I’m curious about what you see as similar between the two methods. Also, it sounds like maybe your first efforts—where you balled right after mixing—were coming up short not because of a lack of bulk, but simply because the fermentation was off in general. It’s not impossible by any means to get extraordinary results balling right after mixing, it just requires nailing the balance between fermentation and dough strength—which is true for all bakes, regardless of bulk/ball ratios. Your mixing method and flour would be important factors as well.
Obviously your current method produced a good result, but I don’t understand what you could mean by “perfect” bulk fermentation, or how a goal of “perfect” could exist over such a wide range as 50-75% of the desired rise. How are you measuring that? It also doesn’t sound like “24 hr room temp rise” describes what you’re doing...you have a bulk and ball that equal 24 hrs, but then a few days in the fridge? Or bulk for 24 hrs, then ball and fridge right away? If you’re using such a small amount of yeast then it makes sense that they would move very little once refrigerated, but then I’d think getting a “perfect” proof in balls would be more important than a perfect ferment in bulk, no? Lots of members have experimented with changing their bulk/ball time ratio and shared the results here; how many times have you tested this particular ratio and why do you think bulk time is more determinant than ball time for finished texture?
Here’s another member who often achieves eggshell crusts and a sample formula/workflow for the bake. It might help you to go from “idk why” to understanding what caused the texture to be able to see similarities in how other people go about it. There are many excellent threads with extensive trials and notes such as this one. The formula and workflow are a few posts down:
https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=8093.msg370404#msg370404I’d also be cautious about reducing the bake time at 540F if you want the crispness to be maintained an hour after bake (and strongly suspect you don’t need this much sugar/malt for satisfactory browning), but if you’re determined not to share details of your process, there’s only so much the members here will be able to do to help you understand and replicate your results. I think it’s important to note, though, that there is no secret in formulas themselves—as you said, this is a fairly standard lower hydration NY dough, just with extra sugar. There are no secrets at all, really...some of the most respected pizza makers in the world are open books about their ingredients, processes, etc. There’s nothing you could be protecting that isn’t already on this forum. Being able to nail it every time takes practice and understanding, not a secret recipe.
I sympathize when it comes to keeping a promise, but it’s misleading to suggest to less experienced members that they need only make friends with someone who has the right secrets and their dough will improve. So much depends upon maximizing the baking conditions you’re working with and adapting dough to suit specific goals. It’s also generally contrary to the spirit of the forum to share positive results while withholding information that could help others. I think you’re onto a good workflow, but that you would really benefit from digging into why it works by challenging your assumptions a bit. It looks like a pizza that was a pleasure to eat, and I certainly hope you can get there again.
