Author Topic: pizza shower (Read 2025 times)

pizza dr · « **on:** February 19, 2012, 10:50:54 AM »

Last night my wife and I hosted a couples baby shower. I of course wanted nothing to do with the festivities. However my ears perked when she said... Hey maybe you could bake some pizzas!

Now we got ourselves a party

Pizza wasn't the only food so it wasn't too stressful but this was the largest bake I've ever done. I had 15 dough balls that were bulk fermented at 65 degrees for 18 hours and balled for 6 at about 75.

100 % Caputo
62% H20
3.0% NaCl
4.0 % starter

I was baking at about 850 degrees for somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 seconds. I think for as fast as I was going, I think I had some of the best pizzas I've ever made. It seemed the later on in the evening it went, the more the oven (and me) calmed down.

I did mostly margs, and a few other simple ones. The last one I thought was good. I roasted up some Hatch chiles and serano's, with mozz and smoked bacon. Spicy

I have a few pics that I got along the way. I would sure like some constructive criticism.

Scot

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #1 on:** February 19, 2012, 12:42:51 PM »

Those look awesome! How can anyone criticize those? How was the texture? Crumb looks great, rim looks nice and airy/puffy.

Please consider posting your methods so we (I) can study it.

widespreadpizza · « **Reply #2 on:** February 19, 2012, 01:17:56 PM »

dr, the only thing I would mention is you would be better off lightly chopping up or tearing up your basil. the smaller pieces would not burn as much. I am all for applying the basil before entry into the oven as the flavor infuses into the sauce and oil better IMO. also, make sure the basil has contact with the sauce and or cheese and or oil., even consider applying before the cheese. Otherwise, the crust and the bake look great. Thats all I have for you. Nice job -Marc

thezaman · « **Reply #3 on:** February 19, 2012, 01:57:40 PM »

very nice pizzas.that is a nice idea having pizza for the menu . with the basil the other option is to put the basil down before the cheese and the cheese will keep it moist. i to would like to know your method.

Jet_deck · « **Reply #4 on:** February 19, 2012, 02:04:25 PM »

Doctor, I don't see a thing wrong. I am sure the guest were impressed. I am with Chau, I would like to know your dough workflow and method.

pizza dr · « **Reply #5 on:** February 19, 2012, 02:48:59 PM »

Thanks everyone!

Chau, the crust was a little more crisp than I prefer but I'm not sure why this was. The deck was at about 850 at the start of the afternoon and dropped to about 830 when it was all said and done. There was also more residual flour on the deck post bake that needed to be swept on occasion ( i'm assuming that is because I had to much bench flour).

Thanks for the idea for the basil Marc. I like to get a few basil leaves and let it rain from above, but your suggestion makes more sense. It tasted good but it sure didn't look like I wanted to... I'll give your suggestion a try next time

As for the workflow... I use an Ischia starter that is taken out of the fridge about 48 prior to mixing and feedings are done 2 times a day. I use the starter about 4 hours after the last feeding as that seems to be the time when its most active. I dissolve this into RO water then add about 90% of the flour and salt. It is mixed in the KA with a dough hook until shaggy. I then cover it and let it rest for 5 mins. The dough is then kneaded 4 minutes more ( total active time in KA is about 8 mins). I then do less than one minute of kneading by hand and into the bins.

I Bulk ferment usually for at least 24 hours but I only had 18 on this bake. It stays in the wine fridge at 65 ( I think its fairly accurate) then balled first thing in the morning and allowed to come up to temp slowly. I put them in the warmest place in the house ( that being the closet where my DVR and stereo is).

I like to heat the WFO for at least 3 hours but I find the sweet spot is around 5 to even 7 hours. Everything seems to cook much more evenly if I do it that way. My biggest problem over the past few months has been that the cheese was being obliterated prior to the crust being done. I solved this by doing these longer fires pre-bake.

Scot

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #6 on:** February 19, 2012, 03:12:07 PM »

Scot, I think it's normal for NP pies to have a bit of a crisp to the veneer when they first come out of the oven. They normally soften after cooling for a few minutes. But if you want a slightly softer rim sooner, then you can do several things. If you don't want to change your formula, then cook hotter and cut your baking time down to 60-80 sec. You can also try increasing your hydration a few points, but I would look at the bake time first. Also dependning on how mature your starter is and how fermented your dough is, I have found that it can lead to a bit of a crispier shell in comparison to commercial yeast. The acids may have something to do with it.

5-7 hours preheat? Do you get wood for free? D@mn! I'm too cheap to ever do that. Cheese was being obliterated before? Was it b/c your were cutting or tearing the cheese too small? You can increase the cheese size, and a little extra oil will also help protect the cheese.

Do you use RO water b/c it's convenient or have you found it to give better or different results compared to bottled or tap water?

Chau

jeffereynelson · « **Reply #7 on:** February 19, 2012, 03:28:01 PM »

Those look really good. I only have a week till I get to eat some wood fire pizza. Your pics help me prep.

pizza dr · « **Reply #8 on:** February 19, 2012, 07:32:02 PM »

Hey Chau

I use two types of wood. Pecan and Oak. The pecan I can get for basically free (abundant here as you know) but the Oak I have to pay for. Needless to say, I use a lot of pecan. I have found that I need the long pre bake fires. I think it goes back to my oven. I did not build the oven but it is a Casa 2G but I think it was installed improperly. I talked to the man that built the facade around the oven and from I can obtain from him he filled cement around the dome of the oven. I would think that would make the oven very inefficient no? My theory is that it would take a long time to reach equilibrium with the deck.

