very quick question regarding pre-made dough

[codelogic]

Hi all,

I've been doing a bunch of reading and honestly equipment wise or knowledge wise I'm not quite prepared to make my own dough yet, and I happen to live in an area where a frozen dough that's been mentioned previously ("real new york pizza dough") is available.  I've been most intrigued by a post I read here (http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,13592.msg136734.html#msg136734) [Reply #53 in the linked thread.] 

I'm going to attempt following roughly the same instructions overnight -- at this point I'm a bit more concerned about my ingredients and process than I am my dough, I want to see how my Stanislaus Saporito + Grande east coast blend taste on a pie, then I can work on a higher quality skin.  My questions are this though:

If I'm going to be making two smaller pies, can I split the dough ball when it's fully prepared and ready to use, or should I split prior to putting them into the plastic container overnight?  Also, how large of a container should I be using for this process...and should it be fully covered and closed via plastic lid?

Thank you for any help you might be able to give!

-randy

[norma427]

Randy,

Welcome to the forum!   I would think it would be better to split the dough ball before putting them in plastic containers overnight.  You might want to shape the split dough balls until they are round.  The spit dough balls will probably need a little time to relax.  I did oil my RNYD balls before I put them in plastic containers with lids.  I used a plastic container for one dough ball that was a Rubbermaid 6.2 cup or 1.4 L.  Smaller plastic containers show work, but I would cover the containers with a lid.  I had mentioned in that thread that the top of the dough balls felt a little dry even when opening, so I don’t think if you heavily oil them it will hurt.  Did you ever open a dough ball before?   Do you also have a baking stone to bake your pizzas on?

If you are planning on using Stanislaus Saporito and Grande east coast blend, you should be able to make a decent tasting NY pizza.  

Best of luck, and if you have other questions just ask.  

It really isn't hard to make your own dough if you own a scale.

Norma

[codelogic]

Hi Norma!  Thanks so much for the reply. Dough (and a scale) are definitely on my list next, so I'll be working on that soon. As far as cooking surface I've acquired one of these Bella pizza pizza ovens that have a baking stone integrated and some reports here report nice high temps out of. I do have an IR thermometer so I will be able to measure that accurately.


Unfortunately I've not opened dough before, any tips?  I've got the rnypd dough thawing out now with some oil on it, and I've got the rubbermaid bowls you suggested (picked them up a few minutes ago).

Thanks so much for the help, any other tips you have will definitely be appreciated.

Thanks!!

-r

[norma427]

Randy,

This is a good video of opening a dough ball, but you don’t need semolina to dust the dough ball.  Regular flour should do fine. A little flour on your hands and on the surface you are opening the dough balls on should help too.  The RNYD balls are a little harder to open than some of my dough balls are, because they are a little lower hydration. (meaning less water in the dough formula) 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjYqw1CLZsA" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjYqw1CLZsA</a>

You didn’t need to oil the dough until you divided it, so you might have to ball the dough, after you divide. It might be a little harder to ball the dough balls since you have already oiled the one dough ball.  Balling the dough is something like on this video. 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he-V1J86REA" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he-V1J86REA</a>

  You will need to make sure the bottom of the dough ball is closed or it might develop a thin spot when placed in your oven, that might make your toppings  run on your oven stone.  I can’t really tell you if you will need to ball the dough though.  It might be fine if you just cut and shape.  I have done that before.  You will learn more after you start making your own doughs.

There are many videos on YouTube that you can watch for opening dough balls and also balling dough.

Hope your Bella pizza oven bakes your pies well.

Maybe someone else will also chime in and help you.  If there are other questions I can answer, I will, but tomorrow I will be at market all day, so I won’t be able to answer you tomorrow.

Norma

[codelogic]

well,

all in all it didn't turn out too bad for the first time i've ever used:

a) pizza peel
b) pizza dough
c) new oven

taste wise the pizza was awesome - the crust was a little fluffy on the outside for my taste, as I prefer a thin overall pizza like street NY pizza. 

just so that I could test the pizza peel/oven and make sure I wasn't going to destroy anything, I took one of the smaller dough balls from the RNYPD that I had and made a pizza with some cheap generic sauce/cheese just to get the hang of it from a method standpoint.


