First batch of dough

[bolabola]

After spending 3 hours of reading as many posts as I could on NY pizza last night I decided to try canadave's dough recipe..I got started alittle late because of the 4th today but just got it into the fridge at 10pm..
I liked it for my first try because of the measurements..math was never my strength and breaking down everything into cups and tsp from percentages seemed like a hassle..
I changed it alittle mixing the yeast in with the flour first and just now read Dave's recipe might of called for more yeast compared to Peter's..
one question I have is is there any difference in the amount of yeast if adding ADY compared to instant yeast..
anyway,I was very happy with the out come and noticed what a huge difference it made doing the autolyse method before adding the rest of the flour,salt and oil after 20 min..
why after the countless pizza bread recipes I've tried I've never seen this mentioned?
I kept the dough somewhat wet because that's always worked better for me but was amazed at how elastic it already was..
now comes the pain staking wait for 2 days
I want to try one pie with my marinara sauce and one with uncooked tomatoes just to satisfy my curiosity..
a million thanks go out to all the pizza gurus here who have takin the time to share their knowledge..
I'll let you know how my first batch of  canadave's NY dough turns out and in time try out others variations..especially Peter's and varasano's..

PS..is there a simple way to break down the measurements on a calculator from the bakers chart..I only want to make dough with 2 lbs of flour at a time..

[Pete-zza]

bolabola,

There is a difference between ADY and IDY in terms of converting from one to the other. If you want to convert from IDY to ADY, you multiply the weight of IDY by about a third. I wouldn't worry too much about this in your case because the amounts are so small that you wouldn't be able to exactly measure out the amount of yeast by volume anyway. If the recipe calls for 1 1/4 t. of IDY, then I would recommend that you use the same amount of ADY or just a little bit more. The differences would matter if you were trying to make hundreds of dough balls, as a pizza operator would, but not just one or a few. The most important thing to keep in mind when using ADY is that it should not be added to the flour as you would IDY. The ADY should be rehydrated in a small amount of water (a small fraction of the total water), at around 100 degrees F (you should actually measure it), for about 10-15 minutes. The rehydrated ADY should then be added to the rest of the water, which should be kept cool if you are planning to use cold fermentation (as Canadave's recipe calls for).

I don't know which precise recipe you are using, so I can't tell you how to calculate the amounts of ingredients to use if you want to use 2 pounds (32 ounces) of flour as your starting point. If the recipe has baker's percents, then it is quite easy to do the calculations, and I can show you if you tell me the recipe you used.

Peter

[bolabola]

I did add a smidge extra ADY Peter..
Also next time I'll make sure to rehydrate the yeast but it seems to be working fine..
I just checked it after 18 hours in the fridge and it seems to be fermenting properly with nice little air bubbles throughout..
it's also forming air pockets on the top..

I'll wait untill I have 10 batches of NY dough under my belt with 3 different recipes and see if I still need help with the calculation of ingredients..
I should be able to figure it out..
thanks

[bolabola]

lets see if this picture loads..
maybe you can let me what you think..

[Pete-zza]

bolabola,

I don't know how much yeast you used, but the dough looks normal. Often, with a Lehmann low-yeast (IDY) dough, the dough starts to rise somewhere between day 1 and day 2. With the Canadave recipe, especially if you used the larger amount of yeast called for by that recipe, it will rise much faster.

Peter

[bolabola]

made 2 pizzas with canadaves dough recipe last night and was very pleased with the results for my first time..
I wish I could post the pic I took but it's 155 KB and don't know how to down size it..it's as low as my camera will go..
they both looked picture perfect..
I tried one with  progresso canned roma tomatoes with basil ( no 6 in 1 around here)lightly chopped and well drained with alittle fresh garlic,fresh oregano,salt,olive oil,and pepper flakes..I was surprised by how good it turned out on the pizza but I liked my homemade marinara sauce one alittle more..
I used good fresh morzz... not nearly as good as the stuff in Brooklyn but it did the job..
the only thing I was disapointed in was the crust..
even though it had perfect air pockets and was very tasty it was to crunchy,hard on the outside and not as dark as I like it..personally I think it has to do with not being able to get my oven hotter then 500..or it could also be because I had to dust it with more flour since the dough was very sticky..
it didn't bring back memories of the dough I'm use to from Brooklyn..
I'm never useing any other flour then King Arthur..it was the first time I used it and what a difference..
I'm going to tweek canadaves recipe alittle today and give it another try..

[bolabola]

thanks to a member here I'm able to post my first NY pizza pic..