Pizza dough, to poolish or not to poolish

[MarcelNL]

The flavors were incredible, nothing wrong there, yet this was how the dough looked after the second 16 or so hr ferment at 4'C, it took like 2 hours to get up to something like room temp, thoughts anyone?
The dough balls were sortof flat after a further 2 hour at room temp (22'C) despite being proper round balls when I prepared them.

(back to the drawingboard reading up on double ferment...)

 

[Bensbites]

The other part that's key for puffy crust is high heat. I have an koda 16. I am still refining my methods. If you bake on high heat you get puffy crust, but the texture is more like pita bread not pizza. If you preheat on max, launch the pie , then turn down the gas to almost off , you get great texture and taste from the crust, but less puffy crust. Next runs I will wait to turn down the heat

 

[MarcelNL]

The other part that's key for puffy crust is high heat. I have an koda 16. I am still refining my methods. If you bake on high heat you get puffy crust, but the texture is more like pita bread not pizza. If you preheat on max, launch the pie , then turn down the gas to almost off , you get great texture and taste from the crust, but less puffy crust. Next runs I will wait to turn down the heat

Word for the Arduro is to keep it at full blast, which I did, the biscotto floor can take all that heat easily.

 

[Lars]

I started mine two days ago. Yesterday after kneading I let the dough sit one hour at room temp then made balls and stuck them in the fridge. I plan on taking the dough straight from the fridge, forming and baking. They are looking good so far.

 

[boomchakabowwow]

I just learned this word. all because I want to make some English Muffins

 

[Lars]

The dough turned out to be very easy to work with straight out of the fridge. Opening it almost felt like cheating. The cornicione could maybe have browned a little better, but for a first try in my domestic oven I quite like the result.

 

[MarcelNL]

looking good!

 

[MarcelNL]

I'm doing a rematch in two weeks, longer pre-proofing at room temp, less cold fridge (will use the wine fridge this time)...flavors and crispness are there, now the ridiculous puffiness....

 

[AT5760]

Mixed the poolish Friday night. Shaped Saturday morning and it sat in the refrigerator until lunch today. Phenomenal flavor and texture. I cooked on a gas grill, so not as good of results as other methods, but the stone gets pretty hot with a little leoparding on the bottom.

 

[MarcelNL]

after a lot of thinking I may have found the culprit...mt dry yeast is far too old.....I bought a 500g pack of dry yeast like 3 years ago thinking it would keep forever, inactivated yeast and all that, so I opened it and kept the remainder in a glass jar...and used it until now....

 

[Michi]

after a lot of thinking I may have found the culprit...mt dry yeast is far too old.....I bought a 500g pack of dry yeast like 3 years ago thinking it would keep forever, inactivated yeast and all that, so I opened it and kept the remainder in a glass jar...and used it until now....

Oh, bad idea

If I buy a large amount, I portion it into 50 g lots, vacuum seal them, and store them in the freezer. They last years that way. If you don’t want to do that, then at least keep the yeast in your fridge. It won’t last very long at room temperature.

Now that there is no longer a yeast shortage, the easiest thing is to just buy smaller amounts,

 

[Bensbites]

after a lot of thinking I may have found the culprit...mt dry yeast is far too old.....I bought a 500g pack of dry yeast like 3 years ago thinking it would keep forever, inactivated yeast and all that, so I opened it and kept the remainder in a glass jar...and used it until now....

I store my yeast sealed in the freezer. That should last forever.

 

[MarcelNL]

Oh, bad idea

If I buy a large amount, I portion it into 50 g lots, vacuum seal them, and store them in the freezer. They last years that way. If you don’t want to do that, then at least keep the yeast in your fridge. It won’t last very long at room temperature.

Now that there is no longer a yeast shortage, the easiest thing is to just buy smaller amounts,

yeah, and the crazy part is that I knew it would not last but somehow forgot how long it was after opening....three years....

Ordered a smaller pack of 100g (previous one was 500g) and will vacuum and freeze like half of it...ordered some more San Marzano do Nocere DOP while at it

 

[MarcelNL]

BTW; for those in Belgium/Netherlands, AH sells Mutti San Marzano di Nocerino DOP these days...taste testing showed a mixed bag, I preferred the Valgri I had in stock for being slightly more complex and my GF the Mutti tomatoes for being more full bodied.
Difference was small enough to not ever worry about it.

