Yeast preparation for thin crust

[iowegian3]

Have a question w/ yeast prep for thin crust dough.  BTW here are the proportions for recipe I've tried

3 1/2 cup AP flour

whisk together:
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 cup water 105 -110 deg F
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil

It's the yeast mixture that puzzles me.  After whisking together the yeast mixture, should it begin to foam a bit or does it just sit there and not show any bubbling action?  Mine did the latter.

I made up a batch, yes it formed kind of a dry stringy mess like they said it would.  But after 12 hours at room temperature I thought it would have risen a little bit.  I should add that after mixing the dough, I did not form it into a ball.  Room temps overnight were about 68 -70 F.  Had it on top of the fridge for a little extra warmth

Next morning, when I saw a bunch of stringy dry looking dough, I threw it out.

After setting in the trash for seven or eight more hours and after being gone from the house for a couple of hours, we returned and the house had a slight odor of beer.   The dough looked like it was coming together pretty well.

Did I get faked out by my dough, or was I going to have problems and make another "hardtack" crust like I usually do?

[Pizzamaster]

Your room temp was too low. Yeah you got faked out lol.

[Pete-zza]

iowegian3,

It would help to know where you got your recipe and to see the instructions, but for now I tend to agree with Pizzamaster.

Depending on how you measured out the flour volumetrically, I estimate that the hydration of your dough to be about 44-53%. With a full packet of yeast, I estimate the percentage of the yeast to be around 1.34-1.64% of the flour weight. That would normally be high enough to raise the dough after twelve hours even at the ambient temperature range you noted, particularly if you tried to form the dough into a ball, even a rough one. If you did not try to form a dough ball, you may want to do that the next time.

It's hard to say if your yeast was performing properly. It sounds like you were expecting to see it rehydrate and foam such as shown at the beginning of the video at

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2C6v9mGuR0" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2C6v9mGuR0</a>

. I rarely get that degree of foaming up of the rehydrated yeast but I tend to use much less yeast in my doughs and I don't add sugar to my rehydrating yeast and my yeast is not usually as fresh as the yeast that might have been used in the referenced video. If your dough recipe is a functional one and you properly follow the recommended preparation instructions, that should tell you is there is a problem with your yeast.

Peter

[iowegian3]

I could have saved myself some typing by inserting this link...
http://bricksofwine.com/2009/03/thin-crust-pizza-recipe/
that was the recipe I Googled.

I'm going to give it another try, and not get faked out this time!  Also, my yeast was almost at the expiration date and since I couldn't get a thermometer to work, I faked it on the 105 -110 F water temp. 

Had stuff not gotten thrown out on top of my discarded dough, I might have been tempted to pull it out and use it.  Oh well, only out 3.5 cups of flour and 1 pkg yeast.  Thanks for your help..

Russ

[Pete-zza]

Russ,

If you faked the water temperature, you might have killed the yeast or dramatically reduced its effectiveness and performance. However, to kill the yeast entirely, you would have had to get above about 140 degrees F for water temperature.

I have a feeling that you will get better results next time .

Peter

[BBH]

I would change this one up a bit. 

I haven’t really seen any significant difference in taste or rise using ADY vs. IDY, so I use IDY.  No need to mess around with proofing, just add and mix.  You might find that easier.

I would put the oil, sugar and salt in the bowl first and slightly whisk. (Keep the salt away from the yeast and don’t let it come in direct contact).  Add in the flour and then the water and add the IDY then into the mixer.  Water temp is critical if it’s too hot the final product will be too hot.  I like the dough in the low 80’s max.  If I get into the 90’s my dough gets the “yeasty” smell you mentioned in short time, less than 24 hours. 
The instructions call for a 5 min mix on low which with your hydration percentages the dough should have formed.  I would not warm the mixing bowl as stated; personally I just don’t see that need.

I would take the initial water temp to 90 and use IDY and change the mix order in the bowl and try again and work to get the final temp in the low 80’s.  After mixing toss it in the fridge. Consider an overnight rise in the fridge, to my anyway, the best flavor comes after an overnight rise.

Just my 2 cents...

Brad