Here in San Diego, the weather has just begun to become colder. (Last Tuesday, the local temperature was over 90ºF and inside my patio, where the oven is, about 105º F.) Hopefully it will be cold enough for me to bake some pizzas by the end of October. Good day!
Dear Pulcinella, the method that I employ in making dough balls is demonstrated in the following youtube video:
| <![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxFf70__8ls" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxFf70__8ls</a>]]> |
Please, let me make some very brief comments. Fundamentally speaking, in my estimation, making a healthy and smooth dough ball begins with
properly mixing and kneading the dough ingredients (water, salt, fermentative agent, and flour) at the outset. Next, it entails reaching a proper
point of pasta after mixing and kneading. Furthermore, the subsequent
rest period and
initial fermentation—which will essentially carry your point of pasta to the next levels of dough development—play indispensable roles in developing the dough structure/anatomy (i.e., proper
dough flesh and
dough skin) that is conducive to crafting smooth dough balls. In other words, smooth dough balls can be formed when the dough has developed the following attributes up to a point:
1. Elasticity,
2. Extensibility,
3. Cohesiveness,
4. Gluten film development, and
5. Receptivity to forming
At last, employment of proper manual skills, using whatever method you use, is important in making uninterrupted dough balls. Below are two pictures of the dough balls I formed in the video. The first picture exhibits the dough balls at the outset of the final fermentation, and the second picture shows the dough balls after 22 hours of the final fermentation at controlled room temperature. Have a great day!
Regards,
Omid
