Author Topic: Jim Lahey’s new book titled “MY PIZZA” (Read 10155 times)

norma427 · « **Reply #40 on:** March 22, 2012, 09:08:56 AM »

Pictures of Jim Lahey’s no-knead pizza dough the next morning. I wanted to note I did add the full amount of water.

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #41 on:** March 22, 2012, 12:32:58 PM »

This is what my no-knead dough looks like after about 14 hours at room temperature. The ambient room temperature went down during the night and today it is 70 degrees F where the dough is fermenting. I think I am soon going to do the few stretch and folds and ball the no-knead dough, because to me it looks like it might have fermented enough. If anyone thinks my no-knead dough doesn’t look fermented enough to proceed, let me know. I had put a rubber band on the plastic container after I took the pictures this morning so it could be seen how much the no-knead dough ferments.

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #42 on:** March 22, 2012, 03:08:19 PM »

I did the stretch and folds on the no-knead dough and then balled the dough until it looked tight enough. These are of pictures is how the no-knead dough ball is now fermenting. I didn’t use much flour to ball this dough ball. I am soon going to turn on my oven for a preheat.

Somehow, when I was deleting pictures from my memory stick, I deleted the pictures of right after the no-knead dough was taken out of the container and the stretch and folds were done and what the dough looked like after the ball.

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #43 on:** March 22, 2012, 06:03:41 PM »

Jim Lahey’s no-knead dough ball opened well and there was no sticking with using a little bit of bench flour. I lightly coated both sides of the dough ball with flour before opening it. The opened dough ball had many fermentation bubbles in the skin. The no-knead pizza was dressed with Alfredo garlic sauce, spinach, red peppers, spring onions, bacon, grape tomatoes and a blend of two mozzarellas. Even with adding all the dressings the skin didn’t want to stick to the wooden peel. The oven was preheated for an hour and after the pie was slide into the oven with the wooden peel the broiler was turned on. I didn‘t think my broiler would stay on so I opened the oven a little each time it went off. The end of the bake was finished with just the bottom oven coil. The bake wasn‘t perfect, but turned out fairly well. The bottom of the crust could have been a little darker, but still was good. The Jim Lahey’s no-knead pizza was pretty darn tasty and kind of reminded me of a Neapolitan pizza in that the middle crust didn’t stay crisp too long, but the outer rim crust did stay a little crispy even after the pie had cooled down. The crumb was fairly moist. The pie was baked on the middle rack on the pizza stone. I think Jim Lahey’s no-knead pizza dough would fair better in a hotter oven. I might try a the same methods at market or my home BBQ grill set-up sometime. I am going to take a few slices to my mom’s a little while later and see what she thinks of this pizza.

I took a video of slicing the pie with a pizza cutter, but with only one hand to cut and one hand to hold the camera, the video didn’t turn out very well.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXHa93x-dQM" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXHa93x-dQM</a>

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #44 on:** March 22, 2012, 06:05:00 PM »

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #45 on:** March 22, 2012, 06:06:01 PM »

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #46 on:** March 22, 2012, 06:07:02 PM »

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #47 on:** March 22, 2012, 06:09:57 PM »

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #48 on:** March 22, 2012, 06:11:10 PM »

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #49 on:** March 22, 2012, 06:12:18 PM »

Norma

parallei · « **Reply #50 on:** March 22, 2012, 06:19:53 PM »

A little oven spring there Norma!

Moondance · « **Reply #51 on:** March 22, 2012, 06:24:28 PM »

That looks great Norma. Can't wait to hear how it tasted. I watched Lahey's video the other day and hope to give it a go soon.

norma427 · « **Reply #52 on:** March 22, 2012, 06:37:26 PM »

Quote from: parallei on March 22, 2012, 06:19:53 PM

A little oven spring there Norma!

Paul,

I think it would have been better if my home oven wasn't so anemic. Thanks so much for doing the baker's percents.

I never would have been able to figure that out.

Norma

norma427 · « **Reply #53 on:** March 22, 2012, 06:40:04 PM »

Quote from: Moondance on March 22, 2012, 06:24:28 PM

That looks great Norma. Can't wait to hear how it tasted. I watched Lahey's video the other day and hope to give it a go soon.

Regina,

The Jim Lahey’s no-knead dough I tried fermented well and was easy. I would be interested in your results if you give it a good soon.

Norma

eatrustic · « **Reply #54 on:** March 22, 2012, 07:48:37 PM »

Nice result! I love the calendar shot behind the slice for "proof of life"

I'm confident the technique is a good one despite my oven woes.

The University of Bread website is more of an all things Sullivan Bakery site than one devoted to Pizza. Don't see any pizza questions yet.

norma427 · « **Reply #55 on:** March 22, 2012, 08:20:57 PM »

Quote from: eatrustic on March 22, 2012, 07:48:37 PM

Nice result! I love the calendar shot behind the slice for "proof of life"
I'm confident the technique is a good one despite my oven woes.

The University of Bread website is more of an all things Sullivan Bakery site than one devoted to Pizza. Don't see any pizza questions yet.

eat rustic,

Thanks! Lol, I didn’t even think about the calendar being behind the slice.

I will also keep an eye on the Sullivan St. Bakery website.

I think if you try again, it will work out okay for you.

