Bought a scale and made some real pies.....

[2112]

Broke down and bought a scale and used the information on this board to create some better than decent pies!!

I thank you all for the help!

Here is some of the goods.....

[2112]

A few more.....

[canadianbacon]

That's a pretty large pizza ! .. what size is your pizza peel ?

Looks like you can feed an army with one pizza 

[November]

what size is your pizza peel ?

Looks like about 20 inches from where I'm sitting.

[2112]

what size is your pizza peel ?

It's 16" x 16"......

Looks like you can feed an army with one pizza.

Or 1 - 15 year old offspring!   

She is skinny as a rail!!

[rdb]

Good Lookin pie!
Judging from the squares on the bottom, it looks like you use tiles in your oven...which kind?
 Now...tell us your method/s, and choice of recipe/s used

[Jack]

Nice looking pies, but. . .

I wouldn't use printed newspaper under food because of the potential for contamination from the inks with heat and moisture.  Try sliding that pie a screen instead for a cool down.

I feel like a crumb raining on your parade, but I feel it's a real concern.

Jack



 

[Bryan S]

Nice looking pies, but. . .

I wouldn't use printed newspaper under food because of the potential for contamination from the inks with heat and moisture.  Try sliding that pie a screen instead for a cool down.

I feel like a crumb raining on your parade, but I feel it's a real concern.

Jack



 

Jack, No need to worry about the ink now days. It's soy bean oil based ink, not petrolem based like it used to be.

2112, Great looking pies. Nice job. 

[sanchez]

Pizza looks great.  Is that a lehmen dough?  If so what size did you make?

[2112]

Sorry, its been a while since I've had time to post. I will do so tonight or tomorrow. Work is taking its toll.

Thanks for all the compliments! The pie's were very tasty and continue to be so.

I will make sure I expound on what I am doing and the methods I have used from this site.

The tiles are the 6" x 6" unglazed quarry tiles that I bought from Home depot. They run $9 for a case of 24. That way I had plenty left over to tile my outdoor weber gas grill for summertime use. 

[2112]

Here is what I have gotten to at this point.

Using a Kitchen Aid Mixer I do this…….

500 gr. KABF
310 gr. of tap water @ 70 deg. F 62% Hydration
12 gr. of Sea Salt 2.4%
¼ tsp. divided by 8 of ADY Red Star
5 gr. of Olive Oil

Dissolve the salt in the water
Add 375 gr. Of sifted KABF 75 % of total
Plus the ADY

Mix with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes
Rest for 20 minutes

Then Mix on setting #1 for 5 minutes
Add the olive oil then….
Gradually add 125 gr. of the rest of the flour (not sifted) over the next 5 minutes @ setting #2
10 minutes total

Total weight = 813 gr.

Hand knead for 2 min. and bulk rest for 36 hrs. @ 65 deg. F 45% humidity
Then split in two and rest for 10 hrs. @ 65 deg. F
Each ball weighing about 405 gr. each

These are made into Margarita pies.

BelGioioso Cheese, Organic Oregano, and fresh basil mixed in Passata di Pomodoro with a sprinkling of Sale Alle Erbe delle Marlunghe brand Vignalta and fresh pressed garlic.

The family loves it!!

[Pete-zza]

Vince,

It looks like you have been paying close attention to what you have been reading on the forum.

When you say that you used 1/4 teaspoon ADY divided by 8, do you mean that you used 1/32 teaspoon?

Also, how were you able to maintain the fermentation temperature of 65° F for a total of 46 hours?

Peter

[JerryMac]

Vince,

Great lookin Pies Guy  LOVE BIG PIES 

Guess I'm gonna have to get a scale 

Mangia Bene,
Jerry

[2112]

Peter,

You asked:

When you say that you used 1/4 teaspoon ADY divided by 8, do you mean that you used 1/32 teaspoon?

Yes, this is correct. I can't weigh it so I level a 1/4 tsp and divide it by 8.

Also, how were you able to maintain the fermentation temperature of 65° F for a total of 46 hours?

I use my basement as it is always the same temperature in certain rooms. Especially in the winter months.

Are there any areas that I need to pay closer attention too?

Thanks,

Vince

[2112]

Jerry,

You mentioned:

Guess I'm gonna have to get a scale

Yes, I can honestly say that it changed the quality of my pies 10 fold.

It's the best $30 I have spent!!  Until I can get a feel for the dough it is invaluable.

Have a good day,

Vince

[DWChun]

Delicious looking pies, 2112!

[2112]

Thank You!!     

[Pete-zza]

Vince,

I am very impressed with the thought you put into making your pizzas, and there is little that I can add to improve upon your results. However, to help others who may want to try out your dough formulation, I converted your numbers to the following format, for a dough batch for two 16” pizzas:

Flour (100%): Water (62%): ADY (0.02362%): Salt (2.4%): Oil (1%): Total (165.42362%):

500 g  |  17.64 oz | 1.1 lbs 310 g  |  10.93 oz | 0.68 lbs 0.12 g | 0 oz | 0 lbs | 0.03 tsp | 0.01 tbsp 12 g | 0.42 oz | 0.03 lbs | 2.15 tsp | 0.72 tbsp 5 g | 0.18 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.11 tsp | 0.37 tbsp 827.12 g | 29.18 oz | 1.82 lbs | TF = N/A

For a single dough ball, the corresponding numbers are as follows, also for a 16” pizza:

Flour (100%): Water (62%): ADY (0.02362%): Salt (2.4%): Oil (1%): Total (165.42362%):

250 g  |  8.82 oz | 0.55 lbs 155 g  |  5.47 oz | 0.34 lbs 0.06 g | 0 oz | 0 lbs | 0.02 tsp | 0.01 tbsp 6 g | 0.21 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.07 tsp | 0.36 tbsp 2.5 g | 0.09 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.56 tsp | 0.19 tbsp 413.56 g | 14.59 oz | 0.91 lbs | TF = N/A

Based on the above data, I used the Lehmann dough-calculating tool (at http://www.pizzamaking.com/dough_calculator.html) to establish a thickness factor for your dough of 0.072558, which suggests a very thin pizza. So, if someone wants to make a smaller (or larger) version of your pizza, using this thickness factor in the Lehmann tool along with the desired pizza size and other related input data will provide the values of ingredients to use for the selected size.

