Thin crust tweak

[jgame]

I have been using this recipe from PizzaMaking.com for my thin/cracker exclusively:

Dough Recipe

1 pound (or about 3 1/2 cups) high gluten flour
3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

In a heavy-duty stand mixer (e.g., KitchenAid) fitted with dough hook, add the water, oil, yeast, salt, and sugar. Mix thoroughly until yeast has fully dissolved. Add flour and mix on low speed until all of the flour and water have mixed and a stiff dough ball forms, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stop mixing as soon as the dough ball forms as this type of dough should not be kneaded.   
Place the dough ball into a large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 24 hours in the refrigerator before using. Please note that I cannot over-emphasize the importance of a 24-hour rising time since it is absolutely essential for the dough to develop its signature texture and, more importantly, its unique flavor! Do not skip this step!

After 24-hour refrigeration I take about 1/4 of dough ball, wrap in plastic and let come to room temp. Roll as thin as I can,dock, par bake @ 500F in my Pre heated RPG or home oven with stone, pull skin and dress pie. Continue bake until top is to my liking. Pull and place pie on cooling rack.

What I want to accomplish is more of a cracker/crunch texture. Any idea on what additions or subtractions to the ingredients in this recipe I could do to get that extra cracker/crunch. Or maybe my cooking technique.
Thanks,
jgame
 

[Pete-zza]

jgame,

The recipe you used is DKM's recipe at http://www.pizzamaking.com/pizzainnstyle.php.

If by a "cracker/crunch texture" you mean a crispier crust that crackles or shatters like glass when cut, you will perhaps want to use a thinner dough skin. I did a fair amount of experimenting with DKM's recipe, at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,5762.0.html, and found that using a thinner dough skin produced that texture. An example can be seen at Reply 16 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,5762.msg49138.html#msg49138, however there are several more examples in the same thread.

If by "cracker/crunch texture" you mean something more like a saltine cracker, one possible solution is to add some baking soda to the dough formulation. There are also some other dough formulations in the abovereferenced thread that produce a more tender crust. You should look for member fazzari's posts for that style.

Peter

[jgame]

Pete-zza,
DKM recipe is not the one I have been using. I use the other thin crust posted on the main page of this site. Rolling it out thinner it would be akin to a sheet of phyllo dough.  I want that cracks like glass effect you described in your revised DKM dough.
I was hoping to tweak the recipe I have been using.
jgame

[Tscarborough]

Admitting up front I know nothing about cracker crust pizza, I did read a post here somewhere that said not to use liquid oil for that type crust, it needed to be a solid oil, to get that crisp, flaky type dough.  Look trough this forum for the last day or so threads, it is there.

[Pete-zza]

jgame,

Right you are. The recipe you used is the one at http://www.pizzamaking.com/thincrust.php. That recipe is used far less than the DKM recipe I referenced. Sorry for the error.

If I ever tried the "Thin-Crust Pizza" recipe, it was so long ago that I don't remember it. Consequently, I did some calculations and used the expanded dough calculating tool at http://www.pizzamaking.com/expanded_calculator.html to convert the Thin-Criust Pizza recipe to baker's percent format, as follows:

High-Gluten Flour (100%): Water (38.203%): ADY (1.25%): Salt (1.2305%): Vegetable (Soybean) Oil (3.004%): Sugar (1.31836%): Total (145.00586%):

453.58 g  |  16 oz | 1 lbs 173.28 g  |  6.11 oz | 0.38 lbs 5.67 g | 0.2 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.5 tsp | 0.5 tbsp 5.58 g | 0.2 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1 tsp | 0.33 tbsp 13.63 g | 0.48 oz | 0.03 lbs | 3 tsp | 1 tbsp 5.98 g | 0.21 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.5 tsp | 0.5 tbsp 657.72 g | 23.2 oz | 1.45 lbs | TF = N/A

Note: Used 8.15 ounces for a cup of water in calculating the water in the above formulation (i.e., 3/4 cup water = 6.11 oz.)

I don't see anything in the above dough formulation to suggest that it should behave differently than the DKM dough. In fact, the two dough formulations are quite similar but for the type of flour used. Unfortunately, the Thin-Crust Pizza recipe does not specify a weight for the roughly 24+ ounce skin that is draped over the cutter pan, or the weight of the skin that ends up in the cutter pan. In fact, there is no size specified for the cutter pan. Presumably, the size of the cutter pan is not critical so long as the rolled-out skin is around 24 inches in diameter. However, that type of information would allow me to calculate a thickness factor and possibly to render an opinion on what you might expect in the way of final crust texture. If you are willing to try the recipe again and note the weights of everything, perhaps I will be able to give you some useful advice on the matter.

Peter

[Pete-zza]

Admitting up front I know nothing about cracker crust pizza, I did read a post here somewhere that said not to use liquid oil for that type crust, it needed to be a solid oil, to get that crisp, flaky type dough.  Look trough this forum for the last day or so threads, it is there.

Tom,

I believe you are referring to the Shakey's type crust as discussed at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,12688.msg122425.html#msg122425 and http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,10707.msg95249.html#msg95249. That type of crust uses some hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated fats but that shouldn't rule out using other forms of fat, like vegetable oil, to make a cracker style pizza. That is all I used with the DKM cracker-style doughs and had no problem getting crispy crusts such as jgame is trying to achieve. To the extent that a solid fat is to be used in lieu of oil, one should determine if the solid fat contains any water and, is so, adjust the formula hydration to compensate for the water content of the fat. For a list of common solid fats and their water content, see Reply 6 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,5025.msg42589.html#msg42589.

Another point to keep in mind is that some of the flakiness of cracker style crusts comes from using a lamination approach in forming the skins. This is a point that member fazzari (John), whose restaurant and pizzeria specializes in cracker style pizzas, has made on several occasions on the forum, including recently at Reply 2 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,12611.msg121688.html#msg121688.

Peter