Pete-zza
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« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2005, 09:40:16 PM » |
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WOMBAT,
I think the answer to your question about the useful life of a dough depends on the kind of dough you are making. What Varasano says about his particular dough is undoubtedly correct, and I think the same would apply to the Raquel dough. I recently made a Raquel dough and used it after about 3 days. It was clear to me from the degree of elasticity (springbacK) that remained in the dough after 3 days that it could have gone out at least another few days. But I have not had the same experience with the Lehmann NY style dough, and, judging from the many posts on this site from members who have tried to make the Lehmann dough, few have been able to get beyond 3 days of useful like. Yet the Lehmann dough is a low-yeast dough and it rises very little while in the refrigerator, especially if the refrigerator operates on the cool side (say, 40-45 degrees F). To extend the useful life of a Lehmann dough, one might use even cooler water, a lower hydration (around 58-60%), use small amounts of yeast, put the dough in a super cool refrigerator (like a spare or empty refrigerator in the basement or garage), and possibly add a bit of sugar to the initial recipe to continue to feed the yeast over the long retardation period. So, the matter of life expectancy of a dough goes far beyond the amount of yeast used.
In answer to one of your most recent questions, there is no magic amount of yeast to use that applies to all cases. It depends on the recipe you intend to use and also whether the dough is to ferment at room temperature or in the refigerator and your specific time frame, that is, whether you intend to use the dough the same day or after one or more days in the refrigerator. And also whether you plan to use a preferment, which is also a source of leavening for a dough. Doughs made from different flours will also behave differently, even in the same recipe. My best advice is to determine what style of pizza you want to make (e.g., NY style, deep-dish, Neapolitan, etc.), use a flour that is best suited for the particular selected style, and find a good recipe to use for the selected style. As an example, with the Caputo 00 flour you recently ordered, I would look for a good recipe that is based on 00 flour. Most likely that would be a Neapolitan style. Or it might be a DiFara style using both the Caputo 00 flour and a high-gluten flour. Or it might be a Raquel recipe using the Caputo 00 flour, as pftaylor recently tried. The Caputo 00 flour is likely not to be particularly suitable for a classic NY style dough.
As for the type of yeast to use, everyone has a favorite. If I were a baker or had access to fresh baker's yeast, I would probably use that form of yeast mainly because it starts to work faster than the dried yeasts (it doesn't require much in the way of hydration). You can also use active dry yeast (ADY) or instant dry yeast (IDY). Both are good, but the ADY requires proofing in warm water before using whereas the IDY can just be combined with the flour without any proofing in water. Whether you go with ADY or IDY, I recommend that you look for the 1-lb. bags that are sold by Fleischmann's, or SAF, or Red Star in places like Sam's or Costco's. If you plan to use a good part of the 55 lb. bag of Caputo 00 flour you will soon be receiving, the per unit cost of the yeast sold in the 1-lb. bags will be far less than the little packets you might find in the supermarkets. If properly maintained, the dry yeast will last a long time. If you aren't near one of the big box stores or you don't belong to one, you can always order ADY or IDY from an online source. King Arthur sells both forms online, but there are many other places that do likewise, and a simple Google search will lead you to many such sources.
Peter
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