1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

[sclancy]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

Thanks man, Ill store it in bulk then, however room temp here is 78F, its warm here. so i will put it in the fridge sooner than that. I will make them into balls the morning of the event? will this work, and bring it to room temp before pulling the balls. lol.

I think you should portion and ball the dough after rising (min 1-2 hrs if only going in the fridge for 24hrs before use) but before going in the fridge. You do not want to have to let the whole batch come back to room temp before you portion and ball it - that will take too long and you will be handling it too much trying to ball it the day of use. Whatever you do do not overknead - a few mins in the mixer and a couple of fold and kneads on the board before you let it rise and then just cut/weigh, fold 2-3 times and ball it. 24hrs in the fridge will build some more gluten.

[V-wiz]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

9.77 oz balls will make 18 pies from 11 lb of dough. That is a nice size to work with for 12 inch pizzas. They may be a little thicker than you will be able to achieve in the future but your guests will think it is the best they have ever had.

Try to keep them in a 12-14 inch range. You may find thinner pizzas harder to get into the oven.

Best of luck on your party.

Chip

Thank you chip, after posing i added a little bit of more flour and water, so ive got more dough (go big or go home) since then the dough has risen very nicely, almost coming out the sides of the large while container. I will make the balls. 280g.

[V-wiz]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

That is a nice countertop you have there!

One last bit of .02....Don't worry too much about this stuff. It's just pizza....things get way over thought (with the builds too) and that creates apprehension. Once you make a couple you will settle into a rhythm, and it will be fun. But take pics so we can all laugh at you.

Obviously the stonecutter notices the stone countrtop. Lol, thank you.

Lol, i will take photos.

[V-wiz]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

I think you should portion and ball the dough after rising (min 1-2 hrs if only going in the fridge for 24hrs before use) but before going in the fridge. You do not want to have to let the whole batch come back to room temp before you portion and ball it - that will take too long and you will be handling it too much trying to ball it the day of use. Whatever you do do not overknead - a few mins in the mixer and a couple of fold and kneads on the board before you let it rise and then just cut/weigh, fold 2-3 times and ball it. 24hrs in the fridge will build some more gluten.

Its been in the fridge in bulk over night and has risen... So tonight i will take it and portion them, so i should oil the containers they will be in? Thank you

[sclancy]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

I defer to someone who has more experience here but I think you need to bring the dough back to room temp before you can portion and ball. Balling cold dough may not work.. I m not sure. There is certainly a technique to doing it - there are good videos on it (check youtube) - I cant imagine it working with cold dough....

I have been doing a shorter 1-2 hr bulk rise at room temp, portion and ball and then do an extended cold rise/gluten build for 1-3 days.

[V-wiz]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

Thanks for the info, id be interested to see what others say, id like to do it right.

[rsandler]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

Balling cold dough works fine. I used to divide and ball my pizza dough and then refrigerate in individual ziplocks. Since they would lose shape in the bags, I would re-ball them as soon as I got them out of the fridge and then bake after an hour at room temperature. Since then I've switched to storing the dough balls in individual, oiled containers, so that I don't have to re-shape on bake day (makes it much easier to stretch the crust).

[V-wiz]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

Perfect thanks for the info, i am going to get small containers with lids and do that tonight

[rsandler]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

Go for ones with screw-top lids if you can get them. The standard lids have an annoying tendency to pop/explode off in the fridge from the buildup of CO2 produced by the yeast.

[V-wiz]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

Go for ones with screw-top lids if you can get them. The standard lids have an annoying tendency to pop/explode off in the fridge from the buildup of CO2 produced by the yeast.

I got some containers today. There was none with screw tops. Just got the Ziploc containers. 6 for $1.95. I got 3 packs.

[V-wiz]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

So it looks like im going to make more dough. 5 more people added to the list. Thats 21 people now.

[Tscarborough]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

Burp them when you fill them, then check every day or poke a pin hole in the lid.

[Tscarborough]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

And just as an FYI, the Classico tomatoes sold by Walmart are in actuality Stanislaus 6-1 tomatoes and they are arguably the best there is for uncooked pizza sauce. Oh and they are on sale for a buck a 28oz can.

I have tried every brand available from 5 buck a can DOP San Marzanos to all the national brands to the local brand (HEB which is what I use for cooked pizza sauce).

Do you have any expectations on how long you plan on cooking each pizza? I ask because just the tomatoes are great for sub 2 minute pizza, but cooked sauces do better for 2-6 minute pizzas.

[stonecutter]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

I'll have to look for those (classico) next time I brave Walmart. Cento is our favorite by far...and at 3.99 a can totally worth it.

[stonecutter]

Re: 1st Pizza, 1st Pizza party & its going to be a big one...

So it looks like im going to make more dough. 5 more people added to the list. Thats 21 people now.

Sounds like what happens every time we have people over. You will be a pizza making machine.

Once I start noticing everyone getting full, I switch from pizza to Stromboli, and send them home with people....they are a big hit.