King Aurthur Perfect Pizza Blend

[JConk007]

Enough Turkey for a while! Now That I have moved indoors cooking at 600 instead of 800 and no more VPN rules.  I plan to experiment with many flours, doughs, and styles etc... Last Night I tried the KA Pefect Pizza Flour and I was very impressed. I am so used to the Caputo Salt water yeast, this was a nice change. I did a cold rise for 2 days party was cancelled for friday so I just let it go, Never blew out. very supple easy the work with  nice rise, crumb, and great flavor! heres a few shots

[JConk007]

The plain cheese for tasting purpose

[jeff v]

Nice looking crust John! 2 questions-

1. Where did you get that flour? I've never heard of it.

2. Care to share your dough recipe?

Thanks,
Jeff

[JConk007]

Jeff,
Its from king Arthur flour called the perfect pizza blend. I think its www.kingarthurflour.com just go to pizzas or flours and youlll see it. I have had that flour hanging around for a few months as I said because I have been cooking in my outdoor hearth oven with  caputo 00 closed now in NJ   its a bit pricey! but like I said I really liked the final product to work with. Its got standard oil, salt, flour,water, and yeast. I don't remember the percentages, not even sure on the gluten? You are using a 2stone or home oven?
thanks Jeff
Give it a whirl and let me know what you think
John
 
 

[Pete-zza]

This is a product that has been reviewed before on the forum. According to King Arthur, this is the ingredients list:

Perfect Pizza Blend
Item # 3295

Ingredients: King Arthur Unbleached Flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), durum wheat flour (milled wheat, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), inactive yeast, leavening (monocalcium phosphate, baking soda, cornstarch).

The inactive yeast is most likely dead yeast, and used to soften the dough so that it is extensible. Also, there is a chemical leavening system.

Peter

[jeff v]

Interesting. I'm using the home oven now-I think the 2stone oven is done for the winter.

[JConk007]

Thats a lot a stuff in there Peter? are all the flours so complex? Like I said I wanted to use it up and found it very extensible (like that term) and window paned just like versanos picture after coming to temp.

Oh yeah, Whats a good semolina flour for the chicago crust KA or other recommendation ?
thank you
John

[Pete-zza]

John,

Other than the iron and the malted barley flour, the ingredients in the parentheses are the standard vitamin B package. Durum wheat is not often used in flour blends sold at the retail level. If I had to guess, the inactive yeast is added to counteract the strength of the durum flour. King Arthur could have used an alternative ingredient to the inactive yeast, such as PZ-44, l-cysteine, sodium metabisulfite or deodorized vegetable powder, but then King Arthur wouldn't be able to claim that the ingredient is "natural". King Arthur used to sell dead yeast separately but it has been years since I have seen it in their catalog.

A good source of semolina flour is Bob's Red Mill. It is one of the more common products sold by Bob's Red Mill in supermarkets. In my case, I found the semolina flour at a local Indian food market, of which there many near me.

Peter

[bill1971]

John - Those photos look great - as good or better than anything I've seen come out of my favorite pizzeria, (I hope that's not taken as a back-handed compliment - lol). I'm a newbie, but that second cross-section photo looks exactly like the perfect crust to me. Can I attain that in a standard oven, using a pizza stone?

I had been getting pizza dough made by the Publix supermarket, and have made my own dough only once. But I just got a stand mixer, and am ready to learn all about good pizza (dough) making. Currently, I have the KA Unbleached All-Purpose and KA Bread flours, as they were recommended by Cook's Illustrated for general baking. I'll definitely check out the KA pizza blend, which I guess you must order.

Will you share your sauce, cheese, and pepperoni brands? I'm hungry just looking at those great photos.

Many thanks, in advance, for sharing your expertise.

- Bill

[JConk007]

Hey Bill,
I started the same way with frozen House of Pasta dough which I had great success with, and Hence the  outdoor oven, but after making just 2 or 3 batches and reading  2 or 3 Hundred posts! I have not bought dough since. The key I think is a minimum overnight rise. Others I have read have taken it 6 - 8 days before use with succes. Yes I have a standard Wolf oven with a pizza stone.
This recipe was right off the back of the bag of flour and only slightly tweaked by feel. Its a bit expensive but I like it alot I also use 1 tblspoon of their pizza dough flavor adds a touch of color and flavor. Another simple basic pizza dough recipe I had siccess with is the William Sonoma dough I will give you that recipe if cant locate it.
You menetioned you got a stand mixer and Make sure you get a decent digital scale. That has helped me so much in trying so many recipies on this forum.
I am stiil a bit of a rookie here so Dont be afraid to ask questions, or fail. Its only flour and fun. A lot of great info and knowledge here.
Enjoy! cant wait to see the pics!
John

[bill1971]

Many thanks, John -

The info and references have been, and continue to be, invaluable. I was looking at the KA site, and was wondering if that pizza additive really did anything - you answered my question. And I agree, that pizza blend flour is rather pricey. I'll have to try and fail a few times before I invest in that pricier flour.

