Yeast % for 24 hr Cold Fermentation

[heliman]

Latest recipe below:

Flour 100.00%
Water 67.00%
Yeast 0.50%
Salt 2.40%

Does this look like suitable ratios for WFO cooking - particularly the yeast %? I have dropped the yeast level down from 0.6 to 0.5%

This is for a 24 hr cold fermentation.

TIA

Rossco

[nissanneill]

Re: Yeast % for 24 hr Cold Fermentation

Rossco,
I couldn't be bothered waiting 24 hours for my dough to proof. Better to mix it, get it risen, cut it up into balls, wait a while for the fire to heat the dome and then get into it. Why procrastinate and spread the preparation out over a day or so??

Neill

[heliman]

Re: Yeast % for 24 hr Cold Fermentation

Thanks Neill ...

Think I'll give your method a go too - will be interesting to see the results. Always keen to streamline the process where possible as long as it doesn't compromise the end result..

Rossco

[nissanneill]

Re: Yeast % for 24 hr Cold Fermentation

Rossco,
Hey, I'm all for improvement and if the results double in quality or quantity over the 24 hours, then it is worth giving it a shot.
If however, my taste buds can't tell the difference, then why waste the time. We all know that putting on a pizza fest is a huge amount of work and better to get it over and done with without spreading it over a full day. I feel, better only 'on the day'!

[heliman]

Re: Yeast % for 24 hr Cold Fermentation

I like that thinking Neill....

In fact, some of my best pizzas have been those make in the morning and used in the evening (left in the fridge in the interim).

What I would also be been to try is making the dough, standing it at room temp for an hour, cutting, fridge, removing dough from fridge 2 hrs before use.

So far I haven't rested the dough at room temp for an hour before cutting as the suggestion has been to put it straight into the fridge and not allow it to warm up....

Jay's recipe here looks quite interesting - it's was posted a while back so I'm not sure if it has been modified since then.

Recipe

Here is the perfect dough recipe...the numbers are a little funny because I was using a formula to convert ounces to grams...

- 2.2 lbs Caputo flour (around 998 grams or a kilo is close enough)
- 600 ml room temp water (around 79 degrees)
- 19.8 grams salt (if you can measure that close, 20 won't kill you)
- 4.25 grams ACTIVE FRESH yeast (hard to find, but they have it at specialty grocers...I paid $0.79 for a little cube)

Add water to mixing bowl, stir in salt to dissolve.
Mix in yeast with your hands and swirl to dissolve.
Start mixer on low speed
Add flour
Mix for about 8 minutes on low
Check the dough during mixing to make sure it is clearing the sides but sticking to the bottom - add water or flour to get it there if necessary.
Remove the dough from the bowl and cover with a wet, warm dish towel for 45 mins - 1 hr (I set mine on a granite counter)
After resting, cut the dough into 9.5 oz (269 gram) dough balls - you should get about 6.
Place dough balls on cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap on top and bottom.
Refrigerate 1-2 days and use

This dough was really easy to stretch and handle. no tears or holes and I could stretch it to thin 11 inch pies or so. I find it easier to use the dough right out of the fridge...so I didn't let it warm up to room temp.

I also really fired my oven good because I wanted it HOT. I also used my FB log holder and that seemed to let me keep a nice flame going.

[heliman]

Re: Yeast % for 24 hr Cold Fermentation

I kept back 4 of these balls to continue the experiment and baked 2 of them today. I removed them from the proofing tray and folded them briefly (in their cold state), then left them to rest for about 1.5 hrs.

The results were incredible. I did a windowpane test and found that I could stretch the dough almost double the normal size without tearing. The pizzas puffed nicely too and provided a really nice crispy/chewy combo. Just done in the electric oven as a quick test - would definitely be much better in the WFO.

Rossco

[Stan]

Re: Yeast % for 24 hr Cold Fermentation

Hey Rossco,

I've adapted the Reinhart Pain a l'Ancienne technique to my yeasted pizza dough with VERY good results. I'm using bread flour, but AP and Caputo work wonderfully too. Just mix your flour, salt, and yeast and put the bowl in the refrigerator or freezer until cold. Add ice cold water and knead until the gluten forms. It should stay pretty cold during kneading. Refrigerate overnight then ball and bring to room temp. Beautiful crust every time.

I'm hovering somewhere around 67% hydration with 2% salt and .7% instant yeast (not sure on that last number though.)

It's close to what you're doing, but it doesn't take 24 hours. All in all, it's probably closer to 12.

Stan

[heliman]

Re: Yeast % for 24 hr Cold Fermentation

Thanks for the note Stan...

I've just grabbed PR's book and and checking out the process you have mentioned. I am about to get a sourdough started up and running so will have at go at making Pain a l'Ancienne.too as a comparison.

Rossco