I'm never quite certain what people mean when they describe a crust as being "yeasty" tasting. Like goddabedapan, I tend to think of a "yeasty" tasting crust as coming from using a lot of yeast, and, more particularly, an abundance of fresh yeast. However, some people refer to a crust made from a dough that has a highly alcoholic smell, usually after a spell of many hours at room temperature or several days in the refrigerator, as having a "yeasty" flavor. To me, that is not a "yeasty" tasting crust, but one that comes from the byproducts of fermentation, particularly lactic and acetic acids and related compounds, with the strongest flavors coming from using a natural preferment without any added commercial yeast at all. If I am not mistaken, I believe Marco (pizzanapoletana) also draws a distinction between the two flavors. At least that is how I interpreted his comments from another thread:
It is true that the pizza crust should not taste yeasty. But we also do not like the bread with yeasty flavor. We still prefer natural fermented dough. However this dough have a lactic acid taste (similar to mozzarella cheese) and not acetic acid taste like SF sourdough.
On the pizza side, a good fruity (the wheat taste) and moderately "lactic acid" taste is what we look for in a good pizza crust.
Peter