Norma

Bobino414 · « **Reply #56 on:** March 23, 2012, 01:35:03 PM »

Norma

The fact that my Lahey pizza dough was so slack and unmanageable while you had more strength in your dough and it was more workable sent me back to the drawing board.
I didn't think my higher humidity was the sole factor. I tested my water and it is alkaline and very soft, near soapy; both of these factors can result in a weak dough. So now I better understand why we had different results.
Sorry Jim.

In the words of that great philosopher Rosanne Rosanadana: "Never Mind."

Bob

norma427 · « **Reply #57 on:** March 23, 2012, 02:28:05 PM »

Quote from: Bobino414 on March 23, 2012, 01:35:03 PM

Norma

The fact that my Lahey pizza dough was so slack and unmanageable while you had more strength in your dough and it was more workable sent me back to the drawing board.
I didn't think my higher humidity was the sole factor. I tested my water and it is alkaline and very soft, near soapy; both of these factors can result in a weak dough. So now I better understand why we had different results.
Sorry Jim.

In the words of that great philosopher Rosanne Rosanadana: "Never Mind."

Bob

Bob,

I really don’t know why your Lahey pizza dough didn’t turn out okay. I really haven’t researched how soft water hinders pizza dough, but did read a few times that hard water is better. I have very hard water at home because I have well water, but never tried that for any pizza doughs. Water at market is also well water and I never tried that either. I always buy water I have filled in my containers at my nearby supermarket to make all of my pizza doughs, except for some that have called for a specialized kind of spring water for reverse engineering projects. Maybe you are right that your very soft water is what gave you the problems of your dough being slack and unmanageable. Are you going to make another no-knead Lahey’s dough? I might try KAAP the next time, but think I might have to hold back some water. I am not sure of that though, but might hold back some water to see how the dough feels.

Best of luck if you try the Lahey’s no-knead dough again!

I was going to mix another no-knead dough today for tomorrow to try in my BBQ grill set-up, but it is supposed to be raining a lot in our area tomorrow. I won’t get soaking wet just trying to make a pizza.

Norma

johnnydoubleu · « **Reply #58 on:** March 23, 2012, 11:30:59 PM »

I am gonna contribute my take on this in a few days (a fresh take). Making the dough right now for a brunch pizza. My approach is similar but also quite different from Jim's.

In reviewing the Lahey recipe on Slice, each dough ball (apart from bench flour, which I barely use any) is 217 grams which is either wrong or makes for some very tiny pizzas.

I don't have any real issue with Jim. When diehard enthusiasts evaluate things they have a tendency to be hard to satisfy, like the the way fans of a band dissect a new "album". They are far more critical than most people would be. I used to be more anal about my pizza but it sucks a lot of the joy out of it for me. Pizza making as hobby should, IMO, be more about fun and sharing food than some sort of rigorous lab experiment focused on an idea of perfection that is not static. Years from now, different materials and approaches will come out that make us rethink things all over again. There is no perfect way.

I do think Scott has some valid points though, but I have yet to hear the suggestions (specific and concrete, not blanket) of what Jim should be saying, just hearing that what he said isn't up to snuff. If he should have suggested a different stone or material what is it? If he shouldn't suggest cranking your oven as high as it should go what should he be, that we all need a particular kind of oven or what? If the bake time is erroneous what should it be? Is it reasonable to expect that everyone who buys the book has access to thick steel, a bangin' oven and an IR thermometer? Of course not, that is just totally unrealistic and would be a different book alltogether, one with a much smaller market of potential customers that is for sure.

I'll leave the naysayers (please understand I am not taking a pro Lahey stance, just being matter of fact) with a pic of a "low knead" (yeah, I coined that, if you use you must always give me credit

I made in 2010. I baked it on a cast iron (pizza specific) pan (blasphemous I know -- but I know for sure it works great and most of the people that malign this pan never even tried it, LOL), cranked the oven and observed the bake (never put it on broil, just preheated set at 550 for an hour). I don't need an effing thermometer or to know the exact temp of the oven to make a killer pizza -- when it is done it is done. My eyes tell me what I need to know and are the best tool available. If I did know all that, I have a hard time believing the pizza would have been any better, I just would have had more data points. Not a bad thing by any means but not necessary. I invite any of you to tell me that my pizza looks mediocre or that my method was somehow flawed.

norma427 · « **Reply #59 on:** March 24, 2012, 07:48:18 AM »

John,

I would be interested in your “fresh take” approach that is similar but also quite different than Jim Lahey’s. Maybe you would want to start another thread with your approach.

I didn’t review the Lahey article on slice for the amounts. I just used Paul’s baker’s percents, since I don’t usually make more than one dough ball for an experiment.

I saw Scott posted on the article on Slice. Scott is very good with oven set-ups, flours, researching. etc.

I think as most books published by people (that are known in the pizza world), the books have to be understood by many people to try and make a pizza, not just like people here on the forum or on Slice. The members here on the forum and Slice are only a few people compared to who might read Jim’s book. The members on this forum are passionate about how they make their pizzas, what kind of oven set-ups they try, flours, hydrations, starters, types of pizza, etc. I don’t really believe that the masses of people that will read Jim’s book will be passionate like most of us and all they want to be able to produce is a decent pizza. Maybe they never tried to make pizza before.

Norma