California Pizza Kitchen

[RedGreene]

Has anyone tried the basic dough recipe  from the CPK website?  IMO, it makes a very good dough.  Easy to make and a great taste.

Makes dough for two 9-inch pizzas

Basic Pizza Dough:
1 teaspoon yeast
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water
(105-110 degrees F)
1 ½ cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Honey-Wheat Pizza Dough:
1 teaspoon yeast
½ cup plus 1 teaspoon warm water
(105-110 degrees F)
1 cup bread flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
5 teaspoons clover honey
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Note:
The mixing and handling of the two types of dough are essentially identical except that the honey-wheat tends to rise more slowly.

To make the dough:
1. Dissolve the yeast in the water and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes. Be sure that the water is not hot; temperatures of 120° F and above will kill the yeast and the dough will not rise.

2. If using an upright electric mixer, such as a KitchenAid, use the mixing paddle attachment because the batch size is too small for the dough hook to be effective. Combine all other ingredients (except one teaspoon of olive oil) and combine them with the dissolved yeast in the mixing bowl. (Do not pour the salt directly into the yeast water because this would kill some of the yeast.) Allow these 2 ingredients to mix gradually; use the lowest 2 speeds to mix the dough. Mix for 2 to 3 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Over mixing will produce tough, rubbery dough, and friction will cause dough to rise too fast.

3. If mixing by hand, place the dry ingredients in a 4 to 6-quart mixing bowl; make a well in the middle and pour the liquids (reserving a teaspoon of olive oil). Use a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients. Once initial mixing is done, you can lightly oil your hands and begin kneading the dough; knead for 5 minutes. When done, the dough should be slightly tacky (that is, it should be barely beyond sticking to your hands).

4. Lightly oil the dough ball and the interior of a 1 quart glass bowl. Place the dough ball in the bowl and seal the bowl with clear food wrap; seal air tight. Set aside at room temperature (70-80° F) to rise until double in size; about 1 ½ to 2 hours.

5. Note: The dough could be used at this point, but it will not be that wonderful, chewy, flavorful dough that it will become later. Punch down the dough, re-form a nice round ball and return it to the same bowl; cover again with clear food wrap. Place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight covered airtight.

6. About 2 hours before you are ready to assemble your pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Use a sharp knife to divide the dough into 2 equal portions (or 4 equal portions if making appetizer-sized pizza or if smaller 6-inch pizzas are desired).

7. Roll the smaller dough into round balls on a smooth, clean surface; be sure to seal any holes by pinching or rolling.

8. Place the newly formed dough balls in a glass casserole dish, spaced far apart for each to double in size. Seal the top of the dish air-tight with clear food wrap. Set aside at room temperature until the dough balls have doubled in size (about 2 hours). They should be smooth and puffy.

To stretch and form the dough for pizza:
1. Sprinkle a medium dusting of flour over a 12x12-inch clean, smooth surface. Use a metal spatula or dough scraper to carefully remove a dough ball from the glass casserole dish, being very careful to preserve its round shape. Flour the dough liberally. Place the floured dough on the floured smooth surface.

2. Use your hand or rolling pin to press the dough down forming a flat circle about 1/2-inch thick. Pinch the dough between your fingers all around the edge of the circle, forming a lip or rim that rises about 1/4-inch above the center surface of the dough. You may continue this outward stretching motion of the hands until you have reached a 9-inch diameter pizza dough.

To dress the pizza:
1. Lightly sprinkle cornmeal, semolina or flour over the surface of a wooden pizza peel. Arrange the stretched dough over the floured peel surface. Work quickly to dress the pizza so that the dough won’t become soggy or sticky from the sauces and toppings.

2. When you are ready to transfer the pizza to the pizza stone in the preheated oven, grasp the handle of the peel and execute a very small test jerk to verify that the pizza will come easily off the peel. If the dough doesn’t move freely, carefully lift the edges of the dough and try to rotate it by hand. Extreme cases may require that you toss more flour under the dough edges.