 

[MarcelNL]

another attempt, 75% hydration, 12% Manitoba rest Caputo Cuoco (chef), 2g fresh (dry) yeast....50% poolish, 48hrs at 12'C

(too many changed variables to draw conclusions but if it works it works)

note to self; add 300ml water and 650 g flour and 25g salt

 

[boblob]

after watching a frantic pizzaiolo (Vito Iacopelli) I'm going to go all the way and will try Poolish this time, issue is...I need dough for like 12 people, a bit much perhaps for a first attempt...anxiety never killed anyone as far as I know.

so..if my math is correct (it hardly is) I'm going to mix 1.5 kg of flour with 1.5 kg of water and preferment that for like 24hrs, then add 370 or so gram of flour to end up with 80% hydratation.

yeast...and salt..dunno, will see what the ambient temperature is, but I reckon some 5g dry yeast and whatever amount of salt at the end ( I typicall use way less salt than most recipes, if I compare it to the original I'd be using plm 2 g of salt per pizza)

Made a nice dough fermenting bin from the bottom of the water softener casing that had its waste incorrectly placed.

will report back

you should use sourdough if you bake alot its alot better than yeasts

 

[MarcelNL]

the issue is I don't bake a lot, just a lot of Pizze in one go ;-)

 

[boblob]

the issue is I don't bake a lot, just a lot of Pizze in one go ;-)

then poolish or biga is the thing for you

 

[MarcelNL]

the poolish does your nick proud, straight from the fridge @5'C

;

 

[Ruso]

I make my pizza dough as any other “yeasted” dough - by using wheat sourdough starter.

 

[RDalman]

I have tried around some with long fermented doughs and sourdough, and came to not considering them worth it actually. These days I do only overday ferment. Mix dough and ball on a baking tray in the morning, oil and plastic wrap, ferment room temp, adjust yeast amount to roomtemp and time to bake just. I use a 12% protein wheat flour and 70% hydration, 2,6% salt.
I bake in a cheapo pellets fired pizzaoven, but replaced stone with biscotti which I think indeed is worth it.

 

[MarcelNL]

FWIW; I'm aiming at Napolitan style Pizza.

I'll give sourdough a try when I imrpove my skills a bit, I suspect the transit from making and topping the pizza until into the oven is a handicap currently.

 

[RDalman]

FWIW; I'm aiming at Napolitan style Pizza.

I'll give sourdough a try when I imrpove my skills a bit, I suspect the transit from making and topping the pizza until into the oven is a handicap currently.

Imo; to some degree adjust your dough recipe to yourself to where you get the best result. I have a friend who makes his best with a ~60% hydration dough, and they're still really good napolitan style pizzas. So don’t be afraid to try starting at a little stiffer dough if the baking is trouble

 

[MarcelNL]

Imo; to some degree adjust your dough recipe to yourself to where you get the best result. I have a friend who makes his best with a ~60% hydration dough, and they're still really good napolitan style pizzas. So don’t be afraid to try starting at a little stiffer dough if the baking is trouble

thanks! Yeah that was the plan going forward, start at a lower hydration and work my way up.
Previously I was using a 65% hydration and got good results, so I will pick up from there and give that a try in this oven.

 

[MarcelNL]

as always, changing two variables at the same time is not a good iedea, every now and then I get carried away and do it, to always regret it or start all over.

 

[Lars]

Another attempt at poolish based pizza. Will have to wait until tomorrow to see how it turns out...

 

[Jovidah]

Everytime I see this thread my brain goes 'poolish pizza? But I thought pizza was italian?'

 

[Lars]

Everytime I see this thread my brain goes 'poolish pizza? But I thought pizza was italian?'

Just use a biga then and your hipster cred will stay intact..!

 

[RDalman]

Just use a biga then and your hipster cred will stay intact..!

Biga is better baby maybe

 

[MarcelNL]

Giving it another try, now at 67% hydration and single ferment....
(from what I read poolish is a name derived from the Polish style of dough mking)