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Chewy pizza dough recipe anyone ?

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bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Dec 16, 2006, 1:08:45 PM12/16/06
to
I have been trying numerous recipes to get a chewy pizza dough but mine
keeps coming out like crackers. Brittle and dry.

Can anyone help me out please? What's the secret to getting chewy
chewy dough?

I'm using a fibrament pizza stone at 500 degrees in the oven. Thanks
for any tips !!!

barry

unread,
Dec 16, 2006, 2:04:54 PM12/16/06
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<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1166292525.0...@73g2000cwn.googlegroups.com...

First, 500F is too low for good pizza. The idea is to sear and char the
crust without turning it into crackers. This is best done by cooking
quickly, so the dough retains moisture.

What is your hydration? You should make the dough with as high a hydration
as you can work. What is your recipe? Will you post it?

Move the stone to the top of the oven and bake on it there. This will cook
the top and the bottom at the same time and *may* keep some of the moisture
in the crust.

Consider using parchment paper under the pizza as a means of retaining
moisture in the dough.

In general, the shorter the bake time and the higher the hydration, the
better the dough.

I don't know if this is to your liking, but check out Jeff Varasano's area
of the www.sliceny.com site. I've been working through his material and
it's the closest I've come to what I remember of Connecticut pizza from the
1950s.

Barry


bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Dec 16, 2006, 2:24:34 PM12/16/06
to
Thanks for the great reply. This recipe makes two crackery pizzas for
me.

2 1/2 cups king arthur flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups water .....i ended up using 1/4 cup more than the 1 1/4
they recommended....it was really dry I bet I could have put 1/4 more
in it but king arthur send me the recipe so I was trying to stay close
to it

2 tbsp yeast ........I actually did 3 tbsp yeast (bread machine
yeast) in the water at 115 degrees hoping more rise would make it less
crackery.

I kneeded for 10 mins and I let it rise till double in size and then
made pizza.


I'm trying to get a richly flavored dough with a nutty flavor and chewy
texture.

My oven can do Convection at 550 and I was only doing 500 because I
thought the higher temp might have been causing the crackery crust.

Thanks for ANY tips !! I'm dying for a killer pizza. I actually made
one on this stone 8 months ago but have been unable to repeat it !!!
unbelievable.

Thanks !

bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Dec 16, 2006, 2:31:30 PM12/16/06
to
Also, how do I identify high gluton flour? What's the right flour to
make a nutty, chewy moist tough pizza. Thanks

Ophelia

unread,
Dec 16, 2006, 2:42:32 PM12/16/06
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<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1166297490.9...@l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com...

> Also, how do I identify high gluton flour? What's the right flour to
> make a nutty, chewy moist tough pizza. Thanks

Well I don't know where you are but here in UK the protein count is on the
packet!

Gluten = protein


bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Dec 16, 2006, 3:07:44 PM12/16/06
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ok, it looks like the King Arthur flour is very good for this. That's
what I've been using so something else in my process is wrong.

Pandora

unread,
Dec 16, 2006, 3:39:18 PM12/16/06
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<bringm...@gmail.com> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:1166292525.0...@73g2000cwn.googlegroups.com...

First of all you should post your recipe. Then I will be able to tell you
what you should do!

--
Merry Christmas
Pandora


Pandora

unread,
Dec 16, 2006, 3:45:50 PM12/16/06
to

<bringm...@gmail.com> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:1166297490.9...@l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com...

> Also, how do I identify high gluton flour? What's the right flour to
> make a nutty, chewy moist tough pizza. Thanks

You must not use semolina flour. You can use bread flour. But To make a
chewy pizza doesn't matter the flour, it is the quantities of ingredients
IMHO

--
Merry Christmas
Pandora.