3. Once the dough is moving easily on the peel, open the oven and position the edge of the peel over the center of the stone about 2/3 from the front of the stone. Jiggle and tilt the peel to get the pizza to start sliding off. When the pizza begins to touch the stone, pull the peel quickly out from under it. Don’t attempt to move the pizza until it has begun to set (about 3 minutes). The peel can be slid under the pizza to move it or remove it.

[Pete-zza]

RedGreene,

I have tried the recipe for the basic white dough. It turned out fine except that I found the crust to be a bit too sweet for my palate.  That's easy enough to correct--just use less sugar.  I have the CPKI pizza cookbook and have made the barbecue pizza (apparently CPKI's #1 seller) and the rosemary chicken and potato pizza.  As between the two, I personally preferred the chicken potato pizza.

Peter

[RedGreene]

Pete - is the book worth buying?  I'd like to order it but don't want to spend the money if there's nothing new.

[Pete-zza]

RedGreene,

It all depends on whether you are interested in the "California" style pizzas.  To give you an idea, here is a list of some of the pizza recipes set forth in the book: The Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, Chicken Dijon Pizza, Rosemary Chicken and Potato Pizza, Chicken Tostada Pizza, Southwestern Burrito Pizza, Sante Fe Chicken Pizza, Tandoori Chicken Pizza, Thai Chicken Pizza, Chicken Teriyaki Pizza, Peking Duck Pizza, BLT Pizza, Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza, Hawaiian Pizza, Goat Cheese Pizza, Shrimp Scampi Pizza, Shrimp Pesto Pizza, and several vegetarian pizzas and a few novelty pizzas.  (I can just see DKM salivating as he reads this list ).

I tried the BBQ Chicken Pizza and found it too sweet for my taste (although I think I can correct that by using a less sweet sauce than called for in the recipe).  I also made the Rosemary Chicken and Potato Pizza and liked it a lot.  However, it took forever to make, and it requires using ingredients like shallots, chardonnay wine, red "new" potatoes, soy sauce, a lot of fresh herbs (although dry can also be used), and a lot of prep work.  I plan to make the pizza again after the holidays and post the results on the "Dare to be Different Pizzas" thread.   I may also try some of the other pizzas in the book.  I concluded after looking at the recipes that many of them are so work intensive that it was unlikely that one would make them at home when it is far easier to just go to one of the CPKI restaurants.  I don't think that CPKI has any worries about losing business to home pizza makers who have the CPKI cookbook.

I also periodically go to the CPKI website just to look at the latest menu--to get some ideas or inspiration for other types of pizzas now offered by the chain but not in the cookbook.  One that I reinterpreted from the menu--for a Sicilian style pizza--turned out quite well, except that I had a devil of a time finding anyplace around my home that sells capicola ham.   Oh, well.

Peter

[DKM]

I'll leave that one off my list!

I guess one day I may get into "California" style, but too many others i want to master first.

DKM

[zappcatt]

My take on the book is this...If your wife loves CPK and you do not mind it...and you want to be able to spend money to get pizza making equipment, buy the book ;-)

We both like the Roasted Garlic Pizza at CPk, and have been dissapointed at the frozen version in the stores. My wife let me buy the book since I said I would make any pizzas she wanted me to try.

I have made the Roasted Garlic Pizza and it tasted VERY similar to theirs. It did call for shallots and white wine, but since she liked it, it was worth making. I have also made the 4-5 cheese pizzas and she liked them.

[elsegundo]

Interesting thing about the CPK dough.  I was flying out of Sacramento airport arriving at 5:00 am.  Walked over to the CPK section.  They were making the dough. The book says to make pizza dough balls and hand-stretch it out to a circle.
What do they really do at CPK? They take an oiled ball, give it a little stretch somewhat rectangle and put it in a dough press. Then they take a second ball and do the same. Then they put those two together and press again.  These go onto a tray. From there I don't know, but not the simple operation as shown in the book.

