Trying to perfect my pizza dough

JwgreDeux

I have made several pizzas, and they come out good, some great, but I'm still trying to perfect making my own dough.  Here is what I do and any suggestions would be appreciated:

3 cups of bread flour
1.5 tsp active dry yeast
2 cup of water (105 degrees)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar


I proof yeast by mixing with sugar and warm water and letting it sit for 10 minutes until foamy. Mix other ingredients in stand mixer on low and add in yeast mixture once good and foamy.  Mix it all for about 10 mins and let is rise for 2 hours.  Take it out of mixer bowl and half the dough ball, knead lightly and form two dough balls and let rise for an hour.

Dough feels good, looks good, and does fine, but I'm not getting the crust I want. Mine is too dense, would like it more airy. 

Cook @ 600 until done, usually 6-8 mins.

Suggestions?

Skiddymarker

It may sound counter intuitive, but try a little more water. The dough will be sticky, but i find it always makes better bubbles. Hand shaping will allow air to stay in the dough creating more bread like crust, using a rolling pin can work some of the air (gas) out of the dough creating a thinner crust. 

Depending on where you live, weight is the way to determine the flour amount. Another suggestion is run your flour through a strainer, that is sift it to ensure the same or similar consistency. 

I hand make dough without oil, but when I use the stand mixer, I always have a touch of oil, drizzle down the sides of the mixer to help free the dough.

Are you using the dough right away? If it is stored in fridge or freezer, I find the result is a little more thin crust. 

r270ba

This is hands down my favorite recipe for pizza dough.  It is a bit detailed but once you get the hang of it you can whip up a batch pretty quickly and freeze for later use.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001199.html

JwgreDeux

@skiddy I do the same thing with oil if I use my mixer, and sometimes I use without overnight storage and sometimes it sits overnight in fridge.  Either way usually comes out a little dense.  More water may help, since it is too dense, I know my flour ratio is off.

nolaegghead

Measuring by weight is the best way to replicate pizza dough. Volume is way too subjective for flour.

fishlessman

you may be over working the dough when you stretch it out, popping all the bubbles. make sure its really rested to room temp and stretch dont roll, get fast at it, putt it down and let it rise afer its shaped maybe 10 minutes. instead of tossing the dough, try just pulling it out to shape gently on the table

HogHeaven

Jwgredeux... Go to craftsy.com/pizza and take a lesson from the best bread maker in the country. Peter Reinhart know's dough. He will show you the right way to make different kinds of dough... And it is FREE.

caliking

When making the dough, mix with the water/oil until it just comes together and then let it rest for 10 mins before mixing more thoroughly. Thus apparently allows for better hydration of the flour in the dough.

r270ba

HogHeaven said:

Jwgredeux... Go to craftsy.com/pizza and take a lesson from the best bread maker in the country. Peter Reinhart know's dough. He will show you the right way to make different kinds of dough... And it is FREE.

The recipe I listed above is also Peter Reinhart.  You are correct...that man can make some dough!

alphacentauri

your recipe is very close to what i do and i get a nice crispy crust. i'v been at this recipe for 5 years. here's a pie from this week. 

 

3 cups king arthur bread flour 

1.5 cups water at 110f 

2 tsp active dry yeast

2 tsp sugar (cane sugar in my case)

2 tsp salt 

mix the yeast thoroughly in the flour then the sugar and salt. don't go over 110f. 100 is fine, but 110 is perfect. let sit for 1 hour then press out into a pie shape. cover with damp towel. let set for 10 mins. press out to desired shape then cover and let sit again 10 mins.

 then shes ready to go, throw it on a hot pizza stone with toppings of your choice. experiment with letting it sit longer or shorter to get a thicker crust or a thin crust. 

HogHeaven

r270ba... You are using his Napoletana recipe. I use his Neopolitan recipe. They a very similar. Have you learned to shape it on the back of you hand like he does yet? Gravity is a beautiful thing when you shape dough.

paqman

65% hydration is the magic number for me:

500 grams flour

325 grams (or ml) COLD water (bottled is better, if you use tap it is better to let it stand in the fridge overnight to get rid of the chlorine)

10 grams sea salt or kosher salt (not table salt because it contains iodine)

3-4 grams active dry yeast (half a pack)

no sugar and no oil in the dough but I use olive oil on the dough while it rises to avoid drying

I tested about 7-8 different type of flour and the Antimo Caputo pizza chef tipo '00' gives me the best results.  A local store has it at the same price as regular flour.  Some people swear that the blue bag is better but I can't find any locally...

 

http://www.molinocaputo.it//index.php?module=ecommerce&modulePage=dettaglio&id=19

The dough will be sticky but sprinkle plenty of flour on your work area and if your hands/fingers are wet (having a big bowl of water helps) the dough will not stick to your hands.

Bake it hot!

r270ba

HogHeaven said:

r270ba... You are using his Napoletana recipe. I use his Neopolitan recipe. They a very similar. Have you learned to shape it on the back of you hand like he does yet? Gravity is a beautiful thing when you shape dough.

@hogheaven no I have not even tried it yet.  I am always tempted but we typically do pizzas when we have guests over.  I always like to get the 'looking like a fool' out of me in front of just the wife and kids.  Tried to talk her into pizza tonight but she wasn't feeling it.  

Do you have a reference to how it is done?  Didn't know if he did it on the website you listed or not.  I should take a video when I try to do it to post )

caliking

I've had good results with Alton Brown's dough recipe in the past. Just recently i found some 00 flour, but have not worked out the kinks yet. 

HogHeaven

r270ba said:

HogHeaven said:

r270ba... You are using his Napoletana recipe. I use his Neopolitan recipe. They a very similar. Have you learned to shape it on the back of you hand like he does yet? Gravity is a beautiful thing when you shape dough.

Yes... The video on craftsy.com/pizza of him shaping the dough teaches you how to do it. It is better than a rolling pin.

@hogheaven no I have not even tried it yet.  I am always tempted but we typically do pizzas when we have guests over.  I always like to get the 'looking like a fool' out of me in front of just the wife and kids.  Tried to talk her into pizza tonight but she wasn't feeling it.  

Do you have a reference to how it is done?  Didn't know if he did it on the website you listed or not.  I should take a video when I try to do it to post )

r270ba

Sweet...I will definitely check it out next time I make pies.

milesbrown4

Great thread - I use Mario Batali's recipe - substitute half your water content for wine (I use white, but you can use red if you prefer).  Also use honey in lieu of sugar.