oil

[Ed]

I am new to this forum and have a question about ingredients.

For six years I worked for a New York Style pizza shop here in SC, but I never made the dough. 
I thought it was the best pizza I had had other than Uno Chicago Grill's Chicago Style.

Now, I work for a trucking company, but I am making pizza at home and the pizza we have here, as far as brick oven pizza goes, is better than what I can get in the shop I used to work at or in town, so far.

My crust isn't bready and has a better flavor than at the shop where I worked.  I know I am using a different flour (I use KASL, the shop used All Trumps).  I may also be using a hotter oven (500F at home vs 425-475F at the shop). My question is if I am using a higher percentage of oil than what was used at the pizza shop, will that make the crust less bready or is it a combination of factors?

Just trying to figure it out,

Ed

[Pete-zza]

Ed,

Oil is a tenderizer so if used in large amounts it will produce a softer, less chewy crust. To have this effect, however, according to Tom Lehmann you will usually have to use something around 6-7% oil, by weight of flour. I have noticed this effect in New York styles at somewhat lower levels, especially for doughs with high hydration and fairly thick crusts. Of the NY styles I have experimented with, the range of oil has been from around 1% (e.g., Lehmann) to about 7% (e.g., Reinhart).

Peter