Do I have to use a starter?

[Atari]

Have a little black egg & we're planning a pizza party tonight.

I've used Trader Joe's pizza dough, and it's O.K. but usually comes out a little chewy.

It's still early here & I'm wondering if I have time to make my own dough.

I don't have any starters though.... do you need to use one?  Does anyone have a starter-less recipe?

[scott r]

Atari, I only know of 2 maybe 3 pizzerias in the entire united states that use a starter.  You will do fine with normal commercial yeast, and it is a much easier way to start making pizza. The vast majority of recipes on this site use commercial yeast.

[Essen1]

Atari,

If you get started on that dough now, it'll have more flavor tonight compared to making the dough just two hours before baking. I usually make my doughs a couple of days ahead and let them retard in the fridge for more flavor.

Like Scott said, you should be fine without a starter.

Mike

[Atari]

Thanks guys....   I just got back from the store.  managed to find some Caputo 00 flour.  I also have some king arthur AP flour.

Anyone have a good recipe for "Quick" dough to use on my LBE?  (going to try a couple different types)

[Essen1]

Atari,

How many people do you have to feed? The Caputo 00, is that the Caputo Blue or Pizzeria flour?

Here's a "quick" one, without a starter, that I used the other day. Like I said, I usually let the dough ferment in the fridge for a couple or more days but this one turned out well when I used it the same day, with a counter rise of 8hrs.


Flour (100%):                     795.28 g  |  28.05 oz | 1.75 lbs
Water (62%):                     493.07 g  |  17.39 oz | 1.09 lbs
ADY (.6%):                          4.77 g | 0.17 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.26 tsp | 0.42 tbsp
Salt (2%):                        15.91 g | 0.56 oz | 0.04 lbs | 4.68 tsp | 1.56 tbsp
Oil (.5%):                          3.98 g | 0.14 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.88 tsp | 0.29 tbsp

Total (165.1%):                1313 g | 46.31 oz | 2.89 lbs | TF = N/A

Single Ball:                     328.25 g | 11.58 oz | 0.72 lbs


This formula makes 4 dough balls. I usually keep the dough balls at 325 grams. I don't know what the thickness factor is, but mine are quite thin in the center and then taper off, getting thicker at the crust.

Edit: I've forgot to mention that the skin size is around 14" - 15". If you desire a smaller one, just decrease the single ball weight.


I also have an LBE and it turns out great pies. Let us know how it turned out.

Good luck.


Mike

[Atari]

Thanks for the recipe!   I'll give it a try next time... for today I used this one:
http://www.fornobravo.com/pizza/pizza_dough.html

I also bought a packet of gold rush san Francisco sourdough starter that I'll start working on throughout the week.

The Caputo 00 I have is the blue farina.

I also bought some organic rye flour & some bulk organic "high gluten" flour.

So basically I made 3 batches all based on the recipe above (more or less)...

#1.   100% caputo 00, water, salt, ADY
#2.   80% Caputo 00 + 20% bulk High gluten flour, water + a little olive oil, salt + a pinch of ascorbic acid, ADY
#3.   65% bulk High gluten flour + 35% rye flour, water + a little olive oil, salt + pinch ascorbic acid, IDY

Again, using the wet/dry ratios in the link above.

What I've noticed is the #3 has doubled in size, but #1 and #2 which were made before #3, have not... they have barely risen. I guess it's the difference between ADY and IDY.

[anton-luigi]

From what I have gathered,  you will most likely have less than stellar results with the Caputo flour if you are baking in your home oven at lower temps of 500-550,(the Caputo is "engineered" for very high temp cooking)  and that you would actually have better results with a higher gluten bread flour at these temps anyway.  But see what happens.  Or is the little black egg a higher temp grill??  Ok,  just watched a vid on the LBE,  still sounds like its not quite up to proper temps for the Caputo though,  neat idea.  Dont listen to me though,  Im a total novice.

[Essen1]

From what I have gathered,  you will most likely have less than stellar results with the Caputo flour if you are baking in your home oven at lower temps of 500-550,(the Caputo is "engineered" for very high temp cooking)  and that you would actually have better results with a higher gluten bread flour at these temps anyway.  But see what happens.  Or is the little black egg a higher temp grill??  Ok,  just watched a vid on the LBE,  still sounds like its not quite up to proper temps for the Caputo though,  neat idea.  Dont listen to me though,  Im a total novice.

I got my LBE up to 900° F recently. I think that's sufficient heat for the Caputo flour.

[anton-luigi]

I got my LBE up to 900° F recently. I think that's sufficient heat for the Caputo flour.

Well,  at those temps,  absolutely,  It didnt sound like they could get up that high from that vid I was watching.

[Essen1]

Anton,

I don't know which video you were watching but my guess is it's the one from Villa Roma. That was an early one, I believe. A lot of improvements have been made on the LBE since then.

You might want to check out this thread:

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,4753.0.html