You will also note that the amounts of ADY are so small that they don’t even register in the above formulations at the ounce/gram level, only at the teaspoon and tablespoon levels. In most cases, we are talking only about a few grains or small pinches of ADY.

You will also note that the total dough weight I show in the above formulation for the two dough balls case is a bit over 827 grams, versus your finished dough weight of 812 grams. That difference, which comes to about 1.7%, may have come about as a result of minor dough losses during the preparation of your dough. If so, next time you can use the Lehmann calculator and enter 1.7% in the bowl residue box, along with the other input data called for in the tool, and that should get you closer to the formulation dough amount (827.12 grams) shown above.

For those who do not have a relatively constant 65° F fermentation environment available to them, they may have to do a bit of experimenting with the total fermentation time and/or the amount of ADY. Alternatively, they can opt to use a ThermoKool or similar unit to maintain a constant 65° F temperature over the total fermentation time (46 hours total in your case).

Again, congratulations on a job well done.

Peter

[2112]

Peter,

First off, I want to fervently thank you and all the others on this site!! Without your devoution to this great art I would have never been able to do the things I am now capable of. My family also thanks you!!

My pies seem to have decent strength and stretching prowess, so sometimes I keep on going to the edge of the peel.   
I do however think that I make them a bit thin as compared to some here. I need to figure out the TF to see what it really is.
The crust does show aeration a good way down the slice to the middle. Maybe, it's not as chewy as a NY style should be.
I guess I will need to get there someday to compare the differences.

I am planning to mix with the tra-la-la a bit and am moving on to a new flour that is a bit more reasonable in price but will have higher protein towards the equivalent of KASL. KABF is rather expensive by the 5lb bag. I have not tried KASL as I can not find it around these parts but.....after a host of phone calls, I (finally) found some kind soul who is willing to sell me a 50# bag of Pillsbury Balancer. As a wholesale distributor, they also have a selection of canned tomatoes, pepperoni, fresh and sliced cheese....etc. 50# of Balancer is less in price than 15lbs of KABF off the shelf. So, we will see if it will do as well or better than what I have found with KABF.
Although......other flours I have tried were OK, it seemed KABF was quite satisfactory.

I sometimes wonder if the flour is really not all that important and rather the methodology is what makes the pie. From the crust standpoint that is, not including the heat source.

No offense to those who swear by Caputo......

I have been lucky with my Kenmore gas oven as the highest it shows on the dial is 550 but when I leave it on for about 45 minutes to an hour, both thermometers at the 2nd from bottom rack say that the temp is around 650 f.

I have not seen many posts on Balancer but I talked to several locally owned Pizzeria's that use it for their pies. Maybe someone here will comment on their findings. I believe the protein level comes in @ or around 14.1

I'll keep in mind the 1.7% loss factor the next time I make dough.

As far as the yeast goes........I have never tried fresh yeast or IDY. The small amount of ADY Red Star, was suggested to me by a fellow who studied under a vereran Neapolitan maker. They of course use a starter but he did experiments using IDY or ADY and made some fairly close replicas of the starter pies, so I was told. I guess when your good your good!!
Whether starter based or dry yeast based, all the dough would sit at room temp for a considerable time. That is another reason I have gone with the long room temp fermentation. Very small amounts of starter or ADY and long shelf time.
The flavor of the crust seems to have improved in many ways. When I test these different methods out on my family its intersting to get their input and then out of knowhere the wife or daughter will say that this is by far the best crust yet. I guess that's when you know you got something!!   

I do have a collection or starters that I plan on using in the very near future so that will start another chapter in this saga. At least I have this group to lean on if I need more help.

Thanks for all your input,

Vince

[Pete-zza]

Vince,

Thank you and your family for your kind words.

I sometimes wonder if the flour is really not all that important and rather the methodology is what makes the pie. From the crust standpoint that is, not including the heat source.

I know that there are some members who believe the same thing. My personal theory, which is largely untested, is that when you are making really thin crusts, as you are doing, and where you get a rather small amount of crust with each bite, the type of flour is less critical. However, when you have thicker crusts, with more in each bite, you are more likely to detect a difference in taste and texture in the crust. I have made the same recipes using different flours, with thin-medium thickness crusts (much thicker than yours), and I can tell a difference as I move up the protein scale from all-purpose, to bread flour, to high-gluten flour. As between bread flour and high-gluten flour, I can easily live with either for the NY style. In fact, some members actually prefer bread flour to high-gluten flour for the NY style.

The Balancer high-gluten flour you are looking to buy should work in your dough formulation. My main reservation about the flour, which is strictly a personal one and not shared by all, is that the Balancer flour is a bromated flour. I don't believe that the Balancer flour comes in a nonbromated version. If bromated flour is a concern, you might ask the source you have been speaking with whether they offer a nonbromated high-gluten flour. As you may know, the KASL flour and also the King Arthur bread flour you have been using are nonbromated. You didn't indicate where you live, but there may be a foodservice company or wholesaler near you who may be willing to sell the KASL or some other equivalent brand.

Peter