I had a little time on my hands this evening and, in preparing for some weekend pizza making adventures, I decided to re-visit the Reverse engineered Difara experiment. Of course, this was also inspired by the three bags of KA 00 Clone flour that I'm staring at in my pantry wondering what the heck I'm going to do with it. I hate wasting money! But I know I might be doing the same thing with my KA00 flour that PFTaylor recently considered doing with his Caputo flour. But hey, what do I have to lose?!!
So tonight I decided to take a much different approach than my last Difara effort, particularly as it relates to hydration %. Instead of using 58% hydration in my recipe, this time I used 65%. Once again, using Pete's great, easy to use formula, I was able to determine the measurements by calculating the following:
.6x (KASL) + .4x (KA00) + .65x (Water) = W (16 oz.)
I adjusted the W figure this time to achieve a dough ball weight of 16 ounces instead of 15.4 ounces. Pete originally used the 15.4 ounces to make a 14 inch pizza. He stated the crust was a bit thicker than he would have preferred, so I decided to make a 16 ounce dough ball for what will be a 15 inch diameter pizza.
Some other adjustments that I made from my first endeavor:
- I significantly reduced the amount of salt in the recipe. As pfTaylor noted and I concur, the KA00 flour seems to produce a "salty" tasting crust. So, why would I want to have a recipe with an aggressive salt content? Hence, I scaled back the salt measurement considerably.
- I did not use any added oil to the dough recipe. I only used oil to coat the dough ball after mixing.
- I reduced the mixing time significantly, only mixing for a total of about 3-4 minutes - just until the ingredients were well mixed and dough ball was produced.
- I decided to go with a refrigeration/retardation of the dough. Main reason for this is that I had no intention of making a pizza tonight, didn't have the time to make the dough tomorrow, so why not just try a refrigeration??
Here is the exact recipe that I used for the DiFara dough this evening:
5.82 oz. KASL
3.88 oz. KA00
6.3 oz. Water
1/4 t. Salt
1/2 t. ADY
I proofed the ADY with the salt and the water in a KitchenAide mixer. I used all the water for the recipe in the proofing and included the salt shortly after mixing the water and ADY. I don't think this is the recommended technique, but it's late and I did it anyway - we shall see. After mixing the water, yeast and salt for about 4 minutes, I gradually added the flour mixture. After a dough ball was formed I removed it from the mixer and hand kneaded it for about one more minute. I then placed the dough ball in a plastic bag and placed it in the refrigerator for overnight refrigeration.
I don't have a clue how this dough will turn out. I will say, however, that while I was kneading this dough just before placing it in the refrigerator I was amazed at how beautifully it came together. It had a wonderful texture - smooth and airy. It had an even nicer texture than most of my Lehman doughs that feature KASL exclusively, and I love the texture of those Lehman doughs. But, I realize that appearance and texture before cooking does not a great crust make! But ya gotta stay somewhat optimistic...
Anyway, I would love any feedback on some of the possible ramifications of my preparation techniques, particularly the salt in the proofing and the overnight retardation. Also, any recommendations on how to proceed moving forward would be more than welcome (how long should I keep it refrigerated? how long should I let it stand at room temperature before shaping? or any other feedback).
The anticipation of trying something new is always fun. Should be interesting to see what the end product looks and tastes like.
Friz
