My latest American style ends with blackened crust

[Adam T]

I made another pizza using Randy's PJ recipe. No matter how much I mixed I couldn't quite get the dough to pass the Dough Doctor's elasticity test in my KA mixer. I let the dough cold ferment overnight in the fridge. I dressed it and baked it for supper pulling out around 2 or 2 1/2 hours before shaping the pizza. The dough stretched into shape very nicely.

For the sauce I used the pizza sauce recipe:

28 oz. 6 in 1 tomatoes with puree
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano flakes

I put the garlic and oregano in a dish with a little water and microwaved them on 30% power for 2 minutes. Mixed everything together and topped the pizza. I'd say that I only used about 1/4 (or 1/5) of the recipe on my 14" pizza.

For the cheese I used about 80% Whole Milk Mozzarella, 10% Chedder, and 10% Provolone.

I baked the pizza on a screen (no stone) on the bottom rack of my gas oven for around 7 minutes. The top was just done, but the bottom of the pizza was blackened. I say "blackened" because it wasn't really burned, it didn't taste really burned. I've never had a pizza before that I was willing to eat with a blacked bottom crust, this pizza was still good enough to eat. I think I could have pulled it out of the oven a little sooner but not much. Next time I think I'll bake the pizza just a little higher in the oven.

I tell you what, with the sauce, cheese, and crust, this may have been one of the best pizza's I've ever had. Certainly the best homemade pizza I've ever had.

I'm going to attempt making pizza for my family this coming weekend. There will be 11 adults and 15 kids. 5 of the pizza's I'm making will be this recipe (the other 3 will be xPHmgr's Pizza Hut pan pizza recipe). This should give me ample opportunity to perfect the baking time

[Pete-zza]

Adam T,

Can you tell me which version of Randy's PJ recipe you used?

I wouldn't worry too much about the dough not passing Tom Lehmann's test. For some time I thought that that test might work for dough made in a home stand mixer. Now I am not so sure. If it passes the test, fine, but if it doesn't I wouldn't become overly concerned.

I don't have a gas oven but I think you have the right idea about moving the pizza to a higher oven position to bake. Randy's recipe calls for a lot of sugar and honey (combined), so that might be a factor in your gas oven. Please let us know if using a higher oven rack works better.

Peter

[Adam T]

I've used this recipe before (if I remember correctly I cooked on the bottom rack) but this is the first time I used a screen. Last time I used a perforated pan and only got a little over-browning where the the 3/8" diameter holes were.

For what it is worth this is maybe my third or fourth time baking this recipe but it's the first time I got large 1" -1 1/2" bubbles in my crust. I didn't have a text book knead technique. I started out great but the 5 minute rest period turned into 35 minutes because I had to go out to pick up my son after an activity. Then when I got home I kneaded it in the Kitchenaid another 10 - 15 minutes alternating between adding a little water and a little, maybe a teaspoon, of flour trying to get it to a consistency and stickyness I thought I needed. I then kneaded it by had for a few minutes because it was fairly cool and I thought I might need to raise the temperature.    When I shaped the dough the next day it shaped really well.

I used the following recipe. Except for maybe cutting some of the sugar (and salt to keep a good balance) or moving the rack position I don't need to change the recipe because it's fantastic.

16 oz High Gluten Flour (Hard Red Spring Wheat)

9.7  oz Water by weight(warm 120deg.  F)

2 TBS  raw sugar

1 TBS Honey

1 Tablespoon  Classico Olive Oil

2  Teaspoon Salt

1 package SAF Perfect Rise or Gourmet yeast

Mix flour and salt.  Put yeast and half the flour in the mixer.  Mix the sugar and honey into the hot water.  Pour mixture into bowl and place mixer using dough hook on stir for about 2 minutes.  Stop mixer. Add Olive oil and the rest of the flour, then set mixer to knead.  Knead for 6  minutes stop mixer for 5 minutes then start mixer back on knead speed for 6 more minutes.  If the dough is sticking to the bottom of the bowl add a tablespoon of flour or more until the dough patch beneath the ball is say the size of a silver dollar.  You may need to add water.  Finish knead on a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball  Place in the refrigerator in a lightly sealed container coated with olive oil. for overnight up to three days.

Remove 3  hours before panning
Remove from the fridge and either divide dough in half on a slightly wet marble or counter for two 12” pizzas or leave whole for one somewhat thicker 16” pizza.  Work each piece of dough into balls with wet hands.  Let rest for three hours

.
If using screens Preheat oven to 500 deg F  Mix together an equal mixture of Semolina, flour and cornmeal.  Liberally coat the dough ball and marble with the mixture. Shape dough and place on pizza screen and add what you want. Cook for 6-8 minutes on lowest rack in oven and WITHOUT a pizza stone.

Randy

[Pete-zza]

Adam T,

If I had to guess, I would say that using the perforated pan slowed down the bake, resulting in less bottom browning. Using the pan may also have reduced the size of bubbles (assuming you got any). One possible solution may be to use two screens on top of each other. That will increase the mass of metal and have a similar impact as using the perforated pan. Your bubbles may not be as prevalent or as large, however.

Peter