[Lydia]

Discovery Times Channel;
Program Series: Now Who's Boss
California Pizza Kitchen's Executive officers must work ALL the positions in their resturant.

If you're interested in see how CPK manages things or how they form dough etc.
PLUS it was very humorous to see the the CO and CEO fumble around in the jobs they have to make decisions for.

In this program they showed a streching or two and a toss for show, BUT with devo-like technology and a handy pause button, a Sommerest dough press can be clearly seen in the background.

8% of pizza's are recjected/tossed in the garbage for not meeting quality standard (roundness etc.).

[Danes Dad]

So tonight i'm going to be different and try to revive the California Style section of this forum.  I'm making the recipe detailed in the first post.  I have a couple of questions though.  First, in the instructions #4 states that after kneading place the dough in an airtight container and allow to double in size.  Then retard for 24hours.  #6 states to take the dough out after retarding and cut in two.  Shouldn't this be done before all the fermenting and gluten structure is formed while in the fridge? #8 states to allow the dough to rise again on the countertop until the dough doubles in size.  If my calculation is correct (man I wish everything was bakers %) this recipe only calls for 4.7 grams of yeast.  Is the dough really going to quadruple in size?  I'll give it a try.

Steve listed what someone at PMQ wrote about the California style. "The dough is placed in the pan and allowed to rise as much as _ of an inch. In many cases these crusts are par-baked (sometimes called double baked) to order. This is done to help retain the height after baking and it also contributes to the crispy eating characteristic.  I'll use this pan rising as the second rise listed in #8 above.  By the way what does this writer mean by parbaking allowing the dough to retain its height after baking.  AFter I bake without parbaking I never notice a shrinkage of the dough.

Pete - I think you've tried this recipe.  Is there any chance you have already turned this into bakers %?  I mean come on, I don't want to make a 9" pizza and I don't want to measure out 1/2 c + 1 tbsp of water .

Danes Dad

[Pete-zza]

Danes Dad,

I tried the basic dough recipe but it was a long time ago. And it's possible that I made only half the dough recipe. I am pretty certain I can come up with a rough set of baker's percents. If you are not keen on the 9" size, what size would you prefer?

The recipe calls for rehydrating the yeast, so I assume it is active dry yeast (ADY). If you prefer to use instant dry yeast (IDY) instead of ADY, please let me know. Also, please indicate whether you want to use bread flour or all-purpose flour.

On the question of divide before or after cold fermenting, I would stick with the recipe since the times may be tied to that approach. I usually divide the dough and form into balls (or round disks) before they go into the refrigerator. However, the approach called for the recipe is also common. Just be careful to handle the dough pieces gently after you divide and shape into individual round dough balls. BTW, the dough won't quadruple in size. It will double in size twice with a punchdown in between.

By par-baking, I am not sure whether par-baking or pre-baking is intended. Often the terms are used interchangeably, but I use the term pre-bake to describe the process of baking an undressed crust for a period of time (measured in minutes), removing the pre-baked crust from the oven after it sets (usually about 3 minutes or so), dressing the pizza, and finishing the baking. I use the term par-bake to refer to the process of baking an undressed crust until it just changes color, removing it from the oven, and setting it aside for later, same-day use, or for refrigerating or freezing for later use. In both cases, the crusts will be set and fixed in height. I personally think a pre-baked crust makes a better pizza because the crust doesn't have much time to cool off--it will be very close to a normal pizza baked fully dressed. With a par-baked crust, you have to get the crust up to temperature in the oven before the toppings can cook. So you are effectively just reheating the crust.

Peter

[Danes Dad]

Peter - Thanks for the help.  I will be hand kneading the dough with IDY and AP flour.  I'd like to make enough for two 12" pies.

