First try NY style pizza - dough problems

[awol567]

(cont'd)

[awol567]

Second Pie

[scott123]

Looking good, Alec. That undercrust, as you recognized, is a big step up.

Unless you have a very precise scale, measure the yeast by volume.  Use 1/4 t.  That way you don't have to scale the recipe up. How is the stretching feeling?  Are you stretching the pizza to the full 13 inches?

You might want to play around with pressing out a slightly smaller rim.  Getting the right rim to undercrust ratio is an important part of NY style pizza.

When you say 4 minutes 'in' and  2 minute broiler assist, are you saying that the pizza was on the stone for 6 minutes and the broiler was turned on for the last 2?

This is 100% KABF right? No honey/molasses? If there's no whole wheat, honey or molasses in this dough, your lighting is wreaking havoc on the color in your photos.  I know it's a huge amount to ask, but could you try to get a shot or two in natural light, or, if this is fluorescent, an incandescent shot? Natural light is ideal, but that's only if you're making pizza during daylight hours.

If you're going to hit a 4 minute bake (and for NY I think you want to), then you're going to need to step up to a better hearth.   1/2" steel plate is the best choice for a 550+ oven.  It's not that drastically different than the iron you're using now, just thicker.  The extra thickness allows it to store more heat, which translates into faster bakes.

[awol567]

Hi Scott,

I will try measuring by volume next time.  Otherwise, do you think I can just cut off a portion of the finished dough, so that it's the right size?  The stretching is not stubborn at all, it feels very elastic and I have not had a tear yet.  I am stretching it to 13'', and I feel that I could go further with the larger dough proportions, but I sometimes miss the launch so 13'' is better for my 14'' pan.  It would be fun to make an 18'' by tossing, but alas my oven isn't nearly large enough  

I did notice that the rim was a bit large.  I suppose I've been a little hesitant whenever it came to pressing around the rim, but I think I have a better idea of how close to get now.

In terms of the baking time, yes, I had the pizza in for a total of 5.5-6 minutes, with the broiler turned on for the last two minutes.  I'm not sure if the different cheese color is from the extra two minutes, or the broiler; I'll test this next week.

The flour I used in the post before this latest one was KABF, no honey/molasses.  My local department store ran out of KABF, so for these pies I used Gold Medal Bread Flour.  To me, it performs as KABF did.  You're right, it does look kind of dark, but as far as I remember that's how the colors were in person as well.  Then again, I don't have any natural light in my kitchen at all, sadly, so I'll take a picture near the window next time.  

And for the winter I would like to make a lot, so I'll probably get the plate.  Rolled steel, correct?  Going with this idea, does anyone have experience making dough in big batches?  Is it simply a matter of jacking up the amounts at the same ratios?  There's got to be something different with the process, perhaps all the added weight prevents rising or something?  Just some thoughts, but it would also be nice to freeze dough to use as I need it, that way I don't have to spend the time on dough when I know I'm going to be busy in the winter.  

Thanks again! I'll continue to post what I come up with in the future.

[awol567]

Hello, another update and questions!

I'm posting this week's pie under natural, and artificial lighting.  The sky was overcast, so it's rather blue tinted; I think that my phone had better color fidelity in the artificial lighting.  Either way, it came out satisfactory.  Scott, I'm really loving the dough recipe, it tastes great!

I'm having a little get-together with friends this Friday, and I'd like to make four pies.  I'm thinking that I can get the dough all done in one fell swoop by multiplying all the ingredients by four, and then cutting off the pieces that I want to use.  Does anyone have advice for making dough in larger batches?  Is it simply that, or are there other emergent problems with larger batches?

Alternatively, I was thinking of making some as the week goes by, to see how different fridge times affect the dough.  I was thinking, perhaps, one today, tomorrow, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the last of which I would be most confident about, because it is about the time I currently use to fridge my dough.  

If it's not against forum customs, I'd like to ask this question to the rest of the forum, so I'll have a repeat message under a different subject header.  

[theppgcowboy]

Check out the dough tools on the opening page, wonderful tools for everything.

[PizzaSean]

mmm mmm mmm looking better and better!

the sauce and cheese look awesome towards the end! what are your choices for those?

[awol567]

Hi everyone, sorry for the late reply I've been extremely busy lately.

PizzaSean:

My cheese is Rio Briati low-moisture full-fat mozzarella, freshly grated for the pie.  

While the sauce looks decent, I think it's missing something that's preventing my pies from tasting 100%.  I followed the general structure from this site

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/new-york-style-pizza-sauce.html

The only differences are that I use

- Hunt's crushed tomatoes
- Salted butter
- Sea salt
- No fresh basil (but I just found a place that sells it as well as fresh oregano, so I plan on using them regularly from here on out)

I haven't experimented too far from this current setup...

   • 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
   • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
   • 1 tablespoon dried basil
   • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
   • 2 cloves garlic, minced
   • 1 tablespoon butter
   • 1 tablespoon olive oil
   • 1 yellow onion, split in half
   • 1 teaspoon sugar


...following the instructions on the website provided.  Any advice would be great!  I'm still working toward a pie as close to tasting like NY as possible.  Thanks!