Art, can you tell us your process in the making and rise? Also, how long did this sit before you used it?
As I said, the dough balls went directly to the fridge for 72+ hours in lightly oiled proofing pans and then spent almost 4 hours covered with Saran and a towel on a lightly floured
Silpat mat. I find the mat to work well for pressing out and shaping. There was little, if any rise, during the time in the fridge and, except for a few air bubbles, not too much rise after sitting out for the 4 hours.
I prepared this dough, as I do all my doughs, in my 10 year old Black & Decker bread machine. I use KA bread flour, cold filtered water, kosher salt, olive oil, and turbinado sugar. The dough cycle takes 2 hours and produces a beautiful dough that comes out of the machine at a consistant 80-82 degrees.
My sauce is slow simmered for 20 minutes and consists of
Escalon 6 IN 1 tomatoes, olive oil, minced garlic, and (when I have it) some fresh basil added just as it comes off the heat.
I noticed a big improvement when I started using a
Fibrament stone preheated on the bottom shelf for at least 1 hour at 550. Also, since switching to a
SuperPeel, I no longer have to deal with corn meal sticking (and sometimes burning) to the bottom of the crust. It's a great tool and I highly recommend it.
The whole family thinks my pizza is "the best" so I have quit tinkering with the dough formula. I'm pretty much satisfied with my sauce, but still play around with it a little bit. I make white pizzas, pesto pizzas, and am planning to try a clam number ala Pepe's if I can come up with some fresh clams.
I love this site!! Art