Spica

unread,
Dec 16, 2006, 6:33:53 PM12/16/06
to

I've been searching for a good pizza recipe for a several years now; a
few months ago I came upon pizzamaking.com and discovered the pizza
dough calculator: http://www.pizzamaking.com/dough_calculator.html

It's designed around a NY-style pizza formula created by Tom Lehmann
(a.k.a. "The Dough Doctor")
(http://www.pizzamaking.com/lehmann_nystyle.php). I've been playing with
it on and off since late August with reasonable success - I like to
experiment too much; consistency is yet to be achieved :)

Like most people, my stove only goes to 500F, plus broil. I find that I
need to heat up the stone for close to an hour for it to get hot enough.
Otherwise, it's worthless. I also cook my pizza for only a few
minutes - just until the crust starts to brown and the cheese has melted.

bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Dec 16, 2006, 7:10:24 PM12/16/06
to
Pandora, I posted my recipe, please scroll up

bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Dec 16, 2006, 7:15:15 PM12/16/06
to
That pizza dough calculator said to use very little yeast. I don't see
how that's right?

Flour (100%): 239.75 g | 8.46 oz | 0.53 lbs
Water (63%): 151.04 g | 5.33 oz | 0.33 lbs
Oil (0%): 0 g | 0 oz | 0 lbs | 0 tsp | 0 tbsp
Salt (1.5%): 3.6 g | 0.13 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.64 tsp | 0.21
tbsp
ADY (.3%): 0.72 g | 0.03 oz | 0 lbs | 0.19 tsp | 0.06 tbsp
Sugar (0%): 0 g | 0 oz | 0 lbs | 0 tsp | 0 tbsp
Total (164.8%): 395.11 g | 13.94 oz | 0.87 lbs | TF = 0.105

Spica

unread,
Dec 16, 2006, 8:18:00 PM12/16/06
to
Actually that is right, though I use IDY. The dough is not suppose to
rise like bread dough - just enough for that chewy crust. Personally, I
think most recipes use too much yeast; I've found a little goes quite a
long way.

Also, don't use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Instead, use your
hands to stretch the dough to the desired size, leaving a ridge/brim
around the edge. I find using a rolling pin tends to produce a more
cracker-style crust.

This recipe works best with high protein flours.

Pandora

unread,
Dec 17, 2006, 3:48:29 AM12/17/06
to

<bringm...@gmail.com> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:1166314515.2...@79g2000cws.googlegroups.com...

> That pizza dough calculator said to use very little yeast. I don't see
> how that's right?
>
> Flour (100%): 239.75 g | 8.46 oz | 0.53 lbs
> Water (63%): 151.04 g | 5.33 oz | 0.33 lbs
> Oil (0%): 0 g | 0 oz | 0 lbs | 0 tsp | 0 tbsp
> Salt (1.5%): 3.6 g | 0.13 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.64 tsp | 0.21
> tbsp
> ADY (.3%): 0.72 g | 0.03 oz | 0 lbs | 0.19 tsp | 0.06 tbsp
> Sugar (0%): 0 g | 0 oz | 0 lbs | 0 tsp | 0 tbsp
> Total (164.8%): 395.11 g | 13.94 oz | 0.87 lbs | TF = 0.105

Is this the recipe fro the crusty or chewy pizza?
cheers
Pandora


bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Dec 17, 2006, 9:04:02 AM12/17/06
to
The calculator on has hydration, not chewy as an option. So how about
some advice guys ? How do I make a chewy crisp crust pizza on my
pizza stone at 550 on convect?

Thanks !

Joe Doe

unread,
Dec 17, 2006, 10:44:48 PM12/17/06
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In article <1166292525.0...@73g2000cwn.googlegroups.com>,
"bringm...@gmail.com" <bringm...@gmail.com> wrote:

You need very high gluten flour. Try buying some from a pizzeria you
like or try supplementing KA bread flour with a little vital wheat
gluten.

Roland

Spica

unread,
Dec 18, 2006, 9:03:49 AM12/18/06
to

I don't think I've ever come across a formula that stated "chewy" as an
option. I tend to favor a NY-style (Neapolitan-based) pizza. "Chewy" for
me means thin center with a bread-style crust. Once I found a formula I
could work with, the rest was all technique. Also, it took numerous
tries until I was able to get decent results - at leas as decent as my
standard electric home oven will produce.

