next »

[mpiasec]

ok this is the problem i am running into i am using the lehmann recipe for ny style keeping in ref for 2 days counter 2 hr  when iam strecting the skin  i am get a very thin spot in the middle allmost transparent  i am using AT flour what could be wrong.

thanks mike

[Pete-zza]

Mike,

Like many of us on the forum who make pizzas only occasionally and in small numbers and, hence, haven't developed great expertise in opening up dough balls to form skins of uniform thickness, you may just need more practice. This is a common problem, even among pizza operators who have to train their workers, as noted at this PMQ Think Tank thread: http://www.pmq.com/tt/viewtopic.php?p=40908#40908.

You might want to try the tip recommended by Tom Lehmann in his post in the above thread but use a rolling pin instead of a sheeter to form skins part way until you become more proficient at forming full size skins entirely by hand. Another possibility is to use a lower hydration, say, 58%. Skins at that hydration value should be easier to work with and to get a more consistent and uniform skin thickness. Once you feel more comfortable with handling the skins at that hydration level, you can gradually increase the hydration stepwise until you are able to find the sweet spot for you from a handling standpoint.

Peter

[mpiasec]

thanks peter

[Kemosa]

If you are hand tossing, don't press so much out of the middle (leave a bit of a hump), pick up the dough, slap between your hands a few times and then stretch with your fists strictly on the rim of the dough.  Stay away from the inside.

[widespreadpizza]

mike, the formation of the dough ball itself before rising can also lead to this problem.  using too much bench flour during dough division or dough ball forming can cause an imperfect ball to form.  You need to make sure that the bottom of that ball is sealled very well.  Oil in the bottom of the container can exagerrate this issue if not done correctly.  good luck.   -marc

[Pete-zza]

Marc,

That is a very good point, one that I completely forgot about as a possibility. Another member (I believe he was a professional) discussed this matter and I quoted him at Reply 263 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1298.msg25134/topicseen.html#msg25134.

Peter

[Trogdor33]

Without going through the entire thread that Peter mentioned to see if this was said at all before, what I do to avoid this problem is twisting the loose ends of the ball before putting it in my container. You can see how that is done in section 3 of this video: http://how2heroes.com/videos/entrees/crispy-chewy-pizza-dough

-Joe

[pizzalatino]

I'd like to get a big tray like he uses in the video for pizza making. I have limited kitchen space and that'd be great. Thanks for the video Joe, I wondered what the dough should look like in the mixer. I ended up using a bit extra flour to handle mine the first time because of stickyness.

mikeb

[pizzalatino]

...also, one of the problems I have recently been encountering is my dough thinning out close to the edge not in the middle. I'm going to try Peter suggestion of dropping the hydration level til I can manage more. Can I just say I love this place! Best resource ever.

[Trogdor33]

How long are you letting your dough warm up for after popping it out of the fridge? I accidentally left it out for over 5 hours on saturday and thought I had ruined it when I saw it almost bursting out the top of the container. Surprisingly, the dough handled and baked up better than I have ever done with that formula. I didn't have the usual fight with the dough that I do trying to get an even thickness. I have also discovered lately (again, by accident), that if you start to open your skin and then let it sit for a little bit (in my case, while I am waiting to be done with the peel) it cooperates much better when you finally stretch and or toss.