Back to Harvest King (Now GM Better for Bread)

[Glutenboy]

I needed a dough that would be ready to go in 3 days, and I recalled that my Harvest King doughs seemed to mature faster than the All-Trumps.  I raised the yeast (IDY) to .236842% and decided to bump the hydration to about 66.5 %.  HK holds more H₂O than AT holds in my experience, and my old HK formula was around 65% anyway so this bump was nothing crazy.  At 3 days it was pretty good, but tonight, at 4 days old, it really came into its own flavor and texture-wise.  It was light, crisp, chewy and pleasantly sour.  I think I like it better than the AT.  Very extenensible with nice strength (no holes though stretched thin) and the elasticity to hold it's roundness.  The usual toppings and I was very pleased.  Here are some pics.

[compatta]

What protocol did you use to bake this in your oven?
I'm always have trouble baking things so that they can get that golden brown color.

[Glutenboy]

I'm lucky enough to have an old gas oven with the broiler under the oven.  This allows the baking area to get very hot from underneath when the oven is set on broil.  I place the quarry-tile-lined rack on the lowest position and things just take care of themselves.  Every oven is unique in my experience and requires some adjustment of procedure.

[widespreadpizza]

GB,  at the advice of another member I am doing a 20-22 hour wild yeasted HK bake tonight.  I just did the division from bulk,  and the dough feels amazing.  I am at 64% today.  Maybe I'll post a couple pictures tonight if you do not mind.  Your pizzas look great as usual,  and they have that GB look.

[Glutenboy]

Please do.  How do you manage wild yeast in 22 hours?  I'm assuming an older starter is involved.

[Glutenboy]

Dough now at 5 days.  Better than yesterday.  Here's a white pie with garlic, spinach, and mushrooms.  Mmmmmmm!!! 

- GB

[wucactus1]

Where is that crumb shot?  Im baking off a pie today that has been in the fridge for about 3.5/4 days.  Im surprised it hasnt blown out yet, I will most likely have to utilize a counter rise of a couple of hours in order to get it fully developed ready for baking...Im excited to see how the pizzas turn out as I havent been able to make much pizza since school started, hopefully the pies turn out as good as yours! keep up the awesome work!

[Glutenboy]

Where is that crumb shot?

Sorry, Man; no crumb shot.  I couldn't get the macro setting on my camera to focus well enough, and I was too hungry to keep trying.  I'm making my last pie tonight so I'll make an effort.  If the pizza starts getting cold, however, I'm gonna have to abort the mission!  Put up a pic of your 4-day crust if you get a chance!

- GB

[jever4321]

Your pies always look great GB. Keep feeding us pics.

[wucactus1]

pizza turned out horrible, at least in my book, the girlfriend would tell you otherwise...Because the dough wasn't exactly formulated or kneaded to be in the fridge long its gluten development was excessive resulting in a Bready crumb texture...but what was odd is 2 slices had really good ovenspring...I'm assuming a freak accident, who knows...I am making pizza again in a week or too if school isn't too crazy and will be sure to make a post of the process and hopefully I will be able to achieve the crumb texture from my last pie making efforts...I just find it hard to know when to stop with the folds...but its all trial and error!

BTW your pies look amazing...I like the way you stretch out your skins and get a defined rim that isn't too large, and the crust seems perfectly crisp, very reminiscent of a local pizzeria here in Lexington, KY called Pazzos.

[Glutenboy]

Thanks, Cactus.  Here's some pics from the final pie of the batch at 6 days old.  I got the best crumb shots I could, but I guess the lighting in the kitchen was wrong for the job.  Not the most oven spring I've ever had, but taste and texture were fantastic.  This one had a bit of Garafolo Bufala mixed in with the Belgioso cryopack.  It provided just enough tang... 

[norma427]

Glutenboy,

Your oven spring looks great to me.  Nice job on your pies!    Interesting to hear you like Harvest King, compared to All Trumps.  I can imagine how tasty your pies were after fermenting for 6 days.

Norma

[Glutenboy]

Thanks, Norma.  Yes, I'm surprised I like the HK better than the AT as well.  It's not a question of dough handling or browning or rise; All Trumps is great on every count.  It's just the flavor of the end product.  I think deep down we all have a baseline regarding how pizza "should" taste (the oft-mentioned Pizza Cognition Theory) and for me, The HK just fills that bill -- even more so now that my dough-making skills have improved to the point where I can handle a more hydrated dough without panicking!  My next stop is going to be GM Full Strength Flour, which I recently discovered is used by one of my favorite pizzerias in Connecticut.  If anyone reading this has used it, I'd be very interested in knowing your experience.

From the front lines, this is GLUTENBOY signing off!!!   

[norma427]

Glutenboy,

I have also tried All Trumps and did really like that flour when I was beginning to make pizza.  I agree it is the end flavor of the product that counts the most.  I had just asked  sfspanky ( Brian Spangler, Apizza Scholls) about Harvest King flour when using a preferment, on another thread.  He also thinks Harvest King is the best flour to use for a poolish. 

Great to hear you can handle a high hydration dough without panicking.  It takes awhile to get to that point.

Norma

[chickenparm]

Those pies look great! I just recently bought some of that flour and making dough with it.Going to see how it stands up to KABF as well.Going for a 60% hydro here.