Add yeast to water at what temp ?

[canadianbacon]

Hi all,

Just wondering what temp I should be adding my yeast to my water,
I have just pulled out a dairy thermometer and will use this now, - what I thought was
an ok temp by feeling it with my finger has turned out to be just over 120 degrees, - I think this is too high but want to ask you experts  

Also, one other question........

I always make my pizza with 1 cup of water, and will add in a heaping tablespoon of dry yeast you buy in the bottle or tin ( Fleishmans )

Is this too much yeast for 1 cup of water ? ... I am more of a bread maker, and always have been under the assumption that for 1 cup of water you needed 1 tablespoon of yeast.

anyway, thanks much in advance for any info and help.

Mark.

( btw, I found my pizza screen, it was in the basement )
here's a pic of it i just took.

[Randy]

Did you get the answer to your questions?  If not repost and we will see what we can do for you?

Randy

[canadianbacon]

Good Friday evening Randy  

No, nobody got back to me, so I did a little of "Googling" around and came up with a range of 105-115 that is agreeable for yeast..... don't know how good that info is, but maybe it's pretty bang on.  So I have started using my diary thermometer that I used for my homebrewing to measure the temp of the water before adding in my yeast.

Anyway thanks for asking Randy.

Btw, I made 2 pizzas tonight ( Friday ) using retarded dough, ( geez that sounds bad ) anyway I made the dough last night ( Thurs) so it's been in the fridge for over 24 hours and wow, a great pizza.  My wife surprised me with a pizza stone and paddle tonight - wowie.

$23.99 for the paddle alone, or $24.99 for paddle and baking stone in a set.... well I guess you know which I received .....

Please feel free to check out my images here :
http://www.powershotgraphics.com/pizzastone/

The stone is ok, ( I mean it's great dear !  ) hehe, but it's a tad on the small side, so I wish to take Steve's advice and get some unglazed tile as he is using in his oven.

Mark.
Here is an image of one of the pizzas.
Both where Hawiian (spelling ? )  - ham and pineapple, - one was a regular pizza,
and other was deep dish - I soaked the pan with oil for deep dish, and the oil litererly came up around the side of the dough - wow, was it goooooood !!!

[Randy]

Sounds like you are on track again. try posting in the recipe section.  This section does not get much attention.

Randy

[RoadPizza]

From the picture, I can tell that the dough you used was still a little cold and that you didn't press it enough before adding your toppings.  Otherwise, you wouldn't have all those bubbles forming all around your pizza.

[canadianbacon]

Wow, you got all that from an image ?

Sorry, but you are on the wrong track, try again  

The dough was at room temp.

I also like the bubbles, they show me the dough is in good shape,
and that my oven was hot enough.

If you wish to eliminate the bubbles, you can use a docker.

Btw, I don't recall indicating that the bubbles were an issue  

Remind me not to hire you as a private detective  

[RoadPizza]

The only reason I mentioned the bubbles was to try to make the pizza "look" better.  Blame it on my commercial pizza upbringing.  

[Randy]

Road pizza that was interesting about the cold dough.  How long do let your dough sit out for?

Randy

[Pierre]

I read an article about that written from Tom Lehmann. In short he stated that there are a few factors responsible for extreme bubbling or blisters.

Fermentation and Coldness of the dough.

The dough should be given a fermentation time of at least a few hours at 80 F. Fermentation beyond 2 hours further reduces the problem.

Temperature of the dough when it is placed in the oven to bake should be at least 55 F. Under that there is an increased potential for bubbles or blisters. The resistance to bubble formation is best at 80-90 F.

For those who wish to read the article in full, I will post the link to it.

But don't forget...just like canadianbacon mentioned, some people prefer a bubble or 2 on their pizza.

Pierre

[Pierre]

Found it. Here is the link to the Article in full,  from Tom Lehmann titled "Blistering Cold"

http://pizzatoday.com/production_articles.shtml?article=OTdzdXBlcjk0c2VjcmV0MTAx

Pierre

[Randy]

Pierre, thanks for the infomation.  I think I am guilty of working with cold dough .

Randy

[Pierre]

Is this too much yeast for 1 cup of water ? ... I am more of a bread maker, and always have been under the assumption that for 1 cup of water you needed 1 tablespoon of yeast.

Marc, I don't know how much flour you are using in your recipe, but that appears to me to be quite alot of dry yeast. If your using 1 heaping Tablespoon then that would be as much as ~14 grams or 0.49 oz. Here's some info:

1 tsp    =   3.5 grams   0.12 oz
1 Tbsp  = 10.5 grams   0.37 oz
1 pkg    =   7   grams   0.25 oz

A common rule for Bakers (read that somewhere) is to use between 0.25% and 1.5% yeast to the weight of the flour (Bakers percentage). It all depends on the type of end result and flavour you wish. If you use too much (over 2.2% you will have a prevalent yeast taste to the dough and the dough will sometimes overferment and "blow" ( expand to the amount that it falls in itself ).

For 1 pound of flour (16oz) try using between 1/2 teaspoon and 1 teaspoon.

If you are going for a fast rise (because you need the dough in a few hours) use the higher amount. For an overnight rise in the fridge use the lesser amount and add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar (so the yeast can feed on it). Don't forget to allow for an initial rise & fermentation in a warm place (about 26-28 ° C) for an 1 hour or 2.

Pierre