Cardboard Crust

[nysauce]

Hello all, I've made about 5 pizzas so far and I'm 2 for 5. The first two I was able to put in the oven OK, the other 2 was a mess. I have to keep practicing getting it off the peel, not to mention that my oven has only about 3.5 inches high (Baker's Pride P22) so it's hard to work with. But my question is when I bite into my crust it's almost like I'm biting into a piece of cardboard. Can someone tell me what kind of adjustments I can make. Thanks

[Pierre]

We need a bit more info on your crust. Which recipe are you using?

When you say it's like biting on cardboard, do you mean the crust is baked thru and thru almost like some of those really cheap frozen pizzas one would by 10 years ago in the supermarket. A flat disc with no pores almost cookie-like.

Does the crust taste at all like you would want or is it also very bland, tasteless?

Pierre

[buzz]

What's your dough recipe?

[RoadPizza]

Hello all, I've made about 5 pizzas so far and I'm 2 for 5. The first two I was able to put in the oven OK, the other 2 was a mess. I have to keep practicing getting it off the peel, not to mention that my oven has only about 3.5 inches high (Baker's Pride P22) so it's hard to work with. But my question is when I bite into my crust it's almost like I'm biting into a piece of cardboard. Can someone tell me what kind of adjustments I can make. Thanks

It sounds like your yeast was still asleep (i.e.: your dough was too cold) when you used it.  Try leaving it out a bit longer before you use it.

Also, maybe you need to invest in a pizza screen.

[nysauce]

Hi, my dough recipe is from that pizzerias pro video I keep talking about. They have it for a 50lb bag of high gluten flour so I scaled down the recipe for 2.5 lbs of flour.

2.5 lb High Gluten Flour
1/2 oz of salt
.8 oz (23 grams) of sugar
1/8 oz of Fresh baker's yeast (I still can't find this so I've substituted with 2 tsp of active dry yeast)
.8 oz of soy oil
.6 litre of water

I do an overnight rise in the fridge and take it out for about 3 hours before I use it. I use a digital scale to get all the weird measurements. I'm trying this for now before I try the other recipes posted on this site. RoadPizza I'll also try leaving it out longer, I was guessing it might be something with the yeast as well.

[RoadPizza]

I'll also try leaving it out longer, I was guessing it might be something with the yeast as well.

It probably is.  For an overnight rise, I still prefer the water added to the mixture be around 40 degrees F - I don't really advocate mixing in the yeast with tepid water (just add it in dry to the mixing doughball).

[buzz]

I think your problem is that your dough is too dry. Flour is tricky stuff (especially high-gluten flour which needs more hydration)--its water absorption rates vary depending on when and where it was grown, how old it is, the altitude where it is used, the humidity, etc., etc. This is why I object to using a scale--flour is not precisely scientific.

I knead my dough by hand, by feel--so I know when it needs more water. Your final dough ball should be plaible, smooth, shiny--some pizza makers prefer a dough that's a little too wet.

[Pierre]

Buzz is probably right. In baker percentages your water content is only ca. 54% which is low for a New York style recipe, especially if you are using a high gluten flour.

raise it up to 60 or 65%....

Make smaller test batches till you get closer to where you want to be with the recipe. Or make several different small batches. Then scale up again.

Pierre

[nysauce]

Thanks for the advice guys, right before I did this post I accidently added too much water to my ussual measurements, the dough was not as stiff as I ussually made it but  I decided to give it a try. Sure enough my pizzas came out with less of that cardboard taste/texture. So I will add a little more water as well as let it sit out longer when bringing it back up to temperature.

So my follow up question then would be, I know the dough should be sticky but not stick to your hands. Is the dough supposed to be soft or should it be stiff? Thanks

[buzz]

Your dough ball should be smooth, but pliable, "satiny". This is why I knead by hand, because I can tell by feel if the dough is too stiff or too wet.

[Randy]

In KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook at the end of the kneading cycle you should have about a silver dollar sized bit of dough stuck under the dough ball while it is running.  The dough will slump and be sticky to the touch when you get around 60% water.
What knind of flour are you using?
Randy

[nysauce]

I use King Aurthur High Gluten Flour