Thin crusty dough did not mix quickly into ball

[Villager69]

Tried the thin crust recipe twice using bread flour this afternoon.  Both times it did not mix; basically forming a big lump of mostly dry dough.  Don't know if it is my bread flour or too little water(?).  Am I not doing something right?

[Steve]

Tried the thin crust recipe twice using bread flour this afternoon.  Both times it did not mix; basically forming a big lump of mostly dry dough.  Don't know if it is my bread flour or too little water(?).  Am I not doing something right?

It should be somewhat dense and scrappy. If you squeeze it into a dough ball it should hold its shape. But, yes, it will be dry... unlike a regular dough which will be smooth and soft.

[The Dough Doctor]

The "big lump of mostly dry dough" says it all. There is nothing chiseled in stone when it comes to dough absorption. You need to add sufficient water to the dough to make a smooth, somewhat soft and elastic dough. I would suggest experimenting with adding more water to the dough. When I make dough at home, I will typically start out using too much water, making a dough that is too soft, and somewhat sticky, knowing that this is easily corrected by incorporating a little mo0re flour later on while I'm working with the dough.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[Villager69]

Thanks much for the replies.  Will give it another try and follow your advice.

[Pete-zza]

Villager69,

Can you tell us specifically which recipe you used? If it is for a cracker style pizza the dough may have a hydration of as low as 35% and result in a dry, scrappy dough.

Peter

[Villager69]

Peter,
I used the thin-crust pizza recipe.  Tried it again this morning taking Dough Dr's advice (used more water) and it appeared to be better.  Will know more tomorrow (after the 24 fridge rise).
Jeff

[Pete-zza]

Jeff,

I assume you mean DKM's recipe at http://www.pizzamaking.com/pizzainnstyle.php. If so, the amount of water in that recipe is critical to getting a cracker-like or crispy crust. It also means that you will want to use a good scale to weigh the flour and water. If I am wrong on the reciope you used, please lead me to the correct recipe.

Peter

[nick378311]

Hey, I accidently bought bleached bread flower instead of unbleached and its a 25 lb bag  . Can I still use this instead?
Thanks, Nick

[nick378311]

Oh, and this is the recipe im using. Its chicago thin crust

4 cups unbleached bread flour
2/3 cup fine grind yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1¼ teaspoons table salt, or 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
5 Tablespoons corn oil
1 cups water between 90° and 95°F
½ cup milk

[Villager69]

Thanks to all for lots of good info/advice.  I let my 2nd batch of dough stay in fridge for 2 days before I made the pizza.  Taste was great and everyone in house but me happy with it. It wasn't quite as thin as I would like it but then I used all of batch for one 18" pizza.   I think for my purposes and oven I could use half the batch per pizza and roll much thinner.  While rolled out it still had some lumps of really dried out dough which I did not like at all.   BTW, just to clarify the recipe used was the first one on the website [http://www.pizzamaking.com/thincrust.php] for thin crust pizza.  Anyway will keep playing with this and probable try the Chicago style recipe as well.  Also want to find one I can use on the grill   Stay tuned.

[The Dough Doctor]

Just to confuse things:
I have a dough formula and procedure posted in the PMQ RECIP BANK for a Chicago style thin cracker type crust. This is a very different type of procedure in that it calls for mixing the dough for less than 2-minutes. Actual mixing time typically runs about 1.5-minutes. With this short of a mixing time, what comes from the mixing bowl is more of a dry mix of ingredients than a "dough". Think of it more like that of a baking powder biscuit dough than a pizza dough. In this case you take a weighed amount of the "dough" and press it together using your hands into what we call a "puck", this is much the same way you would make a flaky pie dough, infact that is where I got the idea from. Anyways, you press the dough together to form the puck, and place onto a lightly floured sheet pan. When the pan is filled with dough pieces, cover with plastic, or slip inside of a plastic bag and secure closed by tucking the open end under the pan as you place it into the cooler or fridge. If you're doing this at home, a plastic bread bag works well for holding each dough piece. When you come back to the dough on the following day, you will find that the dough has pretty well knit together. Bring a dough piece out of the fridge and set aside at room temperature allowing the dough piece to temper AT room temperature for about 1.5 to 2-hours, then roll the dough out very thin. You cannot stretch the dough to shape it, it must be rolled. Dress and bake the pizza in the normal manner. This makes a very crispy, cracker type crust.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[Heifer]

Used the same recipe yesterday and ended with the same dry dough that took twenty minutes in a Cuisinart stand mixer to form the same mass you describe.  After reply's to my post(see Dough Problem in new member section) it was determined that the thin crust pizza recipe that we both used needs to be modified.  The 3/4 cup of water is less than is needed for the dough to come together. Does anyone know how to contact the author of that recipe so it can be changed but I am waiting for an answer on the proper amount of water to use with 31/2 cups of bread flour.

[buceriasdon]

I suggest trying this: Place your 3/4 cup of water plus two tablespoons water, salt, oil and sugar in your mixing bowel first. I mix IDY in with the flour to buffer it. Using the paddle first turn the mixer on and a 1/2 cup at a time add the flour and periodically scrap the sides with a pastry spatula shutting off and then restarting the mixer. Reserve back a 1/2 cup flour. When you have added 3 cups of flour let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining flour. Knead with the hook, divide and place in fridge. Worth a try at least.
Don

Used the same recipe yesterday and ended with the same dry dough that took twenty minutes in a Cuisinart stand mixer to form the same mass you describe.  After reply's to my post(see Dough Problem in new member section) it was determined that the thin crust pizza recipe that we both used needs to be modified.  The 3/4 cup of water is less than is needed for the dough to come together. Does anyone know how to contact the author of that recipe so it can be changed but I am waiting for an answer on the proper amount of water to use with 31/2 cups of bread flour.