Farinella Italian Bakery CopyCat

[Matthew]

Looks delicious. Any tips for us noobs using mostly IDY?

And what was your thickness factor? When I attempt I might cut it down a little bit.

I used 400g for each, next time I will use less (325-350g).  As I mentioned, I was limited in length by 16" so my 1st attempt was a total guess.  For IDY you can go about .5%.

Matt

[Matthew]

After doing a little bit of research, the oven at Farinella is steam generated & is in actuality more of a bread oven than a pizza oven.  I wonder if he applies the bread steam principles to pizza.  That may be how he attains the crunchy exterior & soft interior......hmmm

Matt

[Jose L. Piedra]

Wouldn't steam affect the toppings?

JLP

[Matthew]

Wouldn't steam affect the toppings?

JLP

I don't think so.  If he does use steam, it's only for the initial 15 seconds.

Matt

[parallei]

I can't imagine steam having much impact. Oil on the bottom, oil/toppings on the top.  Not like a bread loaf....but who knows.

[Jose L. Piedra]

Been getting bored with the super-thick and soft square pies I usually make, so I've been revisiting this project. The other day I got an excellent result with the following formula and methodology:

TF.=.115
Flour: 100% (Canadian Robin Hood AP)
Hydro: About 80%
IDY: .25%
Salt: 2%
Oil: 3.2%

This dough was made entirely by hand with no machine assistance. The test I used to determine when it was kneaded enough was to poke the dough with my fingers after a rest; the kneading target was deemed to have been reached when the indents recovered, but slowly, and not altogether completely. I wish I had a more precise and communicable test, but I don't, and so here we are.

I mixed the ingredients in a bowl with a spatula, turned the mass out on a floured board, did some stretch-and-folds with oiled fingers until it formed some semblance of a dough ball, 15 min rest, 1-2 minutes push-and-folds, another rest, etc. until the target was attained. Total time: one hour and ten minutes. Then everything went in the fridge for about 12 hours, and then was taken out and risen on the counter for about four hours. The dough was then pressed out, placed in teglia (Farinella's is a true pizza al metro i.e. baked directly, but my stone isn't big enough for that), sauced, and then baked on the middle rack at 450 for 21 minutes.

The resulting pie was visually indistinguishable from the pics on Farinella's site (esp. the marinara pie), both for the .TF and the browning as well as the height of the cornicone. I haven't tried one of their pies, but I've been told by somebody who did that they are very, very crispy, and so was mine. I think I nailed it more or less perfectly, and in any case was delighted with the result (I ate 2/3 of the 17" X 11" pie by myself).

Sorry, no pic, but if anybody's curious the pics of the marinara and Margherita pies on Farinella's site are visually, at least, interchangeable with what I got in every respect and could just as easily have come from the same pie.

JLP
 

[Jose L. Piedra]

Putting severe insomnia to productive use, I just baked another one and am eating it as I type. Yum. For this one, I used the same ingredients and followed the same protocol as outlined above except for less hydration (ca. 70%) and more oil (5%). The result is marginally, almost imperceptibly, less crispy and has more pull; it also seems to taste better, and in any case was much easier to make by hand. Visually, this one is indistinguishable from the last, and also from the pics on Farinella's site.

I would encourage all the aficionados of crispy pizza to try to make at least one of these pies, and according to whatever formula seems plausible; it seems that there are many roads to the same place here. Be advised, though, that forming the dough evenly can be kind of tricky. Months back, earlier in this thread I made an off-hand implied criticism that the various pics of Farinella's pies suggested inconsistency; now that I've tried my own hand at it, I have a new-found respect for the pros who have to stretch out doughs like this to a full metre in length, under duress, and the whole day long.


JLP

[Jose L. Piedra]

Pic of another attempt, 100% AP (Canadian Robin Hood), about 80% water, .25% IDY. 2% salt, 3.6% oil. Again baked in teglia unlike Farinella. .TF of .12 was too thick for the style, even though it was a bit under-kneaded and did not get that much spring. Baked at 450 for 21 minutes, boy was it ever crispy (the bottom crackled noisily when I folded a slice), but by no means hard. Topped with tomatoes and various dried herbs (oregano, thym, basil). Very enjoyable crispy piece.

JLP

[dellavecchia]

Very nice Jose! I plan on visiting Farinella this month, so I will take pics for the thread.

John

[dellavecchia]

After doing a little bit of research, the oven at Farinella is steam generated & is in actuality more of a bread oven than a pizza oven.  I wonder if he applies the bread steam principles to pizza.  That may be how he attains the crunchy exterior & soft interior......hmmm

Matt

Matt - I found out he is using the Tagliavini Modular model, which I believe can be used for both steam production bakes and non.

John

[Jose L. Piedra]

Very nice Jose! I plan on visiting Farinella this month, so I will take pics for the thread.

John

Thanks John. I really look forward to the pics and any write-up you may care to provide.

My 2 cents with respect to steam: unless there's something I'm missing I can't see why they'd bother, seeing as how, according to Matt, they're baking at 437- and if anything it would hard not to get a crispy outer crust at that temp. But this is just so much armchair speculation.

JLP 

[hotsawce]

Jose,

Can you tell me the pan material (and more details, if possible?)

And are you cooking this on a stone on the middle rack, or just on the rack? And how long for the preheat?

Also, have you used cheese or other toppings, and if so how has the long cooking time affected that? I can't imagine cooking fresh mozzarella for 21 minutes!

[Jose L. Piedra]

Jose,

Can you tell me the pan material (and more details, if possible?)

And are you cooking this on a stone on the middle rack, or just on the rack? And how long for the preheat?

Also, have you used cheese or other toppings, and if so how has the long cooking time affected that? I can't imagine cooking fresh mozzarella for 21 minutes!

It's an old steel pan, 17 x 11 inches, no non-stick coating, and very well-seasoned, almost to the point of black (it was used for french-fries for years before I took up pizzas). The bottom of this particular pan seems kind of thin compared to others, but I have no precise measurement for this.

I usually pre-heat the oven at the time I press out the dough, pan, etc. which means about 15-20 minutes. I preheat at 480 to compensate for heat loss when opening the oven door, then reduce to 450 once the pizza is inside.

I bake on the middle rack with no stone.

I have never tried fresh mozzarella, but a normal mozz of pizza quality won't burn at this rate (at least, not in my oven). I use all sorts of other toppings at this temp and rate, but I'm at a loss to say exactly how they are affected seeing as how I never do bakes as short as most members here, even when I do make round pies, and so I lack a good reference-point. That being said, when I use sausage or bacon I fry them in a pan a bit first in order to reduce fat and moisture. There is a definite risk (not a certainty) that very thinly-cut and/or very "dry" pepperoni will dry out and crisp up way too much, but this shouldn't be a problem with juicier and/or more thickly-cut pep.

JLP

[Matthew]

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