Kelly - I really love your 2nd pie. It is near visually perfect IMO. Do you recall the (fermentation) workflow you used for that one? What's your oven setup like?
Thank you Chau.
I have notes at home, but most of my neo-ish doughs are similar to this:
Starter (55% Hydration) taken from fridge and fed.
After a second or third feeding has caused the starter to rise sufficiently and reach a break-point (maturation), I use the levain to make pizza
Hand mixed, , fermented in bulk at ambient temperatures for 16-30 hours (depending on the particular workflow I am tinkering with) and then divided and proofed at ambient temps for an additional 5 hours or so before hitting the oven.
Encase oven rack completely in aluminum foil, place at highest rack position, put stone on top of the foil. The stone is offest so that it is flush against the left side of the oven chamber (not centered under the broiler). It is offset because in my particular oven the broiler flames tend to "whick" downwards, which can be disastrous when an olive oil laden pizza is sitting just 1.5 inches below it. Like the Ohio Players song, "Fiiiiiiirrree..."
Pre-heat oven to max 550°F temp. When max temp reached, I turn the broiler on high setting. Within about 15 minutes, the broiler flame reaches between 950°F to 850°F (depending on flame distance from center or broiler plate). When the stone hits 750°, I put a pizza in to cook.
First 20 seconds or so I leave the door closed, but after that I need to open the door and turn the pie every 15-20 seconds or so. Bake times vary between 105 and 120 seconds.
Between pizzas I need to be vigilant...as the stone creeps above 800°F, I need to put an inverted baking pan over it to slow done the heat up of the stone or I lose the needed temperature variation to cook the top and bottom of the pie evenly. Sometimes I need to leave the door open to dissapate heat or leave it closed to bring the stone back up to temp if I have let it get too cool.
It's anything but an exact science and I have far from mastered it. Unfortunately for the last year or so I have only had time to make pies about once per month on average. I feel with more time cooking I could do some damage, but I enjoy living vicariously though all of the fantastic pizzas everyone here makes!
