When you say "I will try to mix as much of the leftover flour Into the dough as possible". What does it mean exactly?
I try to mix as much of the premeasured flour into the dough as possible initially during the autolyse and before kneading begins. It is not so important to mix ALL the flour in. If the dough starts to feel dry then stop adding flour. Ultimately after making many pizzas, you will develop the proper feeling of the dough for the amount of moisture you want in your crust. The goal is to get the dough to this "proper" state and you will get consistent results everytime despite not using exactly the same amount of premeasured flour. Different flours have different water absorption rates so they will all absorb a different amount of water. Remember, use this recipe just as a guideline and adjust accordingly. There is no wrong or right here. Experiment with both ways and see what you like better.
Can I pour all the remaining flour at once on the dough and mixing? Or is not so easy and it is sprinkle a layer and go slowly increasing with the mass will absorb the flour?
I like to sprinkle the remaining flour layer by layer. Mix in a small amount by hand or mixer, and then add more flour and mix gently again. The idea here is not to necessarily use up all the flour but again go by feel. You will use up most of the flour or all. The goal is to get an even mixture in the dough and not some dry spots or lumps here and there. That's what you can get if you mix by hand and dump all the flour in at once.
Really don't I need to reactivate the ADY before adding? No you do not, but it will work better if you do. This has been discussed a lot on the forum. I don't always rehydrate but do from time to time. Just depends on my mood I guess and if I'm using it with starter and how long I bulk rise. If my bulk rise time is long, then I don't rehydrate the yeast. I figure it will rehydrate during that bulk rise time. Because this recipe I posted has a high amount of yeast, you don't have to rehydrate and you'll still get a good rise. For anything less than 1/2 tsp per 300gm pie, then I would rehydrate to get the maximum effect from your ADY. For now, go ahead and rehydrate your yeast. Try using 80% vs 100% of the amount I listed to see if there's a difference for you or not. Remember less yeast is better.
When you say "with your palms leisurely knead by folding the dough onto itself" to which type of mixing you mean? can explain steep by steep knead technique please? Or you know a video link using this mixing technique?
I don't have a video so I will try to explain. As I have learned recently from member Scott123, less kneading is better. Too much kneading and the crumb can be too chewy or leathery. My current technique I am developing has very little actual kneading.
I basically add water, salt, yeast into a bowl and stir to dissolve. Let it sit 5 min if you want to rehydrate the yeast. Then add about 50% of the flour and stir with a heavy metal spoon just to mix evenly, not more. Remember, even mixture is the goal here. This takes about less than 1 min. I'll use the back of the spoon to press the batter against the side of the bowl. Then I will stir in another 50% (so 75% of original amount at this point) and stir just to the point that it's all mixed, not more.
Let it sit for 5 min, and gradually stir in (with just the spoon) the rest of the flour. You can mixe it my hand too if you like. If it feels to dry, then I'll stop adding flour. But it it will take the remaining flour, I will stir in the rest. Let this mixture sit for 5 min. At this point it is rather wet and sticky dough.
My new method I'm testing is to skip the kneading part. I take the dough out of the bowl and fold it in half like in the picture in the 2nd post. Kind of like how a hotdog bun or a taco shell is folded in half. Just grab one end and fold it over to meet the other end. Then I rotate it to stand it on one end and fold again (top over and towards the bottom). I repeat this fold 3-4 times, let it rest for 5min, then refold again 3-4 times, then rest 5min.
After this I put a light dusting of flour on the ball to prevent it from being sticky. I move the ball from hand to hand to get rid of the excess bench flour so there's just a light coating over the ball. At this point after the dusting of flour, the dough should feel soft and kind of slack. I lightly oil the bottom of a bowl and place the ball inside. Cover the top with plastic wrap and jot a few notes in my notebook.
The dough should then be placed into the refridgerator if not using it right away.
As far as the method in post 2 with kneading using the palms it's not a special technique. Any kneading technique can be used but again, do it leisurely and this time cut it down to around 3-4mins. Remember, less kneading will give a better result so don't over do it. 3-4 min of kneading, rest 5m, fold a few times (do 1-2 cycles of this) and you should be done.
Let me know if you have anymore questions. I'll try to post a video soon. I just have to make sure this newer technique is sound before I go making a video.
Tran
