I was reading an article published on the website
www.correllconcepts.com on how hardness and ph of water affect the dough.I hope this offers some insight on this issue.
In addition to the amount of water, two conditions of water affect dough. They are hardness and pH (acidity-alkalinity). We examine each.
Hardness
Various minerals can be found in water. Two of them—calcium and magnesium—play a major role in water hardness and also in dough-making. The type and amount of these minerals varies with the locale.
Medium-hard water—that is, water with 50 to 100 ppm (parts per million) of carbonates—is the best for baking. It contains the right amount of mineral salts—mostly of calcium and magnesium—which strengthen gluten and also, to some extent, serve as yeast nutrients.
Soft water (less than 50 ppm carbonates) has a shortage of those salts, which tends to result in a soft, sticky dough because there’s less gluten-tightening effect from minerals. To counteract stickiness, reduce the water portion by about 2 percent. It can also help to increase the salt portion up to 2.5 percent of flour weight. On the baked pizza, the soft water tends to produce a crust texture and color that’s less than optimum.
Hard water (over 100 ppm carbonates) has too much of the salts. This toughens gluten excessively, which retards the fermentation or rise of dough. To counteract that, increase the yeast level and, if it’s used, adjust the amount of yeast food. Also, adding malt or malted flour might help.
Water from a city source usually has a proper degree of hardness for good dough development. However, a pizzeria in a small town or one that draws ground water might have excessively hard water.
pH
To measure acidity and alkalinity, science created the pH scale (pronounced pee-AYCH). It describes the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, including foods, in terms of a number called a pH value, which ranges from 0 (zero) to 14.
A neutral substance (neither acidic nor alkaline) has a pH value of 7.0. Acidic substances have pH’s below seven, with acidity increasing as pH approaches zero. Alkaline substances have pH’s above seven, with alkalinity increasing as pH approaches fourteen.
Examples of acidic foods are milk (pH6.5), tomato juice (pH4), apple juice (pH3), and lemon juice (pH2). Examples of alkaline foods are ripe olives (pH7.5), soda crackers (pH8), and baking soda (pH8). Soap has a pH of ten. Acidic foods tend to taste sour; alkaline foods tend to taste bitter.
Pure or distilled water has a pH of 7.0. However, with the addition of minerals and other substances, it becomes either acidic or alkaline.
pH is important in dough-making because it affects chemical and biological reactions. Most notably, it affects the rate of amylase enzyme performance (conversion of starch to sugar) and, as a result, the rate of fermentation. The optimum pH for starch conversion and fermentation and, hence, for pizza dough, is about five, or slightly acidic. This pH level is best achieved by using water with pH6.5 to 8.0, with pH7.0 being the optimum.
Highly acidic water (below pH6.5) is uncommon because cities treat water to remove acidity—as it corrodes pipes.
However, highly alkaline water (above pH8.0) can occur. Such water tends to reduce the fermentation rate of pizza dough. To counteract it you can (1) acidify the water by adding acetic acid (i.e., vinegar), lactic acid, or monocalcium phosphate; (2) add a mineral conditioner or “yeast food” (e.g., an ammonium salt); or (3) allow more fermentation time. Also, some yeast strains are tolerant to high alkalinity while others are not. You might try a different brand of yeast to see if one performs better in your type of water.
An independent pizzeria might not even know it has alkaline water because it probably already corrected for the effect by increasing fermentation time. However it’s not uncommon for a chain with standardized recipes and procedures to open a store in a town with highly alkaline water and find their dough performing differently. In that case one of the adjustments described above might help.
If you have a serious water problem that you can’t correct, talk to your local water company about ways to remedy it. They can often provide a water analysis and technical assistance, usually at no charge.
Sabino