I love your oven. Although a rookie, you obviously take pizza and other bread baking seriously! As an R&D lab guy, I really get into the whole chemistry and physics of cooking.

I do have a question to ask of you. Most bread recipes call for "proofing" of the active yeast, before adding flour etc. The pizza dough recipes I've seen so far, forego this 5 min. or so proofing, and just add most of the ingredients all at once. Is this because we're not really interested in that much of a rise in the final cooked pizza dough, that we would want in a bread dough?

Also, if you use a stand mixer, (I finally have one), do you start the initial mixing with a paddle, then once mixed, switch to a dough hook? Or do you knead by hand? I'm just curious as to your method.

Many thanks again for all of the great info, John. It is much appreciated.

- Bill

[JConk007]

Bill,
Yes I am a serious rookie.
I'll take a stab at your questions based on the info I have and have read. As for the yeast. 1st, I have found many pizza recipes that do call for proofing of the yeast. Basically the proofing process is mostly used for the ADY not the IDY. The IDY does not require proofing, it can be done but not necessary. The ADY needs the proofing to kick start it, from what I remember it has some type of coating that needs to be penetrated dissolved before it cam become active. The true experts in yeast (and a lot more) are Pete-zza and Red November I have read some very very detailed posts by them on this topic, way beyond my comprehension. You can do a "yeast" search in the upper right corner if you are interested.
I prefer the IDY for my indoor pizza and ADY for the wood fired oven
I only use the Hook attachment on my KA mixer, Again there are variations on this theory, some use the paddle at first then C hook, some C then hand knead ... I get good results from just Mixer only But I allways touch and knead for a few seconds the final dough prior to placing in the rising buckets to get a feel for the various types of dough.
Good luck and Happy pizza making!

[Pete-zza]

Bill,

John stated the yeast matter correctly. There are two dry forms of yeast, instant dry yeast (IDY) and active dry yeast (ADY). The IDY can be added to the flour and other dry ingredients without first rehydrating it. The ADY requires rehydrating in a small amount of water (about 4 to 5 times the weight of the ADY) at a temperature of around 105 degrees F for about 10 minutes. The rehydrated ADY can then be added to the rest of the formula water, which should in most cases be cooler than the water used to rehydrate the ADY. The rehydrated ADY can also be added to the rest of the ingredients in the mixer bowl. The differences between ADY and IDY and the way they are used have nothing to do with bread dough versus pizza dough.

My stand mixer uses a C-hook, which is not particularly effective by itself in kneading dough. So, I almost always use the flat beater attachment (at stir speed) to get the dough going. I try to get as much of the mixing and kneading done with the flat beater before switching to the C-hook, which I typically operate at speed 2 on my KitchenAid mixer. In effect, I only use the C-hook for the final kneading, followed by a small amount of hand kneading and shaping. If I had a spiral dough hook, which is more effective than a C-hook, I tend to think that I would still start out with the flat beater attachment.

Peter

[bill1971]

Many thanks for the info, John and Peter -

Now I understand the difference between IDY and ADY. It's all starting to make more and more sense to me, thanks to you guys. Is there any particular brand of IDY that either of you prefer? I'm heading to the store today, so I might pick up some, but I do have several packets of the Fleischmann's ADY that I can use.

Concerning the stand mixer, I have a new Cuisinart SM-70, 7-Qt. As I said previously, this Friday or Sat., I'll start with Deven's deep dish recipe. I asked about the attachments because his photos and instructions do not seem to indicate which to use. I'm supposing that my Cuisinart dough hook is very much the same as the Kitchenaid hook, and it does resemble a "C", and a little like it came off of Captain Hook.

Thanks again for the expertise and patience. It is greatly appreciated.

Oh, I did have one question for John concerning his photos - as I see some cuts on your peel, can I assume that it's a "pressed" peel, as opposed to a "make-up peel?" (I'm really trying to do my homework concerning this pizza stuff - lol). I'm trying to be a "serious rookie" myself!