I use a high protein flour; I ordered a few bags of King Arthur Sir
Lancelot during my last pizza bing - but any bread flour mixed with a
little vital wheat gluten should work too. My electric oven only goes to
500F; I heat my stone for close to an hour before baking. I've
experimented by setting the oven to broil, but didn't see any real
difference in the end results.

The Food Network website has a decent video on how to form a pizza. Here
the is main like to the videos: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_dm_baking

Once there, select "forming pizza" from the menu. You can also print the
transcript for future reference.

Also read through the forums at http://www.pizzamaking.com. I learned
quite a bit from reading the various posts.

John Andrews

unread,
Dec 18, 2006, 2:35:30 PM12/18/06
to
Spica wrote:
> bringm...@gmail.com wrote:
>> The calculator on has hydration, not chewy as an option. So how about
>> some advice guys ? How do I make a chewy crisp crust pizza on my
>> pizza stone at 550 on convect?
>>
>> Thanks !
>>
> ...snip...

>
> The Food Network website has a decent video on how to form a pizza. Here
> the is main like to the videos:
> http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_dm_baking
>
> Once there, select "forming pizza" from the menu. You can also print the
> transcript for future reference.
>
> ...

Ouch. I use Firefox. This site requires Microsoft Internet
Explorer. Otherwise there is some nice backing videos here.
Thanks for the tip.

John Andrews, Knoxville, Tennessee

John Andrews

unread,
Dec 18, 2006, 2:47:52 PM12/18/06
to
OK, I can't spell baking...

Spica

unread,
Dec 18, 2006, 3:03:14 PM12/18/06
to

Hmmm, I use Firefox and managed to see the videos very well. Make sure
you have the right plugins for Firefox. You may also want to check that
you're using the latest version of FF.

Spica

unread,
Dec 18, 2006, 3:03:51 PM12/18/06
to

:)

Spica

unread,
Dec 18, 2006, 3:06:42 PM12/18/06
to

One more thing: try hitting the refresh button, I vaguely remember
having problems once, but after hitting refreshing, was able to see the
video.

Dave Bell

unread,
Dec 18, 2006, 3:59:13 PM12/18/06
to

1) Appears to work just fine with Firefox 2.0, at least for me

2) I make it a point to avoid any site that "requires" IE!

Dave

bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Dec 18, 2006, 4:03:07 PM12/18/06
to
While the video was fun to watch I still don't know how to get a chewy
crust as opposed to my crackery crust.

barry

unread,
Dec 18, 2006, 6:01:02 PM12/18/06
to

<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1166475787.7...@80g2000cwy.googlegroups.com...

> While the video was fun to watch I still don't know how to get a chewy
> crust as opposed to my crackery crust.
>

Can you post your recipe and procedures?

In the meantime, in between time, here are a few things to think about.

A crackery crust is probably caused, at least in part, because the center of
the thing cooks very quickly and the edge, being larger, dosen't. So, to
combat that, you have to slow down the center cooking. Do this by putting
the rack as high in the oven as you can. You can also put a bit of aluminum
foil on the stones just before baking. This will slow down the center
cooking.

You didn't say whether the cracker is all the way through or just a shell on
the bottom.

Don't make an obvious lip/rim around the pie, or at least try to make a
small one. This will allow the pie to bake at a fairly uniform rate. The
rim will form as the pie cooks and the toppings bleed heat from the center
while the rim cooks and has oven spring.

Don't make a puddle of topping in the center of the pie. This will prevent
baking on top but will allow crisping on the bottom. I know this sounds
nonsensical , but try it. Pizza toppings have a pretty good insulating
capability -- if you doubt it, just think of how many times you've had pizza
mouth from "cool" pizza. <g>

Make a fairly wet dough.

Use a very high temperature.

Barry


bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Dec 20, 2006, 2:04:09 PM12/20/06
to
This recipe makes two crackery pizzas for
me.

2 1/2 cups king arthur flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups water .....i ended up using 1/4 cup more than the 1 1/4
they recommended....it was really dry I bet I could have put 1/4 more
in it but king arthur send me the recipe so I was trying to stay close
to it

2 tbsp yeast ........I actually did 3 tbsp yeast (bread machine
yeast) in the water at 115 degrees hoping more rise would make it less
crackery.

I kneeded for 10 mins and I let it rise till double in size and then
made pizza.

I'm trying to get a richly flavored dough with a nutty flavor and chewy
texture.

My oven can do Convection at 550 and I was only doing 500 because I
thought the higher temp might have been causing the crackery crust.

Thanks for ANY tips !! I'm dying for a killer pizza. I actually made
one on this stone 8 months ago but have been unable to repeat it !!!
unbelievable.

barry

unread,
Dec 20, 2006, 6:23:07 PM12/20/06
to

<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1166641448.9...@a3g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...

> This recipe makes two crackery pizzas for
> me.
>
> 2 1/2 cups king arthur flour
> 1/2 cup semolina flour
> 2 tbsp olive oil
> 1 tsp salt
>
> 1 1/2 cups water .....i ended up using 1/4 cup more than the 1 1/4
> they recommended....it was really dry I bet I could have put 1/4 more
> in it but king arthur send me the recipe so I was trying to stay close
> to it
>
> 2 tbsp yeast ........I actually did 3 tbsp yeast (bread machine
> yeast) in the water at 115 degrees hoping more rise would make it less
> crackery.
>
> I kneeded for 10 mins and I let it rise till double in size and then
> made pizza.
>
> I'm trying to get a richly flavored dough with a nutty flavor and chewy
> texture.
>
> My oven can do Convection at 550 and I was only doing 500 because I
> thought the higher temp might have been causing the crackery crust.
>
> Thanks for ANY tips !! I'm dying for a killer pizza. I actually made
> one on this stone 8 months ago but have been unable to repeat it !!!
> unbelievable.
>

Well.

Here's my take on the situation.

3 cups of flour is something under 15 ounces, probably closer to 14 ounces.

1 1/2 cups of water is about 12 ounces.

2 Tablespoons of oil is one ounce.

So, looks like 14 to 15 ounces flour to 13 ounces liquid, although the oil
is "worth" something less than parity when considering hydration.

The hydration is something like 12/15 or 80%!?!? or 13/14 or 92%!?!?!?
Something's wrong here.

2 Tablespoons of yeast is WAY too much. Most recipes call for a packet of
yeast, 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast, for 6-7 cups of flour, something around 30
ounces.

This recipe is pretty much out of whack, unless I'm missing something. (I
know, I know, John would call 92% a dry dough, but bear with me! <g>)

First, do you have a scale? If you can possible get one, do so.

Next, here are the ingredients for a pizza from Bread, by Jeffrey Hamelman,
the Director of the Bakery Education Center for King Arthur. (Page 273,
methodology on the following pages.)

Biga

Bread flour 3.6 ounces (7/8 cup) this is a tip off that his "cup" is 4 1/8
ounces, lighter than most conversions, but still acceptable. If this is
what KA is using, then your recipe is for 12 1/2 ounces.
Water 2.2 ounces (1/4 cup)
Yeast a small pinch


Final dough, add to biga

Bread flour 14.6 ounces (3 3/8 cups)
Water 10.2 ounces (1 1/4 cups)
Salt 1/2 Tablespoon
Yeast 1/2 teaspoon
Extra-virgin olive oil 2 Tablespoons


Total
Flour 18.2 ounces
Water 12.4 ounces
Salt 1/2 Tablespoon (.3 ounce)
Yeast 1/2 teaspoon
EVOO 2 Tablespoons

(Comment: Leave out the EVOO and it's pretty close to DOC pizza.)

