Optimum Yeast Percentage??

[heliman]

The standard FB pizza dough is listed as:

Flour 500.0 100.00%
Salt 10.0 2.00%
Yeast 3.0 0.60%
Water 325.0 65.00%

Some people have suggested that the amount of yeast is too high in this recipe for for both a room temp and an overnight fermentation.

Can anyone suggest the e best % yeast for use in each of the fermentation types.

Also, does too much yeast weaken the dough and make it more susceptible to tearing?

TIA

[texassourdough]

Re: Optimum Yeast Percentage??

Hi Rossco!

There are too many variables for anyone to tell you what the RIGHT yeast percentage is. The goal is to have the dough ready at the time you want it ready to use. At room temp overnight that will require much less yeast than in the fridge where the yeast will almost stop and you will only have the pre refrigerator period, the cool down period, and the warm up period for the yeast to work.

Among the variables are room temperature, type of yeast, and potentially type of flour, and water mineral content. Reinhart's suggestions are a good starting point for refrigerated doughs. Doughs left out will need significantl less yeast.

Yeast does little to the actual dough structure for yeast eats sugars made by enzymes breaking down the starch. The actual effect of enzymes (without yeast present) is a breaking down of the dough structure and accumulation of sugar in the dough. Enzyme activity is not diminished by refrigeration as much as the yeast (and bacterial) activity. The result of the enzymes is that the dough becomes slacker and more liquid over time (like your sourdough starter) and not more prone to tearing.

I think you will find that refrigerated dough is a lot more forgiving of variation of yeast levels than the overnight dough. Making an 18 or 24 hour room temp dough provides an awful lot of time for the yeast to multiply which means that the results will be highly variable and susceptible to influences from the variables I mentioned earlier.

Good Luck!
Jay