Golden 86

[charbo]

I've been going through a number of differently sourced wheats for home milling in the past year and have not been satisfied with the gluten, even with the addition of VWG.  I've now found one I really like.  It's Golden 86, a hard white spring wheat from Rainy Day Foods.  It's supposed to be the same variety as Prairie Gold, but the PG I've had before did not make a dough that performed this well.

The photo shows a pizza with 97% unsifted G86 along with 3% all-purpose in the starter.  There is no VWG. 

20% of the flour is in the levain.  The balance of the flour is soaked overnight with all the salt and lecithin.  Hydration is 81%.  Salt is about 1.4%.  Oil is 2%.  Lecithin is 1%. 

At final dough assembly, I add the oil and .08% IDY.  The IDY is little enough and late enough that it provides just a slight lift. 

The flour having been wet about 14 hours, the assembled dough needs little kneading.  It gets a stretch and fold an hour later.  It then spends about 2.5 hours at about 60°, followed by 2 hours at about 75°, followed by a 30-45 minute warm pan rise.

Preheat is at 475-500°.  Bake is at 450°.  The crust is chewy and flavorable.

[The Dough Doctor]

Do you have a specific reason for adding lecithin to your dough formula? When we did the work many years ago looking at the effect of emulsifiers on pizza dough we found that in general, emulsifiers are not well suited to use pizza doughs as their hydrophilic properties tend to promote moisture migration from the sauce and toppings into the dough which under certain circumstances can result in the development of a gum line just under the sauce.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[TXCraig1]

have not been satisfied with the gluten

Please explain what you mean by this?

[The Dough Doctor]

Emulsifiers allow oils to hold water molecules (think mayonnaise) by interfacing between the oil and water. as emulsifiers are hydrophilic and lipophilic (water and oil loving) they hold the two together forming an emulsion. It is this action which can lead to the development of a gum line under the sauce since the moisture in this area can be bound by the emulsifier rather than repulsed (this is why oil is applied to a skin that will be pre-sauced). Additionally, lecithin really isn't very functional in a dough system, the greatest use of lecithin is in the formulation of a pan release oil where the lecithin provides the necessary "cling" properties to the oil preventing it from running off of the vertical sides of the pan.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor   

[charbo]

Tom – I started using lecithin a couple of years ago after reading scientific reports that it contributed to increased volume in whole wheat breads.  It seemed to help.  I have not noticed a gum layer, but I wasn't looking for it.  Since it could be a problem, I will drop down to the usually recommended amount of .5% in my next pizza.

Craig – By unsatisfactory gluten, I mean slack dough and flat pizza, using proven good procedures.  Tweaking the variables didn't help.