Dough Recipe Recommendation

[Betts211]

I've tried a few different recipes for dough and I'm never quite happy with the results, mostly it seems the gluten is properly forming so I end up with very elastic dough that doesn't want to stretch properly.

Any good rec's on this forum for first timers?  I have access to a lot of ingredients but would prefer to keep it simple as I always like to keep dough in the house for my daughters who love pizza.

I have both a green egg, and a Traeger with a pizza oven attachment.

I appreciate any guidance!  Also, any books for beginners would be great as well. 

[PapaJawnz]

If the dough seems too "bucky" meaning that it wants to snap back like a rubber band, you need the dough to relax more before you open the skin.  This can happen if you make too strong of a dough to begin with, or ball the dough too closely to bake time based on the fermentation.

Can you share your recipe and workflow including temperatures of the dough/ambient?  It should be a simple solution.

[Betts211]

This is the recipe, which I think is designed to be mixed and baked within the same hour. I would prefer a recipe that develops a bit more. I've been mixing this, and letting it set at room temp covered for a few hours before putting the fridge. When I'm ready to bake, I take it out an hour or two before I'm ready to use.

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1.5 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 ½ cups bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Place warm water in a bowl; add yeast and sugar. Mix and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Add flour, oil, and salt to the yeast mixture; beat until smooth. You can do this by hand or use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook to make it easier.

Let rest for 5 minutes.

[kori]

What style of pizza are you after?

Are you looking to make a same day dough or some overnight fermenting?

[Betts211]

I'm open to either!!

[Betts211]

I feel like fermenting a bit gives better flavor, no?

[PapaJawnz]

I feel like fermenting a bit gives better flavor, no?

Way better flavor.  8-24 hours at room temperature will give you a lot more flavor than the quick dough in your recipe.  You will need to reduce the yeast in the recipe to work for a longer fermentation.  More than likely you will need a milligram scale to measure the reduced amount of yeast, if you don't have one, check them out on Amazon -

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L92G6CF/?tag=pmak-20

Check out this yeast prediction chart.  It is helpful to calculate how much yeast to use based on how much time in-between mixing and baking in relation to the temperature you are fermenting the dough at.

https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,26831.msg349349.html#msg349349

[Betts211]

Great info!  Have a new batch going now. One thing I don't see a lot of mention about is flour type.  What is the preferred flour type? Bread? All purpose? "00"?

[PapaJawnz]

Great info!  Have a new batch going now. One thing I don't see a lot of mention about is flour type.  What is the preferred flour type? Bread? All purpose? "00"?

It depends on the style of pizza and personal preference.  00 is mostly used for neapolitan.  All purpose and bread flour are used more for standard ovens.  High gluten for new york style.

Good luck with your upcoming pizzas!

[Betts211]

I was thinking of using one recipe and making the same with all three flours to see the difference. 

[Betts211]

Okay, I'm happy and sad about my this batch.  The good, it rolled out SUPER thin and made great cracker style crust.  The bad, the cap of the dough severely dried out overnight.  I did a room temp ferment for about 16hrs.  What's the trick to keeping it moist?  I've never done a ferment that long before. 

[PapaJawnz]

Okay, I'm happy and sad about my this batch.  The good, it rolled out SUPER thin and made great cracker style crust.  The bad, the cap of the dough severely dried out overnight.  I did a room temp ferment for about 16hrs.  What's the trick to keeping it moist?  I've never done a ferment that long before.

The container/vessel/bag needs to be closed/sealed or else the humidity will escape and dry out the dough.

[stamina888]

2 ½ cups bread flour

Larger batches tend to be more consistent. 

I'd suggest doubling or quadrupling.

[stamina888]

This recipe is a good starting point for beginners.

If you have the skill to handle sticky dough, you can up the hydration to 65-70%, but I think 62% is an easy hydration for beginners to work with.

[stamina888]

If you've tried a few recipes and aren't getting results, it's probably not just the recipes but also how you're preparing it.

You want to make sure the dough is starting to ferment before its refridgerated, but you also don't want let it sit out too long to where its overfermented.

If the dough is super elastic and doesn't stretch easily, it may be too cold (let it sit out at room temp for 20-30 mins).  But after that, if it's still too difficult to stretch, then it just means it was underproofed.

If you're using active dry yeast, I'd activate it in some warm water to check if its alive before adding it to the mix.