Maybe i'm showing my lack of volume understanding, but isn't something that doubles in size twice actually being quadrupled?  If I follow his recipe let me use this example.
1.  My initial dough is mixed and fills a 1 qt jar.
2.  Per instructions (#4) the dough is allowed to double in size, I now have a ball equal to 2 qts.
3.  After a cold ferment the dough is removed from fridge (#6) and cut into two equal portions, I now have two 1 qt balls.
4.  Each  1 qt. ball is put into a dish (#8) and allowed to double in size.

Isn't the end result two dough balls that are 2 qts each, which is four times as much volume as my original 1 qt dough ball?

Thanks again Peter.  Danes Dad

[Pete-zza]

Danes Dad,

I have taken a stab at converting the CPKI basic dough recipe to baker's percents. This is always a challenge because I have no idea as to how much the flour weighs when it is measured out by volume, in this case 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour. For purposes of conversion, I assumed 5 ounces of all-purpose flour per cup. After doing the conversions, I estimate that the thickness factor for the crusts is 0.103, which is equivalent to a thin NY style. However, based on the quantities of ingredients and their relative percents, the pizza crust itself will not be a NY style crust. I think you will end up with a crust that is soft and tender, possibly with a bit of sweetness, and with fairly good crust coloration.

For the two 12" pizzas you requested, the required ingredients, including corresponding baker's percents, are as follows:

Converted CPKI Basic Dough Recipe
100%, Flour (all-purpose), 13.35 oz. (377.97 g.)
59.3%, Water, 7.91 oz. (224.25 g.)
3.75%, Sugar, 0.50 oz. (14.17 g.), a bit over 3 1/2 t.
2.63%, Salt, 0.35 oz. (9.92 g.), a bit over 1 3/4 t.
8.78%, Extra virgin olive oil, 1.17 oz. (33.17 g.), a bit more than 7 t.
0.94%, Instant dry yeast (IDY), 0.13 oz. (3.57 g.), a bit less than 1 1/4 t.
Total dough weight = 23.39 oz. (663.06 g.)
Weight per dough ball = 11.70 oz. (331.55 g.)
Pizza diameter = 12"
Thickness factor (TF) = 0.103
Note: All figures are U.S./metric standard

When preparing the dough, you may have to tweak the flour and/or water to get the desired finished dough consistency, as with any formulation. You may want to note the extent of any such changes just in case you end up liking the crust and want to modify the baker's percents for future use.

On the matter of volume expansion (doubling versus quadrupling), I assumed that 1) when the dough was punched down after the first rise, the gases would be forced out and the dough would contract to roughly its original size, 2) while the dough was in the refrigerator it would not rise much and, if so, it would not double, and 3) when the dough is removed from the refrigerator and divided and shaped into round balls, the dough balls would contract to roughly their original size when so handled. Looking at the formulation, if you use warm water as called for in the original recipe, it is possible to experience some rise in the refrigerator, although the quantities of salt, sugar and oil are such that they may work against a rapid rise while in the refrigerator. Since you are substituting IDY for ADY, you don't have to use warm water, which I suspect was recited in the recipe solely for purposes of rehydrating the ADY. I personally would temperature adjust the water to get a finished dough temperature of around 75 degrees F.

I guess you will tell us whether you end up with 4 times the volume of dough you start with .

Good luck.

Peter

[Danes Dad]

Peter - Thanks for the %'s and now that I think about it your are right about the volume expansion.  The main reason for the expansion is the gas which is forced out during the punch down.

One more question. When you're computing the amount of dough needed using your tf  formula it doesn't take into account a dough rim that is thicker than the middle.  In looking at the formula (dough weight = 3.14 X R X R X TF) and using it with the recipe you provided below a dough hand tossed with a tf of .103 and a dough put through a sheeter with a tf of .103 would ultimately vary in their thickness even though the dough weight is the same.  Now of course I was wrong in my quadrupling thinking so I could be wrong here as well.

Anyhow I better get started on the pie.  Thanks again for your help.

Danes Dad

[Pete-zza]

Danes Dad,

You are correct about the thickness factor. The thickness factor is something that I understand originally came out of experimentation and trial and error, most likely using crusts that had rims. So, it's not a particularly scientific approach. It is just a useful tool. But there is nothing to stop you from changing the thickness factor based on your own experience and preferences. In my experience, the thickness factor tool has its greatest value when trying to make different size pizzas with the same crust characteristics. Of course, in isolation, it doesn't mean all that much. You have to have the baker's percents to go on to the next step of calculating ingredient amounts. That's the toughest part with recipes stated in volumes, like the one you referenced. Getting the flour weight right is essential but difficult to do because no two people measure out flour by volume exactly the same.  A cup of flour by volume can easily range from about 4.4 ounces to well over 5 ounces, which is just enough difference to throw the hydration percent off by several percentage points.

Peter

[Danes Dad]

I made the dough last night and was very impressed with how well everything came together with only 5 minutes of hand kneading.  After kneading the dough was allowed to rise at room temp for 2hrs. (it didn't quite double in size, but was close) then I punched the dough down, reformed a ball and placed in the fridge.  I didn't need to adjust either flour or water levels.  Peters suggested amounts worked fine. 

Being a California style I guess I have to come up with toppings other than pepperoni/sausage/pineapple.  I'm going to use a pesto sauce with mozzarella (whole milk/part skim mix) lemon chicken, sauteed mushrooms, red peppers and broccoli.

Danes Dad

[Danes Dad]

Ok - so the pizza has been made and eaten.  I have nothing but good things to say about this recipe.  In my limited experience I think this has been one of my best pizzas yet.  I even enjoyed the broccoli .

What i'm most surprised about is the fact that i used AP flour and only kneaded for 5 minutes and was able to get this quality of crust.

Below are pictures of the pizza.

Danes Dad

[Pete-zza]

Danes Dad,

I'm glad to hear that your pizzas turned out well. Obviously you liked them, but can you describe the characteristics of the crust, in terms of crust flavor, texture and crumb? Also, was there a style that the pizzas most resembled, like an American style or NY style, or were they really a distinctive "California" style? You also talked in an earlier post about using a pan. Can you describe how you used it, and whether you used a pre-bake?

It also looks like the baker's percents are in the ballpark. One of these days I hope to try the recipe out again myself, although I think I would be inclined to use bread flour.

Peter

[Danes Dad]

Peter - The crust flavor was good, but it was only allowed to ferment for 24hrs.  Like any dough I think it would be better  with 48 or even 72hrs.  I have one more dough left which i'll make tonight.  I imagine this will have better flavor.  The texture was soft and breadlike, but as you can see from the picture did contains some good voids.

In all honesty I don't think California style is unique enough to warrant its own category.  This is basically American style with a wide variety of toppings.

This pizza was cooked directly on tiles for 6 minutes, the last two minutes I turned the broiler on high.  The tiles were placed on the middle rack, not the bottom.  Next time  i'm going to use the Pendleton High Gluten to see if I  can get the crust a little chewier.

The main thing I would change is to allow for a longer fermentation, atleast 48hrs.  The sugar in this recipe should support a 72hr rise as well.

Even though improvements could be made this was a very good pizza.

Danes Dad

[Pete-zza]

Danes Dad,

I also thought the pizza had similarities to the American style based only at looking at the ingredient quantities. If you decide to try the Pendleton high-gluten flour, you may want to increase the amount of water a bit. I think you should be able to go to around 62-63% without any problem.

Peter

[giotto]

California pizza refers to anything that severely deviates from the norm in the pizza. Even Reinhart kids in his book about how anything extravagent in pizza always gets assigned to a California style. Examples include a vegan pizza crust, where nothing on the pizza is cooked; or a sushi pizza. I remember on the food channel when one of the pizza legends from another state said if you want one of those crazy toppings... go to California. CPK is a good example of California pizza toppings; but CPK's crust is nothing unusual as far as American style goes. The fact that they suggest an entire tsp (and more) of yeast for 1 small pizza says it all. Although many of the other CA pizzerias that serve an American style crust can be much thicker to hold all the toppings.