Recently, at the PMQ Think Tank, at
http://thinktank.pmq.com/viewtopic.php?p=8933#8933, Tom Lehmann posted a new “thin” NY dough formulation that was used for demonstration purposes at the most recent (2/07) NAPICS (North American Pizza and Ice Cream Show) in Columbus, Ohio. My speculation has always been that doughs made for shows like NAPICS are “designed” to handle almost flawlessly, even by people who are not experienced in working with pizza dough. Consequently, they should be good general-purpose recipes. The latest NAPICS formulation is for a very thin NY style—considerably thinner than what is produced using the basic Lehmann NY style dough formulation. Using the baker’s percents and thickness factor (0.079646) posted by Tom, I was able to come up with the ingredient quantities for making a 14” pizza, as follows:
Flour (100%):
Water (57%):
IDY (0.375%):
Salt (1.75%):
Oil (3%):
Total (162.125%):
| 219.75 g | 7.75 oz | 0.48 lbs
125.26 g | 4.42 oz | 0.28 lbs
0.82 g | 0.03 oz | 0 lbs | 0.27 tsp | 0.09 tbsp
3.85 g | 0.14 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.69 tsp | 0.23 tbsp
6.59 g | 0.23 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.47 tsp | 0.49 tbsp
356.28 g | 12.57 oz | 0.79 lbs | TF = 0.0816372
|
As noted in the referenced PMQTT post, the flour specified is the Superlative flour. This is a bread flour sold by General Mills to professionals. For purposes of trying the new dough formulation, I substituted the King Arthur brand of bread flour. The water in the above formulation is specified to be room temperature water (about 65 degrees F). To compensate for minor dough losses, I increased the quantities of ingredients by 2.5%, resulting in a “final” thickness factor of 0.0816372, as noted in the above formulation. The finished dough weight was 12.50 ounces, or slightly more than the amount (12.25 ounces) that corresponds to the starting thickness factor of 0.079646.
To prepare the dough itself, I used the new KitchenAid dough making method as generally described at
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,3985.msg33251.html#msg33251. More specifically, I first sifted the flour and dispersed the IDY in the flour. I then added the formula water and the salt to the bowl of my KitchenAid mixer and stirred until the salt was completely dissolved. With the whisk attached and using the stir speed, I then gradually added the flour/IDY mixture to the “brine” in the bowl. After the whisk started to fill up with the batter-like dough, I removed the dough from the whisk and substituted the flat beater. The remaining flour was gradually added, along with the oil, and the ingredients were combined, also at stir speed, until the bulk of the dough gathered around the flat beater. Because of the relatively low hydration specified in the formulation--57%--the dough was fairly dense. Hence, it became necessary to switch to the C-hook a few minutes earlier than if a considerably higher hydration had been used. Also, I found it necessary to use the 2 speed to do most of the final kneading with the C-hook. Once the dough was done, I shaped the dough into a round ball, lightly oiled it, and placed it in a lidded plastic container (Rubbermaid), which was then placed in the refrigerator.
As an alternative to the above dough making method, it is also possible to use the method that I previously used, and described starting at about the middle of Reply 8 at
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,2223.msg19563.html#msg19563.
Originally, my intention was to use the dough after 48 hours, as suggested by Tom in the referenced PMQTT post, but a scheduling conflict necessitated that I use the dough after 72 hours. Once the dough was taken out of the refrigerator, it was allowed to warm up at room temperature for about 2 hours. The dough was easy to handle and to shape and stretch out to 14”. The skin was dressed (in basic pepperoni style) and baked on a pizza stone (on the lowest oven rack position) that had been preheated for about an hour at around 500-550 degrees F. The pizza baked on the stone for about 6 minutes, whereupon it was removed to the top oven rack position for a final minute of baking.
The photos below show the finished pizza. The pizza was very good, with a chewy, lightweight crust and a crispy bottom, and with good crust color and flavor. There was decent oven spring but because of the small amount of dough involved for a 14” pizza, around 12.25 ounces, the rim was modest in size, but still very much in line with the NY style pizzas I have seen throughout New York City during my visits there.
In future efforts, I would be inclined to increase the hydration to around 60%, to be more in line with the absorption rate of bread flour. Another possibility is to use a high-gluten flour, such as the KASL, and a hydration of at least 63%. In either case, I would perhaps use cold water and add the yeast and salt at the end of the dough processing, rather than at the start, in order to extend the useful life of the dough beyond 2-3 days and achieve better final crust flavors and texture. For those members who wish to do their own experimenting with the new dough formulation, they should feel free to use the Lehmann dough calculating tool at
http://www.pizzamaking.com/dough_calculator.html. I suggest using a thickness factor of 0.0796 if there is no need to compensate for bowl losses, and 0.0816 if a 2.5% adjustment is desired. The baker’s percents should be those as noted in the above formulation, as modified as desired to accommodate different flours and hydration percents. But even without these changes, the dough formulation should produce a good 2-3 day dough—good enough to be used by professionals and home pizza makers alike.
Peter
