So, since there seems to be a bit of talk right now on fermentation. I will post something that I did over the weekend (I started the fermentation on Thursday baked it on Sunday), I had a hunch before reading this pizza book I am reading, that a colder ferment and more time, could result in a more complex favor and more importantly, better digestibility, as the starter is eating up all of the stuff that we do not digest perfectly. To be fair, I had read a few other things that hinted to that before it was my thoughts. So, first, of course this is if you have the time. Time is the one thing that I have an endless supply of, and longer timeframes on cooks for me such as brisket, and sourdough, or as I like t call it, food that happens while I am sleeping. any way, back to the pizza book, it is written by a multi time world champion pizza maker (I know they have a fancier title then that). But for his dough, he prefers 48 to even 72 hours of ferment time, pretty much always in refrigerator. He also starts with just a small percentage of warm water, I think it was just enough to activate the starter, he does not use instant, he says it works to fast, and builds a dough that has poor digestibility. The interesting part, the other 2/3rd's roughly is made with ice water, not the ice itself, but the water starts in a bowl with ice and gets down to about 40 degrees before he adds it. Maybe this slow approach is of no importance or care to anyone, but, the crust I have gotten the most compliments on has been his crust, and the taste was pretty amazing, fairly crisp, yet flexible bottom, and chewy outside ring. After all, this is "slow food" that we make most of the time.
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Last edited by Richard Chrz; January 21, 2020, 06:50 PM. -
I have practiced this (not the ice water) but a much colder water like 60 degrees, and have run bulk fermentations for 24 hours in a refrigerator, after letting bulk ferment on my counter near an outside wall, and the temp of my house at 65 degrees for 12-18 hours, and have had good results, which goes against anything the top selling books talk about. I have learned to build my fermentation schedules to fit my energy and timelines. Not saying that it is best practice, nor does it make world class bread, but, the bread is just as good as the bread following Forkish. or so I think. Or maybe I am just kidding myself. -
I have used the pizza steel method for making cold fermented dough for pizza. Mix and then sit in the refrigerator for 7 days before using or freezing without any time between mixing and placing in the fridge. Seemed strange to me at first since I’m use to allowing to sit warm at least at first, but it does make a nice pizza. Still not sure if it is any better than a normal 72 hour ferment though.Comment
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I can't speak to pizza, but bread dough that ferments is a little more complex than dough which doesn't. It's actually one of the annoying things to me about a lot of bread sites and books - they talk about rises at 72-74F and while I get that if you want to start a bread in the morning and bake it in the afternoon you'll need those temps to get reasonable rise times... as home bakers we don't have to live by that schedule.Comment
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I am likely misreading you, but are you saying here; " but bread dough that ferments is a little more complex than dough which doesn't." that pizza dough does not ferment? Like I said, I probably misread / understood what you wrote.Last edited by Richard Chrz; January 21, 2020, 06:36 PM. -
Oh... no, I mean that bread dough which ferments tends to be more complex (in flavor) than bread dough which does not.
Pizza dough is something I need to explore.
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I have never tried a really cold ferment, but I might now...
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One of my favorite pizza doughs, JKLA NY style pizza dough is done with cold fermentation. He recommends at least 2 days in the refrigerator, prefers 4 days. So you are definitely on to something!Comment
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I was just rereading that recipe and article today. I make his Sicilian dough regularly and we really like it. Made it Monday in fact. It is not a slow fermentation dough, though. It's ready to bake the same day - about a 4-5 hour bulk ferment/rise right in the pan. I've been wanting to give his NY style pizza a shot.
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Velly interesting...Comment
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