question about my 1st dough with poolish

[Quebert]

I made the poolish last night 100%, a few pinches of IDY. I left it out to ferment at RT for about 13 hours, I was making the dough today and totally spaced on following what I've read and seen in the YT videos.  I didn't dissolve the poolish in water before I added it to the flour. I had already added everything else to the flour, so of course, I didn't even think maybe I shouldn't continue and just put the poolish into the mixing bowl and mixed it until it the dough was together. Then I hand-stretched it for like 4 minutes until it felt good.   Maybe I'm just overthinking this, but everything I've studied here they stir the poolish into warm water until it's dissolved then adds that to the flour. I'm promising a 6 year old girl and her grandma a delicious pizza so I thought I should ask here just in case this dough won't turn out. Then I could think make an emergency dough tomorrow morning. As far as how toe dough turned out, it feels about how my normal dough does.  Here's what I used if it matters. I also forgot to add the olive oil until after I had kneaded the dough, so I added it and reworked the dough until it didn't feel oily.

Poolish
100g water
100g AP flour
4 pinches of IDY

Dough
632g AP
360g warm water
10g IDY
10g evoo
16g salt
18g sugar

I wanted to use more olive oil but that was all that was in the bottle. Also that's more IDY than I'd normally use, but I'm following the recipe I found.
going to CF it for around 24 hours. 


I'm assuming this is maybe okay, but I hate assuming, also I guess I still haven't learned about promising "world's greatest pizza" when I'm trying something new I've never done before lol.

[scott r]

You have to watch out on those promises, but your in great shape.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with how you mixed the dough.   It might even turn out especially good with all the extra kneading!  I often make notes for myself when I do unusual things with my mixing or recipes and find that I learn from moments like this.

[Quebert]

You have to watch out on those promises, but your in great shape.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with how you mixed the dough.   It might even turn out especially good with all the extra kneading!  I often make notes for myself when I do unusual things with my mixing or recipes and find that I learn from moments like this.

Thank you!  I figured as much, but my luck isn't always good and I'm definitely not a Pizzaiolo so what I think vs what I know is very different.  Just went to the store, they were out of WM Mozz blocks, so I got sliced from the deli. And they didn't have any Parmesan Reggiano so I got Grana Padano, which I don't know about. But it looks like Parmesan and had an Italian sounding name.  I Googled when I got home and it looks like it might actually be a good replacement.  Gonna make olive oil sauce pizza with sliced mozz+Padano+creamy Gorgonzola+Ricotta. These pizzas are either going to be almost perfect or never made again lol.

And definitely, I'm going to write down everything I did great good idea sir. I need to start logging my doughs so I can remember what works and what doesn't.  I've made dough like 35 times in the past year and couldn't tell you anything specific about any of them.

[scott r]

Sliced cheese is such a smart time saver, try putting it down first      Grana Padano is a cheese used by many of the great and famous pizza makers that can use any cheese they want. 

[Quebert]

Sliced cheese is such a smart time saver, try putting it down first      Grana Padano is a cheese used by many of the great and famous pizza makers that can use any cheese they want.

Thanks for the cheese down 1st idea, I would have never thought of that, but it should keep it from getting soggy. Not sure how long I'm going to cook them, but I'm going for 4-6 minutes so I definitely have to be mindful of a limp crust.

I only used sliced cheese once and forgot to ask the deli how thick they sliced it. Too thin and it will probably burn and too thick probably isn't great either.  I knew the Padano was good because the cheese section is all Murray cheeses, and I haven't had a bad one yet.  But I was going in blind if it would work in place of Parmesan so it was just me hoping, turns out for once it looks like I actually did something right lol. 

One other question, this is a preference thing so I'm just looking for ideas. I only got 1/2lb of Mozz, and I want 1 more melty cheese to blend with it. I usually put like 15% white cheddar, but I want to try something different and can't think of anything that would be interesting. Will be putting very little blue cheese and Ricotta on it so I think I'll want like an oz more of something per pizza.

[scott r]

how about fresh or buffalo mozzarella?  to me thats a winning combo (aged mozz and fresh mozz) but provolone works too as well as so many others

[Quebert]

how about fresh or buffalo mozzarella?  to me thats a winning combo (aged mozz and fresh mozz) but provolone works too as well as so many others

HUMMM fresh mozz strained for a bit might be awesome, I've never tried it on a pizza with LM mozz. And they have 8oz balls of Murray's fresh smoked mozz, I've never had smoked mozz, but almost everything about this pizza's me just winging it.  So it's a perfect idea, I was thinking Fontina, but I now love the idea of mixing mozz's - thank you.

[Quebert]

question for anyone, the dough turned out good but the crust was denser than I'd hoped for. I baked 4 pies, 3 of them I preheated my Roccbox on low then turned the flame off for 4'ish minutes of a 5-5:30 bake and turned it back on to get some color. The other I left it on lowest and just watched until the pizza looked done. Crust got nice color, but the bottom was a little pale and soft. I know with regular dough if I wanted a more airy crust I could decrease the water a few %.  I'm new to poolish though so I don't know if I should change the poolish % here or do something else too.  And I understand with a longer NY style bake I won't be able to get the same mostly air crust you can achieve with a Neo pizza.  But if I could get a lil' more lightness out of the edge it would be really close to the pizza I'm after.

[scott r]

could be under or over proofed.  Making it dryer probably wont make it lighter (unless you really wet and under mixed)