- Bill

[Pete-zza]

Is there any particular brand of IDY that either of you prefer? I'm heading to the store today, so I might pick up some, but I do have several packets of the Fleischmann's ADY that I can use.

Bill,

It is rare to find IDY sold by that designation in the supermarkets. Sometimes, Fleischmann's sells a bread machine yeast, which is really IDY. Their Rapid-Rise yeast is also a form of IDY. My favorite brand is the SAF IDY. It is sometimes sold in the supermarkets in the three-strip packets as Gourmet Perfect Rise. Many of our members buy one-pound bags of IDY, either the SAF brand (called SAF Red) or the Fleischmann's brand, in the big box stores like Sam's, Costco and BJ's. Their prices are hard to beat. King Arthur, Amazon and others also sell the SAF yeast but usually at a higher price than the big box stores. Plus, you usually have to add shipping charges.

In your case, you may want to use up the Fleischmann's ADY. It is a perfectly good yeast, and actually preferred by several of our members over IDY. You can decide later if you want to give IDY a try. I usually keep both ADY and IDY on hand so that I can use whatever form a recipe calls for.

Peter

[bill1971]

Thanks for the valuable info, Peter! It is very much appreciated.

I will do as you suggest - "Proof" the ADY with 105 - 110F water, then add the room temp water and the rest of the ingredients, and mix with the spatula of my Cuisinart, and switch to the dough hook for most of the kneading.

Thanks again, Peter, for taking the time to help out a pizza newbie such as myself.

- Bill

[JConk007]

Bill,
I use the SAF Red brand of IDY for most pizza doughs.
As for the peel now you've got me baffled .I am a woodworker as well so I assume you are speaking of the construction of the peel. Pressed would be pressed together and made up/ Laid up would be a peel with multiple parts laid up together to add strength? right?
I have 3 peels for the indoors and 3 for outside. I started with 1 wood peel many moons ago and did not have a cutting board so 1 side was for cutting and 1 side for sliding into oven. After I made the mistake of cutting on the other side, that became the cut only board and the new one became the slider. I got a nice aluminum one with the wolf stone which works well for the slide in and out. Not sure what type these are I would think laid Made up and have held up very well Thur I would guess well over 500 pies over the years. So get a large cutting board or remember to have at least 1 good side to a peel. The wood ones don't cut it in the 800 degree oven so its all metal outside.
Pizzatools.com has a lot of goodies available, Pennmac.com ( great stuff too) offers all the great cheeses, and some good premade sauces to try, and the King Aurthur site has most anything related to dough, and other items . If you register there and be patient they offer A lot of email deals including free shipping at times Thats when I grab the bags of flour... and The Perfect Pizza Blend ! now this post is legit
Oh good luck with the deep dish! and that sounds like a nice stand mixer too! My first true DDish was only last month after making a bunch of NY style as shown above. Its this site that has taken me over the edge!
Happy shopping
John

[bill1971]

Thanks for the info, John.

I followed your link to the KA site. That's where I saw that Perfect Pizza Blend flour that you mention. I will definitely sign up for the e-mail deals there. ("Free shipping" deals/promotions always give me the incentive to pull the trigger).

The reason I asked about the peels, is that I saw on a site, I believe www.akitchen.com , under the pizza supplies heading, I saw a lot of peels, wood and metal, short and long-handled, and make-up wood peels and "pressed" peels. I e-mailed them, asking them to forgive my ignorance, and explain the difference, as the "pressed" peels were more expensive. Mr. Pappaleo responded the next day, saying the pressed peels could be used for all peel duties including cutting. So that's why I asked, as I saw from your photos that you had used your peel(s) for cutting as well as prep, etc.

Since I don't have a peel as yet, plus seeing the Chicago Deep Dish Bobby Flay Throwdown on the Food Network, pushed me into the deep dish style as my first real pizza-making endeavor. But I still love your x-section photo. In my eyes, that's a perfect crust for the NY stye, which is still probably my favorite. Although I live in SC, there have been some authentic NY transplants down here making some pretty good NY style pizzas.
So when I saw your photos, my mouth dropped. I was so impressed.

I visited the Pennmac site as well. Lots of good stuff (that I want!) there and on the KA site. I believe the Pennmac site states that they sell 200,000 lbs. of cheese each week?! I find that amazing.

I can't thank you, Peter, and Al, enough for all of your input and great advice.

- Bill