Roccbox Cook #2 And Dough Question.

[Sid P]

So today I used Gozney’s "Simple Dough Recipe", which is a 60% hydration/9 hour process, and the pic is below. I was surprised at how much the balls ballooned up, and was afraid I wouldn’t be able to make a circular pizza, but it all worked out fine. What is normal expansion? These started out about baseball size (2.5 - 2.75" diameter), and filled up this container that’s 11.5" on the inside.

A couple pics from the cook are attached, and it turned out really good even though the temp got away from me again. I need to spend a couple hours gradually increasing the temp and make some notes of the settings.

[RonB]

Lookin' good.

It's not unusual for dough to double in size as it rises. Some doughs will rise more, and some less.

[rickgregory]

Hard to tell without seeing the initial balls, but like RonB says, doubling isn't unusual. One thing - don't go by time, go by how the dough looks. If it's hot where the dough is (80F+), things will move faster than a recipe says. Most recipes seem to assume about a 75F ambient temp.

All that said, the crust looks great. How was the flavor?

Also, they spec a single gram of yeast. That's basically a poolish. But it's easy to accidentally add 2g vs 1g (I mean, my scale is just accurate to the gram). Maybe that happened?

PS: They say to proof at 64F... that's a cool rise.

[Sid P]

Flavor was good except for a little burnt flour on the bottom. I bought a scale that goes to .01gr, so the amount of yeast should have been correct.

[pkadare]

Do you have a scale that is able to accurately measure the yeast? If not, it could have been too much yeast, it also could have been that the ambient temp was higher than the 64*F mentioned in the recipe (which is probably the coldest I've seen mentioned as room temperature). As long as the dough isn't over proofed that amount of expansion should be fine. Even if it was over proofed you can usually rescue by knocking it back by reballing and then letting the balls sit for another hour or so.

[Sid P]

I worked off the video, which didn’t mention room temperature, and my kitchen was more like 74°. How would I know if my dough was over proofed? Thanks.

[rickgregory]

Do you have a scale that is able to accurately measure the yeast? If not, it could have been too much yeast, it also could have been that the ambient temp was higher than the 64*F mentioned in the recipe (which is probably the coldest I've seen mentioned as room temperature). As long as the dough isn't over proofed that amount of expansion should be fine. Even if it was over proofed you can usually rescue by knocking it back by reballing and then letting the balls sit for another hour or so.

Yeah that would be too warm per their recipe. (https://us.gozney.com/blogs/recipes/...a-dough-recipe). 74F will work, it will just be done proofing earlier.

Overproofing isn't, I think, as big of a deal in pizza. In regular loaves it can cause a lack of oven spring but... you don't need that much for 'za. Signs are usually that if you do the poke test (wet a finger then poke, with the pad your finger and see if it springs back. It should, partially and slowly. If iit springs back all the way and quickly, it's still got time to go. If it doesn't spring back at all, it might be overproofed.

If the room is hotter, you can always proof in the fridge. Since they say 8 hours at 64F you could do an hour or so out, then overnight in the fridge. Or just watch it and as it gets about where it looks like it's almost proofed, pop it in the fridge. Or just start checking sooner - like at 5 hours vs 8.

End of the day, though, it looks good.

[Sid P]

Thanks.

[pkadare]

Overproofing isn't, I think, as big of a deal in pizza.

Depends on the style. For Neapolitan it is a big deal. It also makes shaping the pizza an issue as the gluten will be broken in an over proofed dough ball which will lead to overly thin crusts and tears.

[Sid P]

rickgregory pkadare I just took this pic of the remaining dough, which I’m planning to use around 4:00 tonight. When poked it springs back a little. Would you "knock it back" or just go with it? This is all I know about "knocking back": https://mypizzacorner.com/pizza-doug...d-pizza-dough/ . Thanks.

[rickgregory]

In the fridge? I'd leave it there all day, pull it out around 3 and let it warm a bit. "Springs back a little" usually means is proofed about right.

[Sid P]

rickgregory Yes, it was in the fridge all night, so I’ll let it ride.

[Sid P]

The dough was harder to work with tonight, and neither pizza was anywhere near being round. I forgot to take a pic of the margherita, which was cooked perfectly, but here’s the second one. It looks good on top, but the bottom is overdone. Thanks for the help!

[rickgregory]

Good oven rise to the dough. VERY slightly out of round, like my first attempt was

[pkadare]

One tip, the closer to round you begin with prior to shaping, the closer to round you'll wind up with. You'd likely have had better luck had you reballed your dough and then let it sit for an hour or so at room temp. Then again, the shape doesn't impact the taste. :-)

[Smoking77]

Sid P Congrats on starting your pizza journey! Adding my unsolicited 2 cents, after balling, whether I'm proofing at room temp or in the fridge, I put each dough ball on a separate dinner plate. They way, they stay round and don't squish up against each other. As already stated, it's easier to open the pizza into a round when it starts that way. As for cooking, what temp are you putting your pizza in the Roccbox? I find that 420 Celsius on the dome with a low flame after launching has given me the best results for a Neapolitan. Although, I need to try high flame next to see how that turns out. I've gotten tons of insight on the Roccbox facebook group. Very informative place; not a lot of ego. Have fun!

[Sid P]

Thanks. I’ve seen Vito and others put multiple balls in a case, but there obviously isn’t much room for error, so I’ll probably go with your method from now on. I’ve been trying to cook at 800° F but it keeps rising even after I turn down the burner, so my first pizza last night was at about 775°, and a half hour later I was almost up to 900.

How’s the Dome? It looks really sweet. Did you start with one of the cheaper ones, or jump right in to the deep end of the pool?

[Smoking77]

Re: the dome -- oh wow, that was a total pre-coffee typo on my part. I meant 420 Celsius on the dial. I don't have the Dome; I've got the Roccbox.

Yeah, once it gets into the 850/900 F degree range, it's tough to handle -- at least it was for me when I started out. Bottom burned to a crisp while the top is still cooking. For me 750-800 is the way to go. I've heard of people putting a cast iron pan in the roccbox to lower the heat quickly, so it gets back down to cooking temp.

[Sid P]

Pre-coffee typo - or maybe a Freudian slip . If you have burner settings worked out, please share. Thanks.