside. Gently stretch it with your knuckles and try to leave the edge a bit more. With this dough, you do not flatten or roll, you simply stretch it a bit and it almost forms into a pizza itself because it is so hydrated and relaxed. Try to set it on a well floured paddle and let it sit for a bit if you want or dress with toppings and into the oven it goes. It is airy, chewy and crackly all at the same time and effortless to stretch into a pizza shape.
I hope you will find it as interesting a crust as I have. Having realized my dream of building my own WFO almost entirely because of this site, I wanted to share.
On a final note, dough schedule:
1. Pre-dough - make late at night
2. Final dough- mix 18-24 hours later
3. Ferment final dough 12-24 hours in the refrigerator
Pull out of the refrigerator in the proofing pans sealed from air 3-4 hours before you plan to make them into pizza
Gt40
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