I'm going to try to start upping the temps in the oven and see if that helps. If I bump my temps up a hundred degrees (say 950) what should I bump the hydration up by? I'm currently doing a 60% HR dough

Thanks

Scot

TXCraig1 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 19, 2012, 08:09:37 PM »

Quote from: Jackie Tran on February 19, 2012, 03:12:07 PM

Scot, I think it's normal for NP pies to have a bit of a crisp to the veneer when they first come out of the oven.

I personally consider this a virtue.

CL

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #10 on:** February 19, 2012, 08:43:08 PM »

Scot, cement around the dome? Yes, definitely a heat sink. I agree, it would take longer to heat up.

Craig, I agree with you.

bakeshack · « **Reply #11 on:** February 22, 2012, 05:18:03 AM »

Scot, great looking pies! I envy you with the free firewood!

Regarding the hydration, I would suggest you try keeping your dough at 60% first and just get shorter bake times (60-70 secs). Maybe try to maintain a bigger fire inside to help with the top to color faster, etc. My usual 60% dough at 70 secs gives me the very slight crisp outer shell right out of the oven and soften upon cooling.

Marlon

pizza dr · « **Reply #12 on:** February 22, 2012, 09:48:33 AM »

Marlon

That is my plan for the next bake. I'll keep the HR the same and change only one component at a time so that hopefully I can get more consistent.

I'm also gonna wait a few minutes before I cut and serve the pies to see if that softens up the crust a smidge. I go back to the photos Omid takes of him folding the crust into a wallet. I'm pretty sure I couldn't do that at this point. Those pics to me really showcase how tender and "melt in your mouth" a crust is.

Scot

scott123 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 22, 2012, 10:28:44 AM »

Scot, I think you've gotten some good suggestions.

One thing that I would add is that the quantity of sauce and the hydration of the sauce both impact foldability. Neapolitan pizza can have soupy issues if you use too wet of a sauce and/or too much of it, but, I think, in your case, in order to facilitate a more tender undercrust, I think you could use a bit more sauce.

How are handling the dough on the stretch? Are you being gentle? How many hours between balling and forming?

If I had to pick one potential culprit impacting tenderness and foldability, it would be the acid generated from the starter. Dialing in the right amount of bacterial activity can be a tricky process. Normally I recommend that beginners use cake yeast/IDY first, then graduate into starters, but, you are obviously not a beginner. I still think, in order to get a baseline texture, it might be worth doing one or two batches of dough with cake yeast.

pizza dr · « **Reply #14 on:** February 22, 2012, 01:05:59 PM »

Thanks for the suggestions Scott!

I usually ball up the dough in the morning ( usually 6 - 8 hours prior to the bake). I am constantly monitoring the dough and moving to different spots based upon what the dough is doing. I usually progressively warm the balls up over the 6 hour period ( from about 68 degrees to about 75).

As far as the handling of the dough.... I think I'm gentle with it based upon what I see others do. Maybe I should do a short film and let you guys take a look.

I totally agree on the starter. I do think there is some variability each time. I will do some simultaneous bakes with CY and my starter and compare.

Thanks again for the help

Scot

bakeshack · « **Reply #15 on:** February 22, 2012, 02:15:57 PM »

I totally agree with Scott on the wet sauce being one of the main reasons why a Neapolitan pizza gets soupy or soggy as some would put it (aside from the wet cheese). One can control it depending on preference. I think a lot of people look at the dough but the actual soupiness of the pizza comes from wet sauce which permeates the under crust once you cut the pie.

Regarding the starter, I found that using it early after feeding (assuming your starter is really active) works great with minimizing acid and tenderness issues in the crust while still getting a very good flavor from the culture.

Marlon

pizza dr · « **Reply #16 on:** February 22, 2012, 06:01:48 PM »

Thanks Marlon!

By the way Chau... ( or anyone else for that matter) if you are ever in Southern NM I will hook you up with all the pecan wood you can take home.

My brother trims pecan trees

Scot

moose13 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 22, 2012, 08:42:17 PM »

Man! I gotta get a WFO!
I am jealous!

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #18 on:** February 22, 2012, 09:02:09 PM »

Quote from: pizza dr on February 22, 2012, 06:01:48 PM

Thanks Marlon!

By the way Chau... ( or anyone else for that matter) if you are ever in Southern NM I will hook you up with all the pecan wood you can take home.

My brother trims pecan trees

Scot

Scot, I wish we lived closer. If you ever come up to Albuquerque and want to get together for pizza, just let me know.

JConk007 · « **Reply #19 on:** February 22, 2012, 09:30:19 PM »

Scot,
Really Great job!! 10" 250 Gram ?? Little more sauce, check- basil I sometimes soak or drag thru sauce s to prevent burning think marc told me that one as well? or put on after, check.
nice work!!
John