Weird dough experience---had to share

[Stan]

Hey everybody,

So I did a 20 pie night for my extended family this past Saturday. Normally, I like a 00 at around 65% fermented at room temperature for 24-36 hours. This dough needed to come together sooner and cheaper, so I bought 5# of Gold Medal bread flour in the yellow bag. Unbleached, enriched, has some malted barley wheat in it. I made a 62% dough so I'd have a better life in the refrigerator. I mixed, rested, kneaded, then bulked into a ball. Straight into the fridge for 3 days. I pulled it on Saturday, about 3 hours before firing the oven. I balled the cold dough and rested the balls on sheet pans in a very warm room.

It was some of the best dough I'd ever made. The spring at the cornicione was unreal, and the browning was deep and golden instead of the normal 00 leopard spotting. The crumb was soft, cool, and extremely sweet from the long cold fermentation. Crust was thin and crackly. This was $20/pie pizza from a $2.99 bag of Gold Medal. I had to share the results.

Stan

[scott123]

At the temp you're baking at, malted flour will always be superior. Far superior. 00 is great at less than 90 seconds, but, it's the absolute worst for longer bakes. It kills me when I see 00 being used at lower temps- and kills me even more when I see celebrities like Kenji recommending it for long bakes.

And 62% hydration 2-3 days cold ferment is the sweet spot for bread flour. If you want to take it an even higher level, track down some 13% protein bromated flour. That's where the magic really happens. Also, Grande isn't what it used to be. They've been coasting on their laurels for a while. If you have other wholesale cheese options (such as Saputo), I think you'll be happier with those.

[Stan]

Here's the weird thing Scott: This was a 2 minute cook, max. I got spotting on the bottom. It wasn't a 90 second cook, but it wasn't a 3 minute pie either. I was too busy to temp the oven, but it's a tiny little Primavera, and that malt just browned like crazy. I cook professionally with a malted blend, and still haven't seen that kind of browning, spring, and crumb, especially with a "cheap" flour.

(I'm not sure most celebrities know how to cook pizza. They just know how to sell pizza accessories.)

[scott123]

No disrespect Stan, but I know my two minute bakes really well and I'd bet just about any amount of money that that bake wasn't a second less than 2.5 minutes. If you want to tell me it wasn't 3, I believe you, but I strongly believe it was 2.5, and 2.5 and 1.5 are entirely different universes, imo.

I also get the feeling that you might be appreciating the tenderness you're getting from the drop in protein. Caputo is 12.7% and Better for Bread is 12%, I believe.