Calling all Pizza Makers

[Steve B]

As I have taken the dive into making my own Pizza, I would love to know what all of ya'lls recipe's and techniques for your dough is.
I've been mostly making my dough from a recipe by Fresh Pressed Oil Club. It calls for:
1-1/2 cups warm water - no specified temp.
1 ts sugar
1 ts coarse salt
2-1/4 ts active dry yeast
4 cups flour - I've been switching between 00 pizza and all-purpose - King Arthur only.
2 tbs olive oil

A couple of things I've been wondering.
1 is this too much yeast? I've seen several recipe's that use much less. And
2 Is there anything I can use to amp up the flavor of the dough, crust? It's good, but I would like to get more flavor out of it. I've tried adding some garlic powder and we couldn't even taste it.

Help me up my game. I know I can count on ya'll.

Thanks, SteveB

[RichardCullip]

The best thing I've done to up my pizza dough game is use a 72 hr technique/recipe like the one found here - https://bakingsteel.com/blogs/recipe...ur-pizza-dough

[Jim White]

My go-to as well.

[Smoke n Beers]

when the decision is made that we would like pizza, 72 hours is not an option. That being said I would like to attempt the proposed process if only to for the experience.
.

[Steve B]

Excellent. Thank you for this link. I will definitely give it a try.

[Richard Chrz]

My recipe and method is in the early pages.

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/breads/1170896-my-bread-or-pizza

[Steve B]

Thanks Richard. I’ve glanced over your thread but haven’t read it through as of yet. Will be doing so very soon.

[Richard Chrz]

Steve B my ramblings should be considered no more than my own current path, no wrong way to pizza, it’s about being engaged in it. No different than cooking, or life.. if I can help clear up any of my ramblings, let me know,

[Attjack]

I would suggest you switch to measuring by weight.

We have been making this Ken Forkish NY dough for quite some time and it's great.

320 g water
14 g fine sea salt
1.2 g instant dried yeast
500 g high protein bread flour (we use 00)

I have been wanting to try this "Outdoor Pizza Oven Pizza Dough" recipe from Serious Eats for a while.


535g high protein all-purpose flour, such as King Arthur (Baker’s percentage: 100%)
2g instant dry yeast, such as SAF (Baker’s percentage: 0.4%)
360g water, at 40°F (4°C) (Baker’s percentage: 67%)
12g Diamond Crystal kosher salt (Baker’s percentage: 2%)
Extra-virgin olive oil for oiling proofing containers and dough balls

[Michael_in_TX]

Attjack I have seen these, but didn't know there was anything special about them! I actually might have one stashed away that I had totally forgotten about. I used it to weigh paper parts for small model rockets back when I was into that. Thank you!

[Attjack]

These are the scales I use. The little one I have had for a long time so I can't recall where I got it, probably from a head shop.

[Steve B]

I’ve been measuring out my flour and water by weight. But not the other ingredients. I will change that.

Oh and I’m glad you said that about the scale. 😂 The good ol days.

[Skip]

One of my favorite dough recipes from Kenji at Serious Eats.

https://www.seriouseats.com/new-york-style-pizza

[WillTravelForFood]

plus, Kenji's study on whether water makes a difference is an interesting how-to process

[Steve B]

Thanks Skip. I’ve used his recipe before and it is quite good.

[RobertC]

A couple of things I've been wondering.
1 is this too much yeast? I've seen several recipe's that use much less. And
2 Is there anything I can use to amp up the flavor of the dough, crust? It's good, but I would like to get more flavor out of it. I've tried adding some garlic powder and we couldn't even taste it.

Both of your questions can be addressed by reducing the yeast a bit, and letting the rise go slower and longer. In general, people use more yeast because they think it will make the rise go faster; if speed is your goal, you can often speed up the rise by increasing the temperature, though at the cost of some flavor. Slowing the process allows the yeasts to produce more complex flavors.

[Steve B]

Looking like the longer ferment time is the way to go. I’m looking to trying this.

[Michael_in_TX]

I'm in the same boat as a beginner. Here's what my plan is. When you look at enough pizza recipes, you notice they are the same ingredients: flour, water, yeast, and a bit of salt and olive oil. What changes are the ratios, specifically of flour and water (and yeast, too).