This recipe is about 68% hydration without the EVOO, and about 73% with it.
This recipe should give you a very damp, if not wet, dough.

Since this recipe looks to be pretty close to the one you gave, I would bet
you have a typo or two compounded by a measurement problem with the flour.

My other comments about things like raising the rack, raising the heat,
keeping the center relatively light of toppings and not making too much rim
all still hold, however. Someone may correct me, but I seem to remember
that too much yeast will make a dough bake dry, but I can't find the source.

Methodology: (Short form)

Make Biga, let stand on counter, covered, 12-16 hours.

Mix stuff up.

2 Hours bulk fermentation, folding once, after 1 hour..

Divide, let relax 20 minutes. Shape into 16" diameter round, top and bake
at the absolute highest temp you can get. He recommends 700F or higher.
Jeff Varasano has a trick to make the oven heat toself-cleaning temps,
sloceny.com, look for his section. I have modified his directions in that I
didn't modify the oven. What I found I could do was jimmy the self-cleaning
lock to make the oven think it was closed even though it was open. This,
admittedly, leaves a small opening, but if you bake in teh back of the oven,
the opening is no big deal.

What *is* a big deal is to be sure you don't char the curtains on the window
next to the oven. Don't ask.

Take a look at all this and see if it looks like it might solve your
problems.

Barry


bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Dec 21, 2006, 7:43:40 PM12/21/06
to
I'll give it a try. Thanks for the fantastic attention to detail. I
found a digital scale at Target for $25 that can weigh 11 lbs accurate
to 1 gram. I probably have some measuring cup that is wrong so
weighing will hopefully reveal the problems. Thanks again and I'll
report back soon!

John

barry

unread,
Dec 21, 2006, 10:18:09 PM12/21/06
to

<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1166748220.0...@79g2000cws.googlegroups.com...

John,

What is the name and model of that scale? I have a scale that I curse
daily, so maybe what you've found will be better than what I have.

Just to have a bit of fun, take a cup of flour as you normally dole it out
and weigh it, just to see what you've been working with.

Barry


graham

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Dec 22, 2006, 9:52:03 AM12/22/06
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"barry" <john...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:K7Iih.353$_Y4...@newsfe12.lga...
One thing you should be careful about is making sure the scale is on a flat
surface so that the feet are all equally in contact. This may seem
unnessary with modern kitchen surfaces but laminates can distort the
underlying particle board slightly and you would be surprised how uneven the
surface can be at joins, e.g., at the corner on L-shaped counters. I
checked mine with several Can$ coins (Loonies) that weigh 7g each. Most of
the counter is OK except near a seam in the laminate in the corner of the L.
HTH
Graham.


barry

unread,
Dec 22, 2006, 4:20:35 PM12/22/06
to
> One thing you should be careful about is making sure the scale is on a
> flat surface so that the feet are all equally in contact. This may seem
> unnessary with modern kitchen surfaces but laminates can distort the
> underlying particle board slightly and you would be surprised how uneven
> the surface can be at joins, e.g., at the corner on L-shaped counters. I
> checked mine with several Can$ coins (Loonies) that weigh 7g each. Most
> of the counter is OK except near a seam in the laminate in the corner of
> the L.
> HTH
> Graham.
>

The problems I have with the Terallion (spelling?) are that it shuts off too
quickly, the scale doesn't hold zero and the accuracy appears to be, shall
we say, variable.

Other than that, it's great. :-)

Barry


bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Dec 22, 2006, 8:15:56 PM12/22/06
to

barry

unread,
Dec 22, 2006, 9:53:52 PM12/22/06
to

<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1166836556.0...@i12g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

I have a Terraillon, or however it's spelled.

I really do not like it.

1. It shuts off too quickly when I am in the middle of figuring out what to
do next.

2. The zero will shift -- you can zero the scale, weigh something and then
find out that you have 1/8 or 1/4 ounce extra tare, which means that the
weights are coming up short.