I wasn't too happy with the taste of that one, so I went out to the pizzeria a few blocks away and grabbed a few doughs from them -- they sold me what they use for 10" doughs for $1 each...and I was making pizza for 3, so it's hard to complain about $3 for everything..

anyway..here's the pics from what I came up with..

[codelogic]

for what it's worth, the pizza bella oven cooked really well, although one side seemed to get a bit warmer than the other.  I took and jammed a knife in the thermostat and got it to keep the heating element on on-demand that way, and let the pie cook for 5 minutes without the element kicked on, then the final 2 minutes with the heating element cranked on.  according to the IR thermometer, temps in the 580-600 range.

[norma427]

Randy,

You did very well for the first time you used a pizza peel, bought pizza dough, and your new Bella pizza oven!  Did you have any problems opening the dough ball?  Your pizza looks very tasty.  Things will only get better from here.  Keep experimenting.

Norma

[codelogic]

Thank you very much, it's definitely inspiring seeing some of the things that you and the others are able to turn out around here

I didn't really have *too* many problems..my biggest issue I think was size, which I think was the biggest contributor .  The dough that I had was for a 10" -- and my little peel has a 10" width, so there really wasn't any extra room to continue stretching and such.  I ended up actually flouring down my cutting board which is a little bigger, then MAKING the pie on that, and transferring it to the peel very carefully before getting it on the oven. 

With the size that I had available I just couldn't get it thin enough, so I'll be working on that.  Knowing that I have somewhere essentially across the street that I can grab dough from at will for now will keep me going, I'll work on making my own dough when I can use prepurchased dough successfully.

I've got a 14-16" peel on my list of things to get now, then I'll be doing another experiment.  I was happy with the saporito but I've also got 3 cans of Escalon 6-1's in the pantry that I'd like to try at some point soon as well.  I jarred and froze most of the saporito, except for two jars that I used up last night making the pizzas (and the significant other treating her crust like breadsticks and dipping it in the sauce and finishing up the rest of it) - so I might leave the saporito frozen and try the escalon next.


I think I'm going to take apart the pizza bella tonight and override the thermostat - that way I can keep the temp up to 550-600 without issues.

Thanks again for all of the help, I'll be asking more I'm sure!

[norma427]

Randy,

There are many members on the forum that make many styles of great pies.  If you stay around the forum for long enough, you also will learn.  You did well opening your doughs for the first time.  I usually open most of my pies and then load them carefully on the peel, before sliding them into the oven.   

In my opinion, if you learn to make your own doughs someday, you will find out how much better the crust tastes.  I don’t know what kind of pizzas the pizza business you bought your dough balls from, but usually homemade dough is better.   Escalon 6-1's are an excellent tomato sauce, too!

Good luck with your future pies and taking apart you pizza bella tonight! 

Norma

[Mick.Chicago]

Randy, the pie looks OK, just turn it around mid bake next time. 

I think if you get yourself a bowl and you have some fingers, you can make pizza dough, you don't need much more than that. 

[The Dough Doctor]

Randy;
Since you are making these pizzas at home for your own personal consumption you can save a couple dollars and make your own pizza prep peel. Scrounge up a piece of tempered hardboard, 1/4-inch thickness is great, but 1/8-inch will work well too. draw out the shape and size of the peel you want, and cut it out using a jig saw. Clean up the edges with a little fine sandpaper, then, using a sanding block with your sandpaper, bevel the end of the peel to about a 45 degree angle, be sure to sand this bevel from the untempered edge. You're now ready to begin peeling your pizzas into the oven. Use your existing peel to remove the pizzas from the oven, and to spin the pizzas in the oven for a more even/uniform bake.
A good alternative to using plastic containers is to save your bread bags and use them for storing the dough in. Lightly oil the dough ball(s), and place one into each bag, twist the open end to close, forming a pony tail, tuck the pony tail under the dough ball as you place it in the fridge. Kiss it good night, and it will be ready to use over the next 24 to 48-hours. To use the dough, remove from the cooler, and set aside to temper AT room temperature for about 2-hours, then turn the dough ball out of the bag into a bowl of dusting flour, and open on your counter top, transfer to your prep peel and dress as desired, then peel into the oven for baking.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor