"Thin" Version of Randy's American Style w/Bakers Percents

[Pete-zza]

The last time I made a “thin” NY style version of Randy’s American pie, on which I reported my results at Reply # 8 of this thread, I indicated that I wanted to repeat the experiment but use all-purpose flour instead of the KASL high-gluten flour.

Over the past few days, I was able to do this. I followed almost exactly the formulation and processing steps as I reported at Reply # 8, but I used all-purpose flour instead of high-gluten flour, and I also used a lower hydration percent. The flour I used was standard, supermarket Gold Medal all-purpose flour, and the hydration percent I used was 60%. The lower hydration percent was used because all-purpose flour does not have the same absorption rate as a high-gluten flour such as the KASL, or even a bread flour. The only other changes I made was to use the pizza sauce that fellow member Les devised and reported on at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1931.0.html, starting at Reply #19, and I used fresh pineapple and part-skim, low-moisture Grande mozzarella cheese. I even used a blend of cornmeal, semolina and white flour to shape the dough while making the 16-inch skin. The final formulation I used was as follows:

Thin 16-Inch NY Version of Randy’s American Style Pizza Dough
100%, All-purpose flour (Gold Medal), 11.85 oz. (335.6 g.), 2 1/2 c. plus 2 T. plus 2 t.
60%, Water (at 72 degrees F), 7.10 oz. (201.36 g), just under 7/8 c.
2.0%, Sugar (ordinary table sugar), 0.24 oz. (6.71 g.), a bit over 1 5/8 t.
3%, Honey, 0.36 oz. (10.07 g.), a bit less than 1 1/2 t.
2.8%, Vegetable oil, 0.33 oz. (9.40 g.), 2 t.
1.65%, Salt (ordinary table salt), 0.20 oz. (5.54 g.), a bit less than 1 t.
0.40%, IDY (SAF Red), 0.05 oz. (1.34 g.), between 3/8 and 1/2 t.
Thickness factor (TF) = 0.10
Finished dough weight = 20.11 oz. (570,01 g.)

The dough made using the above formulation tracked almost identically the previous dough made using the KASL--from dough processing steps and mixing/kneading times, fermentation time, dough warm-up time, and dough handling and shaping qualities. As reported previously at Reply # 8, I believe that the use of honey plays a significant role in the quality of the finished dough and its superior handling qualities, as well as contributing to good coloration in the final crust.

Once the pizza was dressed, it was baked in the same manner as previously reported. The finished pizza was very good--much better than I had expected from a dough that was based on using ordinary all-purpose flour (not even the high-quality King Arthur all-purpose flour). In fact, I would go so far as to say that the pizza was one of the best I have ever made using all-purpose flour. The crust, crumb, texture and color were quite close to the KASL version. I believe that using high-gluten flour or even bread flour will produce a somewhat better crust overall because of the higher protein content of such flours and slightly better crust flavor and crumb, but I wouldn’t hesitate to make an all-purpose flour version if all-purpose flour is the only flour available to use. It might even be possible to improve the all-purpose version by supplementing the flour with vital wheat gluten (VWG).

The series of photos that follow show the pizza at different stages of its production.

Peter

[Pete-zza]

Whole pie and slice...

[Trinity]

Mmmmm! Nice!!!!

[husker3in4]

I would like to be a neighbor of Pete, for sure! This looks like a recipe I want to try, the only problem is I dont have a KA mixer, only a standard $20 hand held mixer which wouldnt work I dont think. How would you advise to make this dough using just my elbow grease to mix it?

[Pete-zza]

husker3in4,

The recipe you refer to is for a 16" pie. Is that the size you are interested in making?

Peter

[husker3in4]

Well I generally make 12" pizzas. I thought I read here somewhere that a 16" recipe will make 2 12" skins. Is that correct?  I am working on getting a KA mixer, but that probably wont happen for awhile. Maybe around christmas, maybe not! I pretty much use my trusty hard plastic spoon to do the mixing, and my hands to do the kneading. I have some King Arthur bread flour, Dakota Mills High Protien flour, some Fleishman's Instant Yeast (1lb freeze dried package, white with blue writing on it) and a kitchen thermometer to temp the water. I also have a stone, screen and pan. After trying all 3, I kinda like the screen or stone best. Hope that gives you an idea of what Im working with

Ive come to the conclusion I want to make a clone of Papa John's regular hand tossed style pizza. Once I get as close as possible to that, I will move on from there.  Any recipe suggestion is appreciated

[Pete-zza]

husker3in4,

You are well equipped to make a Randy American style or a thin version of it as described in this thread. I have not yet tried using bread flour in that style but Randy did post a bread flour version of his recipe at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1698.msg15290.html#msg15290 (Reply 19). I also have not used hand kneading with Randy’s recipe but my recollection is that others on the forum have done so. I see no reason why you can’t either.

A good way to learn about pizza making is to try different versions of a recipe. For example, I first started with Randy’s basic recipe and gradually modified it to make thinner versions. Along the way, I experimented with reducing the quantities of several of the ingredients to see whether doing so would still produce a decent product (it did). If you like a Papa John’s style, I understand that Randy’s original recipe comes quite close. If you prefer a thinner style—an almost NY style--then a thin version works very well.

As far as the dough preparation is concerned, I don’t think it really matters which flour you use or which version of Randy's recipe you use. Depending on the flour you decide to use you may have to adjust the amount of water (hydration), and you may have to tweak the flour and water to get the desired finished dough condition, but the basic processing steps should be pretty much the same. If you decide to use high-gluten flour, it will be harder to hand knead such a dough, but if you introduce one or more rest periods during the mixing/kneading process, you should be able to manage it.

In your case, I would recommend that you make enough dough for a 16” pizza which, as you correctly noted, translates into enough dough for two, roughly 12” pizzas. There are several possible ways to use hand kneading with the different versions of Randy’s recipe, but I think I would use the following one.

I would start by dispersing the yeast (IDY) in with the flour. Then put the water and salt into a bowl and stir for about 30 seconds or so to fully dissolve the salt. Next, add the honey and sugar to the water/salt mixture in the bowl. To help dissolve the honey and sugar in the water, you can warm up a small amount of the formula water and mix the honey and sugar into it before adding it to your bowl with the rest of the water (which can be at room temperature or even cool). Next, gradually add the flour/yeast mixture to the bowl, about a tablespoon or two at a time, and mix in after each addition with a large sturdy mixing spoon. This is to better hydrate the flour without developing its gluten. Continue to do this until about 2/3 of the flour/yeast mixture has been added to the bowl. Then let the mixture rest for about 5-10 minutes. This rest period will be especially useful if you decide to use high-gluten flour, which yields a more extensive and elastic gluten network, and will allow the dough to soften and become more manageable. It should also help produce a more open and airy crumb in the finished crust, which appears to be a feature you like.

At the end of the rest period, I would add the oil. Normally, I add the oil at the very end before the final knead so that it doesn’t impede the hydration of the flour, but since you will be hand kneading I would add it to the dough mixture while it is still wet and easy to incorporate (as another option, you can even add the salt at this time rather than at the beginning). Once the oil has been incorporated, remove the dough from the bowl and put it onto a work surface. Mix/knead in the remaining flour/yeast mixture a little at a time. If the dough is too wet to handle and overly sticks to your fingers, you can use a bench knife to manipulate the dough by turning the dough as you gradually add more flour (I usually sprinkle the flour onto the dough). There is a natural tendency to want to add more flour, so you should resist doing so since this can lead to a dough that is too stiff.

Continue to add the flour a bit at a time and knead the dough until it become smooth with few surface irregularities. Ideally, it should be on the tacky side. If the dough is too hard to knead, as can happen with a high-gluten flour, let it rest for about 5 minutes, and resume kneading. Since you will be using volume measurements, it may be necessary to add more or less flour and/or water to get the desired finished dough condition. If such modifications are necessary, do so a teaspoon or so at a time. It is hard to say how long you should knead the dough, but you don’t want to overdo it. It is better to slightly underknead it than overknead it.

At this point, the dough can be shaped into a ball or disk shape, lightly oiled, and placed into a suitable container and then into the refrigerator. You should follow the remaining steps as outlined in the particular dough recipe you decide to use. One of the nice things about Randy’s American style dough is that it can be baked entirely on a pizza screen, using a short oven preheat (about 10-15 minutes). Every pizza I have made following Randy’s recipe and my variations of it have turned out very well. I hope you experience the same results.

Good luck.

Peter

[husker3in4]

Thanks peter, I think I can follow that pretty well. One question, I have been using ziploc bags for the dough when I put it in the fridge. After a few hours the bag is full of air, is that normal or desireable? Also, what type of container is that in your pics and where would I get it?

[chiguy]

Well I generally make 12" pizzas. I thought I read here somewhere that a 16" recipe will make 2 12" skins. Is that correct?

Close but not quite. The surface area of a 16in pizza is 200.96in. and the surface area of a 12in is 113.04in. So two 12in pizzas would be 226.08, a slight difference but noticeable.
                                                                                                      Chiguy
 
 

[Pete-zza]

husker3in4,

Zip-type storage bags are good because they are lightweight with low mass so the dough cools down fairly quickly when the bags go into the refrigerator. They also take up little space in the refrigerator and are transparent so you can observe the dough quite nicely. The negative of such bags is that it can sometimes be difficult to remove the doughs from the bags without mangling them when you are ready to use them. I like the metal cans (with lids) because metal cools down quickly in the refrigerator. The one shown in the photo is simply an empty nut container. I have others that contained cookies and cakes. You can buy metal dough retarding and proofing pans (with lids) like some pizza operators use for around $10 each, plus shipping, at many online restaurant supply companies.  In my case, I have accumulated so many empty food cans like the one in the photo that I have no need to buy the commercial ones.

What you observed with the storage bags you have been using is normal and, to the best of my knowledge, not harmful in any way.

Peter

[Pete-zza]

Close but not quite. The surface area of a 16in pizza is 200.96in. and the surface area of a 12in is 113.04in. So two 12in pizzas would be 226.08, a slight difference but noticeable.

chiguy,

What you say is correct. Of course, the easy solution would be to use a somewhat larger thickness factor for the 16" formulation and stretch the dough out a little bit further for the 12" sizes. However, with so many 16" dough formulations out there, it is simpler just to use the 2-for-1 rule of thumb even if it isn't exact.

Peter

[husker3in4]

Do you put a lid on your container Pete? Like an airtight lid? or just a lid to cover but air can force its way out? Also, what type of metal is better than another? aluminum better than steel? Im sure I can find some empty cans, just want to know what to look for.

[chiguy]

 peter & husker3n4,
 I noticed after reading you are not using a mixer and probably not a scale for that matter.
 So a real acurate measument of dough weights and thickness factors will not apply at this time for you.        Chiguy
                                                                                       
 

[husker3in4]

You'd be correct chiguy. No scale, no mixer. Just my trusty measuring cups and my elbow grease.

[Pete-zza]

Do you put a lid on your container Pete? Like an airtight lid? or just a lid to cover but air can force its way out? Also, what type of metal is better than another? aluminum better than steel? Im sure I can find some empty cans, just want to know what to look for.

husker3in4,

I'm not sure what my containers are made of, and I am not a metals expert, but I would think that aluminum would be a good choice, much like these pizza proofing/retarding pans: http://www.foodservicedirect.com/index.cfm/S/311/N/1647/Dough_Retarding_And_Proofing_Pans.htm. I have both tight and loose fitting lids for my pans. Since most of my doughs are low-yeast, low-temperature doughs, I rarely have a lid pop off. I believe the commercial proofing/retarding pans have loose fitting lids. The pans are usually stackable so that only a lid is needed for the pan on top, as shown in the photo at the link referenced above. A loose fitting lid might be best for the Randy American style dough because it is much higher in yeast (and dough temperature) than my usual doughs.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about what type of container you use. You can even use an empty bread bag to hold your dough ball. You just twist the end of the bread bag with the dough in it and tuck it under. The bread bag is actually better in some respects than a Zip-type storage bag because it is easier to remove the dough from the bread bag without mishaping it.

Peter

[husker3in4]

Thanks for the info pete, and the link, very good link! Once I can get to the store on friday and get some honey, I will be giving that recipe a shot.  Seems like my biggest problem so far on the 10 or 12 pizzas Ive made with 3 diff recipes is the crust on the outside of the pizza (the poofy part around the edge) is too crispy on the outside. I want it to be soft and chewy on the outside, like papa johns and some other local pizza places. I have cooked on the bottom rack and the middle rack, same result.

[Pete-zza]

husker3in4,

Let us know how the pizza turns out. We can always scale it back up to Randy's original thickness if it turns out to be too thin or too crispy at the rim.

Peter

[husker3in4]

Peter, now that I look at your pics again, is that cornmeal you are using on the dough ball?

[Pete-zza]

Peter, now that I look at your pics again, is that cornmeal you are using on the dough ball?

husker3in4,

It is a combination of flour, cornmeal and semolina. It is Randy's version of the Dustinator blend used by Papa John's when shaping the dough into skins. A bit of the blend is actually pressed into the dough to give it a marbling effect. If you don't have any semolina on hand, you should be able to get away with using just flour and cornmeal.

Peter

[husker3in4]

Well Ive got flour and white cornmeal, is the white cornmeal the right kind for this?

And is it 50 - 50 on the mix?