lehman recipe, try #2 - monday night

[PizzaSuperFreak]

ok, well as i said, i'd give the lehman recipe another shot based on several of your suggestions.

peter, before i got a chance to see your response, i had already gone and cut my previous recipe in half. it produced a tacky, and borderline sticky dough.

the other changes i made were moving the pizza stone up one level in the oven. and cranking the oven to 550. this took the pizza about 6.5 minutes to cook.

the results, well, i've included some pictures. sorry for the blurriness - i need to get that whole macro shot thing down on my digital camera.

the outer crust was crispy and just about perfect. the crumb was soft and airy. just what i was going for. i was quite pleased with the results ..... EXCEPT........... duhn duhn daaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.................... THE TASTE!!!

the taste was not what i was going for. it had little flavor - well it needed some of that great sourness you get from longer fermentation in the fridge. and it had the texture, well i dont want to call it texture, it was really the mouth feel of, well, an over-hydrated dough. that's the only way to describe it. i'm sure you pros know what i mean.

anyway, i guess it's back to the drawing board. i think it's just mostly that i needed to follow peter's instructions on reducing the recipe. and perhaps figure out a way to add more flavor. i'm almost there.

ps - i've ordered the KA hi-gluten flour. it's on its way.

[Pete-zza]

PizzaSuperFreak,

I think you are making progress. At least with the crust part.

There are only so many ways to improve the flavor. Using the KA Sir Lancelot high-gluten flour will help a bit, but real flavor is attained by long fermentation times or using a starter or sponge of some sort. The basic Lehmann NY style dough will usually last for 48 hours in the refrigerator although some of our members (Arthur is one of them) get more than that without doing anything special to the dough (although my recollection is that Arthur keeps his dough in a refrigerator that operates at temperatures lower than most refrigerators). The longer the fermentation time, the more by-products of fermentation are produced and the more intense the flavor. If you would like to increase the fermentation time of your Lehmann dough, I suggest that you add a little bit of sugar (about 1-2% of the weight of flour) to your recipe. The sugar can be dissolved in the same water you dissolve the salt in. You can also use cooler water for the bulk of the water called for in your recipe. Doing both of these things might get you out to 3-4 days in the refrigerator if all goes well. The flavor should be much improved after that length of time.

The Lehmann dough is not one that is intended to use a starter or sponge. However, I see no reason why a starter or sponge couldn't be used. pftaylor recently did something like this recently in using a starter to supplement the commercial yeast. Using a sponge will also help, especially if you let the sponge develop over a long period of time to develop the by-products of fermentation that should result in enhanced flavor.

I suggest that you make your next batch of dough in accordance with the recipe that I posted yesterday and use a 48-hour fermentation time. If you want to be on the safe side, add a bit of sugar (about 1/3 to 2/3 t.) to the recipe and use cooler water. The next step would be to go out to 3 days or more or use a starter or sponge of some kind.

But I know what your mean about the flavor. After I had made some of the most flavorful crusts in my life, using natural starters and long fermentation times (at room temperature), I made a Lehmann crust and could immediately tell that its flavor was nowhere close to what I had gotten from the other crusts.

Peter

[pftaylor]

PSF,
Thanks for sharing. Your pizza making skills are ahead of your picture taking skills at this point - which is a good thing! You wouldn't want it the other way around. Making pizzas at home takes real skill and dedication to the cause. Your latest effort shows promise. One doesn't get to the point you are at by accident. One question about your cheese. I admire the nature of it's splotch. Care to share the brand and type?

Good job.

[PizzaSuperFreak]

thanks everyone for your comments.

sorry about the sauce and cheese. i've already got versions of both that i like. i'm not really working on perfecting those. i just threw some sauce and cheese on there. it was really about the crust.

if interested, it was the Polly-O brand 'fresh' mozzerella cheese in the log that you can find at Sam's Club and probably a host of other warehouse-style stores. i just cut it thinly with a knife. and threw it on there. i wasn't really caring about it.

The sauce was just Flora brand tomatoes - found at Publix - and marketed in the 'italian' section. they're local to florida i think. anyway, i drained a bit of the puree they're in and cut the whole tomatoes in the can with kitchen shears - as i do sometimes. i added probably dried thyme, oregano (not basil - dried basil = barf), garlic powder, kosher salt, red pepper flakes, fresh cracked black pepper and a dash of white table sugar. not cooked.

tonight i'm going back to recalculate the lehman recipe to half it - in order to make a smaller 'test' dough ball. i'm also a little suspect of the ADY i'm using. it's Red Star brand, and i'm not used to it. i just bought it. the expiration date is july of 2006. but when i proofed it last time in 110 degree water, it just didn't proof all that well in 10 minutes. i think it would've added to a better flavor had it developed that groovy foam when it proofed. but it didn't.

i think i may use my fleischman's yeast that i got at same. i think it's IDY. and perhaps add a little sugar to aid in the rapid fermentation. perhaps add a little EVOO instead of regular olive oil as well. a little fruityness in your oil can be nice sometimes.

i'll let you know and keep you informed. i'll probably title the subject something about lehman's #3.

thanks again.

 - the superfreak

[Pete-zza]

PizzaSupereFreak,

In light of your expressed desire for more flavor in your Lehmann crust, you might be interested in my most recent Lehmann dough experiment at Reply #134 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,576.120.html.

Peter

[PizzaSuperFreak]

ok. thanks pete-zza