Latest Pie(4 day cold ferm) and Good News

[wucactus1]

So just thought I would post a quick pic of an All trumps Cold ferm dough that I will bake off this afternooon around 5/6...Its .3idy and has been in my fridge for 4 days now! Is this how it should look?  Cant wait too taste it I have one other that im going to let go longer.

I just got a job as a pizza tosser at my favorite pizzeria here in lexington, ky called Goodfella amazing delco inside a bar...I tossed 22" pizzas all night it was amazing!

[wucactus1]

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[scott123]

David, from this angle, it looks pretty good, although you really don't want to remove dough from the container until you're ready to form the skin and it's always easier to judge the level of fermentation/dough readiness by observing the side and bottom of the clear container. The side and bottom are where you can see the bubbles that have formed.

Is this a permanent gig or just a one time thing on the pizza tossing? It sounds like fun.

[wucactus1]

I started storing the balls on the lids of the container to mimic dough trays and to make handling the dough without degassing easier.  The dough is still in the fridge and I just removed for seconds to snap a picture...I plan on taking it out 1 hour before the preheat for a total of 2 hours to come to temp and ferment a little more...I have another dough ball that Im going to push a couple more days and bake, then compare...Ill post picks of the dough and pizza tonight.  Fresh mozz,shredded mozz,ezzo pepp,filippo evoo, and grana padana...

regarding the ezzo pepp...how can I make these things cup to the max?...Last time I used them they didnt really curl at all

As far as the tossing goes, my title there is "tosser" and I will be working once a week until some more shifts pop up...Its amazing handling that amount of dough and working the deck ovens is great...Its crazy how much better and faster deck ovens really cook the pizza...underskirts are perfect everytime...and the owners actually know what they are talking about when it comes too the finer details of pizza making.  Im looking forward to it again in subsequent weeks...it really is the most amazing job I have had so far...and the free pre-work dinner never hurts!

[scott123]

Storing the dough on the lids... interesting.  While I think it's great that you're taking steps to avoid degassing the dough, I think that it's more important, at least until you completely master everything related to fermentation (yeast quantity, water/proofing temps, duration), to be able to see what's going on with the bottom and side of the dough. Also, if you work within a relatively traditional level of hydration (60-67%) and use enough oil in the container, you should have no problem with degassing the dough ball when you remove it.

Pepperoni cupping is directly related to thickness.  The thicker the slice, the greater the tendency to cup.

So you're a "tosser," huh? Our British members will most likely get a kick out of that 

[wucactus1]

thats funny, perhaps in england the job title would be slightly different...I wonder though if the owners are aware...
On the note of fermentation...I lifted the dough up slightly and noticed bubbles and signs of fermentation...I will probably leave the other dough in the fridge for another day or two and take it to a friends house and cook it...girl friend is still sensitive over excessive oven use, so...Hopefully the bake turns out good, my only worry is the excessive development of gluten leading to a tough crust...only time will tell.

[wucactus1]

Baked the pies and ate them a couple of hours ago...a couple of odd things occured...Both doughs were from the same bulk dough and were treated exactly the same as one another, but the second bake in my opinion turned out 100% better than the first in every aspect...crumb, texture, crispness, foldability, char of the underskirt(charred over all better) and taste.  This is odd because its usually thought that the first pie baked would come out of the oven the best due to the fact that it gets priority over the amount of heat as opposed to the second where you have to wait for the oven to come up to temp again(I just wait 5-7 minutes and assume, no ir thermo. yet).  Granted the second pie was under the broiler for 15/30 seconds I dont think the superior crumb/ovenspring/everything is the broilers fault...either way a good and decent pies, may try the 4 day ferment again dont really know, but one thing I do know is that I am looking forward to the left overs!

[wucactus1]

First bake...

[wucactus1]

second bake...30 sec under the broiler, the way I like it, girlfriend hates the broiler, dont know why...

[wucactus1]

crumb from second bake

[wucactus1]

I wish I had a deck oven or a wfo...

[Jackie Tran]

I wish I had a deck oven or a wfo...

Me too.     FWIW, my 2nd pies almost always come out better than the first.  I've been thinking of starting a thread called the "2nd pie phenomenon".  Not entirely sure what that is due to, but I've noticed it a lot.   Wucactus, have you been able to find that nice crust and crumb again? 

Chau

[wucactus1]

No, not yet, but I think im gaining on it...Im making pizza again next week and will try again...these doughs were long cf experiments, but the next bake will be an attempt at my "perfect" pizza...I just got a job at in my opinion the best pizza place in the city, maybe they will let me bring in a dough of mine and use their oven...I may wait a little longer and get to know everyone more and spring the idea on them, but until then Im just going to keep mixing and baking. Who knows the "perfect" crumb could spring on me at any moment, but when it does I will have written down complete and explicit instructions to the best of my ability to reproduce it...

How about you?  You consistently bake those "perfect" pies yet?

[Jackie Tran]

The new job sounds fun.   Sounds like a good way to get a lot of practice in.   Just like you, I think I'm almost there.

[PaulsPizza]

Scott, as a Brit, I have been called a tosser a fair few times (I don't make pizza professionally yet either) lol
Are we talking about the same kind of tosser? Haha