The past two times I have made pizza, I have made three pies. One pie has been perfect. The other two have been less than perfect. The outer crust is not expanding as much as I would like it to on the two less-than-perfect pies.
On the perfect pie, the cornicione has expanded very nicely, with irregular, sometimes large air bubbles. I notice that the surface of the cornicione appears dry -- you can still see the flour from shaping it.
On the other two pies, the cornicione has not expanded very much, and has uniform more dense air bubbles. The surface appears almost greasy.
My current best hypothesis is that this is related to the toppings on the pizza. The perfect pies had less greasy cheeses maybe? It is true that the perfect pies had very different toppings (e.g., goat cheese and balsamic reduction). The less-than-perfect pies had a traditional NY style cheese blend of mozzarella and provolone and red sauce.
Is it possible that the grease from the cheese is somehow limiting the expansion of the cornicione? I am nearly certain that all the other factors were uniform, but can't absolutely rule out that slight nuances in my shaping technique or fermentation time affected the results.
My dough is 64% hydration, and they were made with natural/sourdough yeast. I bake at ~480 degrees. The dough fermented for ~24 hours at cooler temperatures but was ~ room temperature when I shaped it. I believe it is close to a NY style, with some olive oil, salt, sugar, and malt powder.
The picture shows the "perfect" pie in the middle, surrounded by the two less than perfect pies on either side. You can tell the difference in dryness vs greasiness on the outer crust.
I appreciate the help!
Thanks,
Matt
