As some of you may have noticed, I have been pretty absent from this board for quite some time.
Not because I don't want to contribute any longer, got bored or achieved what I wanted (far from that, actually) but because of some much needed time off from pizzas.
Since I joined PM.com in early 2008 and many pizza experiments later, I gained a few pounds which had to come off, and still have to. Back then I had a back injury which limited certain workouts/sports activities such as soccer, tennis, weight lifting, etc.
I started a new workout regimen in January 2012 and have lost a tad over 25 lbs so far with about 15 more to go. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming this forum for my weight increase but rather my own passion for pizza. I know some of you know that when you get caught up in one thing and the passion kicks in, there's no way of stopping. But I had to draw the line in January. It was time.
However, that didn't stop me from making an occasional pie, talk pizza with some of SF's pizza operators or trying to put crusts together that were based on a more healthy foundation. But we all know what that means...cheating the original out of its core fundamentals/values.
So after a few futile attempts of making a more diet-friendly & health-conscious pizza (low-fat cheese, less salt, less oil and other such trickery), I never found the satisfaction of the good pies of the past. In other words, I said “F..' it” and went back to the drawing board but made some changes:
1. Smaller sized pies (12” max)
2. Pizza only twice a month
3. More veggies as toppings rather than pepperoni, salami, sausage or cheese
4. A good tomato sauce made from high-quality San Marzanos without adding sugar or too much salt
5. Only pizzas on Sundays...basically the reward for great workouts during the week
With that said, I have made maybe 10 pies over the last couple months, but all of them came out great. The hiatus gave me time to think, time to rework my approach, time to focus on a crust that is actually achievable in a home setting and perhaps can work as a blueprint for a commercial crust. And most importantly, it gave me time to actually want to make pizza again because I wanted to and not because of an experiment I had waiting in the wings.
I noticed that in the last few months I've been all over the map trying to clone/emulate certain crusts (Marcello's, Avellino, Ragazza, Delfina) that I lost sight of what I, the person Mike, actually is shooting for. I'm shooting for two things...
1. a great NY-style crust
2. a great artisan crust
But those things can't be achieved if one rotates/switches between an experiment here, an experiment there and everything in between. I feel that that is exactly what I've been doing. It was time to clear the head and look at things more focused.
I got some unexpected help from one of the pizza makers stated above when it comes to the NY-style crust but for obvious reasons I can't reveal the name nor the formula. The second one (artisan crust) is solely on myself and that's what I have been working on over the last three months, with great but not stellar results. So it's all still a work in progress. But I'd like to share some pics and a couple of formulas that got me very close to a good artisan crust.
The NY-style crust formula I received needs a bit more redefining and then it should be good to go. I will keep the board posted on it, if interest is there, albeit it not being the original, professional dough formula but an adopted one for a home oven.
With that all said, here are some examples of artisan crusts I've been working on lately. A word up front, though. The formulas use a combination of two flours, the Pendleton power flour and ConAgra's harvest flour.
Here's the first formula which got nice reviews from my guinea pigs but it was a bit off from what I was shooting for...
Total Formula:
Flour (100%):
Water (65%):
Salt (2%):
ADY (.3%):
Oil (1%):
Sugar (3%):
Total (171.3%):
Single Ball:
Preferment:
Flour:
Water:
Total:
Final Dough:
Flour:
Water:
Salt:
ADY:
Preferment:
Oil:
Sugar:
Total:
|
766.49 g | 27.04 oz | 1.69 lbs
498.22 g | 17.57 oz | 1.1 lbs
15.33 g | 0.54 oz | 0.03 lbs | 2.75 tsp | 0.92 tbsp
2.3 g | 0.08 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.61 tsp | 0.2 tbsp
7.66 g | 0.27 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.7 tsp | 0.57 tbsp
22.99 g | 0.81 oz | 0.05 lbs | 5.77 tsp | 1.92 tbsp
1313 g | 46.31 oz | 2.89 lbs | TF = N/A
328.25 g | 11.58 oz | 0.72 lbs
164.13 g | 5.79 oz | 0.36 lbs
164.13 g | 5.79 oz | 0.36 lbs
328.25 g | 11.58 oz | 0.72 lbs
602.37 g | 21.25 oz | 1.33 lbs
334.09 g | 11.78 oz | 0.74 lbs
15.33 g | 0.54 oz | 0.03 lbs | 2.75 tsp | 0.92 tbsp
2.3 g | 0.08 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.61 tsp | 0.2 tbsp
328.25 g | 11.58 oz | 0.72 lbs
7.66 g | 0.27 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.7 tsp | 0.57 tbsp
22.99 g | 0.81 oz | 0.05 lbs | 5.77 tsp | 1.92 tbsp
1313 g | 46.31 oz | 2.89 lbs | TF = N/A
|
It was a bit too chewy, which I attribute to the Power flour and me perhaps over-mixing it. Others liked it.
The outcome below...