These ratios have a dramatic impact on the style and quality of the finished dough (along with fermentation time and cooking heat, of course). That is where I am concentrating my learning efforts, especially on the oft-talked about "hydration" ratio. I'm also concentrating on a specific style of pizza for now. For example, I prefer a traditional crust; while Neapolitan-style is absolutely delicious, it is not quite my thing.

Focusing my learning efforts is keeping me from bouncing around a zillion YouTube videos and getting all confused.

[shify]

Unless you only make one kind of pizza (e.g., NY style) you should have a variety of recipes.

I use a different recipe for Detroit style pizza, compared to NY, compared to what I use in my Ooni. Some are just flour, water, yeast and salt and others have sugar, olive oil, etc.

And you should switch to measuring by weight and speaking in baker's percentages. Its easier to compare recipe to recipe in percentages (e.g., neapolitan style I go for around 63% hydration and 2-3% salt and 1-2% yeast) not to mention everyone has a different perspective as to how big to make each dough ball, not to mention the scale of the recipe.

Generally speaking, if I'm baking in my oven, I use King Arthur AP or bread flour depending on the style of pizza (or what I have in the house). I only use Caputo 00 flour when I'm making neapolitan style pizza in my Ooni.

Lastly, definitely try cold fermenting the dough for at least 2 days in the fridge. Make the dough, let it do its first rise and then ball up and move to a container in the fridge for 2 days (or up to 5). Then take out of fridge at least 2 hours before you are ready to bake. The flavor will be much improved by the long, slow rise

[Sid P]

A couple things I’ve learned:

1) As mentioned previously, serious bakers weigh their ingredients. If you need convincing, think about how much you can compress the flour in a measuring cup.

2) Rise and taste are a function of time, yeast, and temperature. If your recipe doesn’t mention room temp, water temp, fridge temp, etc, the end product is just a guess.

The Kindle version of Forkish’s "Elements Of Pizza" is only $6.99, and "The Pizza Bible" is only $16.79. I have both and they’re very useful.

https://www.amazon.com/Pizza-Bible-Neapolitan-Deep-Dish-Wood-Fired/dp/1607746050/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1P8DXZBYF7DVT&keywords=the+pizza+b ible&qid=1683133559&sprefix=The+pizza+%2Caps%2C309 &sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Pizza-Unlocking-Secrets-World-Class/dp/160774838X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=G5KG8YYIDJY0&keywords=elements+of+ pizza+ken+forkish&qid=1683133333&sprefix=Elements+ of+pizza+%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-1

"PizzApp" is useful for easily adjusting ingredient weights and rise times based on temps. I use it on IOS.

[Steve B]

Yup. Weighing the ingredients is something I actually do for the most part. And thanks for the links.

[gcdmd]

Check this out:

PizzaMaking.com - Pizza Making, Pizza Recipes, and More!

[Steve B]

Nice. This site looks like it has a lot to offer.

[Finster]

I'm new to the homemade pizza game.
Due to time constraints most nights, my recipe consists of picking up pre made dough at the grocery store.
Some day soon i will find the time to make my own. Some of these make a few days ahead recipes can help in that endeavor👍

[RonB]

The reason for yeast being 2.25 tsp is that that's the amount of yeast in one of the little packets grocery stores sell. The ChainBaker sez 1% yeast is enough for an overnight proof, and more time, (up to several days), in the fridge will only improve flavor.

[Steve B]

I had a feeling that is the case. Hence the other recipes that call for less.

[CaptainMike]

72 hr dough or get a Sourdough starter going. More yeast poop = more flavor. Mmmmmm, yeeeeast pooooop....

Also, you can a little oregano or othe herbs or flavorings to your dough.

[Steve B]

I could definitely give oregano a try. Can’t hurt. Right? I know the garlic powder didn’t do anything to add flavor. But maybe I needed to use more.

[JeffJ]

Allowing it to ferment in the fridge for 3 days or so amps up the flavor.

[MBMorgan]

King Arthur Flour (KAF) sells a pizza dough flavoring. Some (like SWMBO) swear by it. Others (like MWMBI (me who must be ignored)) are somewhat indifferent ... although, while I'll never admit it at home, it's actually a pretty darn good flavor enhancer.

[Steve B]

Worth giving a try. Thanks MB.