So, I started a sourdough crust on Wednesday evening, with little thought to how my fermentation schedule and proofing was going to look like, total brain freeze. But, I went with it, felt, at worst I could leanr a lesson and eat good pizza. Well, the punt missed the spot by a mile, it had terrible extensibility, but, with some careful shaping, I managed to make a pizza still,. also made enough sauce out of some San Marzanos for 4 more pizzas. All in all good lesson, pizza was good, just not great, but, would eat another 3 slices right now if I had them. Live and learn, eat and repeat. Pizza Magherita
The formula was a formula out of FWSY, I just did not pay attention to the fermentation schedule, before I put it together, and punted there, as it was absolutely the wrong time of day to put it together, for some reason in my head I had it at a evening over night room temp ferment. (that was wrong, lol) Still had a good flavor, just no strength. I look forward to another try in a few weeks. My starters have been put away today after baking 5 loaves of double ferments today.
Just my opinion, but many pizza nerds share it: Forkish is great for bread and awful for pizza. Many reasons for this I won’t go into. Even Forkish acknowledges that he screwed up the pizza in FWSY, which is why he wrote The Elements of Pizza...and still got it wrong.
Temperature is everything. For example, I maintain two versions of my sourdough NY Style formula, one for 65F and the other for 70F. Which one I use depends on temp in my basement (where I ferment my pizza dough) due to time of year.
The procedure is to combine the flour (I use HIGH protein flour -- preferring All Trumps unbromated for pizza), malt, and sugar in the bowl of my stand mixer, then add the starter and water (ice water). Use the dough hook to bring it all together until it cleans the dough off the sides. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Add the salt and knead with the dough hook for one more minute. Add the oil and knead for another 5 minutes until silky smooth.
Divide the dough, ball it up, put in oiled containers and hold at the appointed temp for 20-24 hours. Your dough will tell you when it is ready to bake.
Just in case baker's % is confusing, here is the 70F formula converted for two 13" pizzas:
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