3. The accuracy is questionable -- I have weighed a batch of dough at 3
pounds, then found out that I had three pieces of 1 pound 2 ounces each.
Now if I could get the scale to do that with gold, I'd LOVE it. <g>

The accuracy it admits to is just not sufficient for my uses, especially in
the upper and lower levels.

Now, having said that, the other scale you propose looks good.

The Terraillon has a max weight of about 3 1/2 pounds. The tare function
doesn't work well at higher levels.

The new scale claims to go to 11 pounds, which is a lot more than I plan to
use, at least for now.

Let me know which you buy and how it works out. I have been on the lookout
for a good scale for a while, but haven't found one yet.

Barry


barry

unread,
Dec 22, 2006, 9:56:00 PM12/22/06
to

<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1166836556.0...@i12g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

One other thing about the Primo, it has a buttom for grams to ounces. My
Terraillon can switch, too, but you have to jam a shish-kabob point in a
hole in the back.

Barry


bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Jan 13, 2007, 9:01:15 AM1/13/07
to
I got this scale:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13542210
It measures in grams or in ounces by 1/8 ths.

I made my biga last night but didn't know how much I needed to knead
it. Does the biga need 10 minutes of kneading or just a minute or two
to put the dough together. It rose almost double overnight.

Did the water need to be heated to 110 for the biga?

I understand that the big adds texture and flavor but what's the point
of doing the extra biga step and not just making the whole day a day in
advance?

I plan on making the dough after lunch, adding the biga and letting it
all rise for 5 hours.

Thanks. Pizza tonight !

barry

unread,
Jan 13, 2007, 9:18:57 AM1/13/07
to

<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1168696875.6...@l53g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

>I got this scale:
> http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13542210
> It measures in grams or in ounces by 1/8 ths.
>
> I made my biga last night but didn't know how much I needed to knead
> it. Does the biga need 10 minutes of kneading or just a minute or two
> to put the dough together. It rose almost double overnight.

******** I just mix it all up and knead it in the bowl for a minute or so,
just to get things mixed up good.


>
> Did the water need to be heated to 110 for the biga?

******* I use room temperature water. I think 110 is too hot for yeast,
and I never go much above barely warm to the touch, unless I am using a biga
or poolish that hasn't had a chance to warm up out of the fridge.

>
> I understand that the big adds texture and flavor but what's the point
> of doing the extra biga step and not just making the whole day a day in
> advance?
>

******* You can make the entire dough in advance, but having a biga or
poolish gives an extra bit of control on bake day.

> I plan on making the dough after lunch, adding the biga and letting it
> all rise for 5 hours.
>

******* 5 hours might be too much rise time, although I'm not sure whether
this is fermentation or rise after shaping. This length of rise could well
exhaust the dough. Most doughs respond best if they are "taken young,"
which means on the up side of the rise activity curve, just before the top.
This leaves some residual activity in the yeast to contribute to oven
spring.


Barry

bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Jan 13, 2007, 3:19:49 PM1/13/07
to
Great tips ! I just made the dough with 2.5 hours till pizza making
time, incorporating the biga into it. It was the wettest dough yet
which is excellent. I had to dust my hands a couple times to keep from
sticking all over but I got it needed pretty good and think this could
be a great pizza. We gonna see.

It's gonna be pepperoni, fresh spinach, red bell pepper, mushrooms,
red onion, garlic, olive tepenade, sargento mozerello cheese, centos
sauce, oregano and italian spices.

Thanks for the tips and I can't wait to report back. If it fails I'll
keep making them till it's perfect so either way I win. hehe

barry

unread,
Jan 13, 2007, 3:52:23 PM1/13/07
to

<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1168719588....@m58g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...

Be very sparing in your topping load, lest you get so much on it that the
thing doesn't cook. Also, it helps to have the baking rack very high up in
the oven. this allows the top to cook at the same time the bottom cooks,
which will also reduce the tendency to have a soggy middle. (The pizza, not
us.)

The dough sounds wet enough to give a great crust! Can you take pictures?

Barry


bringm...@gmail.com

unread,
Jan 14, 2007, 8:37:05 AM1/14/07
to
Thanks so much. The pizza was way better than anything I've done yet.
Next time I"ll take pictures but here's what I found. It was a very
wet dough, almost impossible to knead. Next time can I add 80% of the
water and knead it for 10 mins and then add the rest of the water?

I made a nice "all the way" loaded pizza and it cooked very well. I
was in the middle oven rack on convect at 550 degrees with a fibrament
pizza stone. I got great rise and an extremely elastic dough.

I only got a 40 min preheat because company showed up ready to eat.
Next time I'm going to preheat for a full hour an then LOWER the rack.
I actually had more cooking on the top than I want, but nothing major.
This pizza came out crispy and chewy and we loved it. Next time I
might try mixing everything a day in advance and letting it proof in
the fridge. That seems to be another accepted way that would make it
so I don't have to do the biga but still get the benefits of
frementation (yes ?).

Thanks again for the great pizza !!! I see these web pages with 50
different steps and all these stupid details and I know the local pizza
place that makes awesome pizza isn't doing that.

Thanks so much.

barry

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Jan 14, 2007, 9:53:37 AM1/14/07
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<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1168781825.7...@a75g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...

> Thanks so much. The pizza was way better than anything I've done yet.
> Next time I"ll take pictures but here's what I found. It was a very
> wet dough, almost impossible to knead. Next time can I add 80% of the
> water and knead it for 10 mins and then add the rest of the water?

Good pizza at home is a terrific high! Congrats!

My experience with adding water later in the mix is that it is, for some
reason, not a good thing to do.

With a dry dough, it seems that adding water later doesn't do the reciprocal
of adding flour to a wet dough, if that makes sense. It's a little hard to
explain, but adding flour to a wet dough makes the dough handle better, but
adding water to a dry dough usually gives me a mess. I think it has to do
with getting all the flour to the same wetness at the same time, but I
haven't seen anything on this, so don't take this as gospel.

I would just figure out what hydration you want and go to that directly.

Barry


bringm...@gmail.com

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Jan 15, 2007, 10:16:42 AM1/15/07
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then i think i'll put a little olive oil on my hands next time to make
working with the wet dough easier. Thanks again !!!

bringm...@gmail.com

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Jan 21, 2007, 6:31:31 PM1/21/07
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the olive oil no worky. Instead I just saved a pinch of flour to use
on my hands and everything is great.

I tried this time without the biga and it worked great. I made the
dough a day in advance combining all ingredients using my bed bath and
beyond scale.

Flour 18.2 ounces
Water 12.4 ounces 105 degrees temp


Salt 1/2 Tablespoon (.3 ounce)
Yeast 1/2 teaspoon
EVOO 2 Tablespoons

Then I put it in the fridge overnight. The next day I took it out and
put the bowl in mildly warm water. The dough doubled in size in a
couple hours and then I made my pizzas. I made sure to NOT let it
rise too long and exhaust the dough. I was previously using 6 times or
more the yeast with nowhere near the results because I was letting it
rise way too long (8 hours or more).

The crust came out great. Crispy and chewy just like I wanted. Your
recipe rocks! Thanks so much, and as promised I took pictures. I
didn't put enough cheese on top but there is lots on the bottom. I'll
probably have to make 500 more pizzas to get it right but I'm willing
:-).

The stone is a fibrament stone (google it) cooking at 550 convection.
If your oven doesn't convect watch it and turn the pizza halfway
through if necessary to get even cooking.

Next time I'm gonna move the rack up one more level. I'm really really
happy overall. Thanks !!!

I gotta lighten up on ingredients. I'm making them a bit heavy. These
are from the bottom up:

Centos sauce from can
minced garlic
oregano and italian spices
cooked sausage
deli pepperoni
sargento mozerello cheese
canned mushrooms
sliced red onions
centos roasted red peppers

http://www.kfocus.com/pizza1.jpg
http://www.kfocus.com/pizza2.jpg
http://www.kfocus.com/pizza3.jpg


Thanks again, Delicious pizza. Calzones are next !

barry

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Jan 21, 2007, 8:24:23 PM1/21/07
to
>
> I gotta lighten up on ingredients. I'm making them a bit heavy. These
> are from the bottom up:
>
> Centos sauce from can
> minced garlic
> oregano and italian spices
> cooked sausage
> deli pepperoni
> sargento mozerello cheese
> canned mushrooms
> sliced red onions
> centos roasted red peppers
>
> http://www.kfocus.com/pizza1.jpg
> http://www.kfocus.com/pizza2.jpg
> http://www.kfocus.com/pizza3.jpg
>
>
> Thanks again, Delicious pizza. Calzones are next !
>
Try this next time. Forget the tomato sauce. Use plum tomatoes that you've
seeded and washed a little bit, then chopped up.

Use one or two of the other toppings, or three in very small amounts.

The crust looks perfect to me.

Barry


bringm...@gmail.com

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Jan 22, 2007, 5:38:37 PM1/22/07
to
Sounds great! Thanks again. Ain't it fun !

barry

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Jan 22, 2007, 5:41:54 PM1/22/07
to

<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1169505517.2...@v45g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...

> Sounds great! Thanks again. Ain't it fun !
>
Yeah, until you've been making pizza every day for a couple of weeks and
step on the scale! <vbg>

Barry


bringm...@gmail.com

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Jan 23, 2007, 6:58:45 PM1/23/07
to
You really want me to give up sauce? How come? I lova da sauce !

On Jan 22, 5:41 pm, "barry" <johnf...@optonline.net> wrote:
> <bringmewa...@gmail.com> wrote in messagenews:1169505517.2...@v45g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...> Sounds great! Thanks again. Ain't it fun !Yeah, until you've been making pizza every day for a couple of weeks and

barry

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Jan 23, 2007, 7:37:07 PM1/23/07
to

<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1169596725.8...@q2g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Well, try it with just the tomatoes that have been seeded and crushed.
Don't use too much, just enough to coat the dough lightly. Then use some
cheese and a bit of maybe sausage or pepperoni with a bit of basil sprinkled
over the top. If you want to, you can drizzle a little (very little) olive
oil on top -- most people say use extra virgin olive oil, but I prefer the
stronger olive oil with less finesse. Same reason I prefer Grade B maple
syrup. And Laphroaig scotch.)

This is trending toward minimalist pizza, but give it a try. If you don't
like it, no harm done.

Barry


barry

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Jan 23, 2007, 7:37:48 PM1/23/07
to

<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1169596725.8...@q2g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

And be sure to set the baking surface pretty high in the oven.

Barry


bringm...@gmail.com

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Jan 25, 2007, 6:20:22 PM1/25/07
to
Any suggestions on flavoring pizza dough? I see King Arthur has Pizza
Flavor to add to the dough. I wonder what it is or if there are other
good things to flavor dough with?

Joe Doe

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Jan 25, 2007, 7:43:26 PM1/25/07
to
In article <1169767222.1...@v45g2000cwv.googlegroups.com>,
"bringm...@gmail.com" <bringm...@gmail.com> wrote:


For Ideas check:

Flavored Breads: Recipes from Mark Miller's Coyote Cafe by Mark Charles
Miller et al.

Used copies are available at Amazon for low dollars.

Roland

Janet B.

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Jan 25, 2007, 8:01:24 PM1/25/07
to

"Joe Doe" <No...@mail.utexas.edu> wrote in message
news:None-DFC85E.1...@geraldo.cc.utexas.edu...
Dried basil or oregano, parmesan cheese.
Janet


The Cook

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Jan 26, 2007, 6:11:12 AM1/26/07
to
On 25 Jan 2007 15:20:22 -0800, "bringm...@gmail.com"
<bringm...@gmail.com> wrote:


Italian Seasoning, a mixture of various herbs.
\
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974

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