Jump to content

Messin' With Sourdough


ness

Recommended Posts

The quality of the flour and the ability to incorporate naturally occurring yeast in the air will also make a difference on proof time. With time it should get better.

Yeah -- this starter is only a couple weeks old. Directions said it would be ready to go in a week, but it was a full two. Glad I stuck with it. BTW -- I'm using King Arthur bread flour for all this.

Looks tasty. That sourdough pizza crust idea is intriguing. Gonna have to try that even though my pizzas are already f'ing awesome!

Yes -- that's what we've been told, peppeRonnie :D

I like the sourdough pizza idea -- not for the sour, just the overall depth of flavor it adds. I've been doing a multi-day cold ferment pizza dough for years that I like a lot. I'm thinking of doing my regular dough, with yeast, and adding the sourdough for added flavor, not so much leavening.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the sourdough pizza idea -- not for the sour, just the overall depth of flavor it adds. I've been doing a multi-day cold ferment pizza dough for years that I like a lot. I'm thinking of doing my regular dough, with yeast, and adding the sourdough for added flavor, not so much leavening.

Yes, the sourdough is just for the added flavor, I would still add your regular yeast to get it to rise.

One of my neighbors was throwing out a big old rectangular charcoal grill that I cut apart and modified with some fire bricks and made my own version of a brick pizza oven. Takes forever to get it preheated to the right temperature and you go through a lot of oak logs just for a couple of pizzas, but the results are magical.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, the sourdough is just for the added flavor, I would still add your regular yeast to get it to rise.

One of my neighbors was throwing out a big old rectangular charcoal grill that I cut apart and modified with some fire bricks and made my own version of a brick pizza oven. Takes forever to get it preheated to the right temperature and you go through a lot of oak logs just for a couple of pizzas, but the results are magical.

Cewl. The whole word burning oven thing is intriguing to me.

There's a new pizza joint near where I work, started by two brothers from Providence, RI. They make a thin crust NY style, a thick crust Sicilian style, and a Neapolitan style. They have regular pizza ovens and a big honkin' copper-clad brick oven for the Neapolitan. They have a great flow of business selling whole pies and slices, but they've been stop-and-go on the Neapolitan -- waiting a long time before they rolled it out, then backing off and only offering them at night. The last couple times I've been in there for lunch, they don't even have it fired up -- I don't know if they start it later or what.

I talked to them about it and they say it requires a full time guy just to handle that part of the business, and they don't want to do it if they don't do it right. I've ordered one Margurita and it was excellent. I watched the guy make it and asked him some questions They use a different dough (much wetter) and a different sauce -- I think it was just crushed tomatoes. He was handling the dough like it was a baby. It was one of the owners, and I got the sense he was the only guy who makes them. The whole time it cooked he was there with the peel turning it. Cook time was about 5-6 minutes, so they didn't have the oven up super-hot like like you hear about.

They've got a great product and a lot of traffic. I'm always rooting for the little guy, so I hope they do well. We've got other folks in town that do wood-fired, and some that call their product Neapolitan when it's not, but these guys are the only ones in town I know that are the real deal.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried the sourdough route, but just didn't think it was worth the hassle for me. I've just settled on Saf yeast. I bought one from KA and I also started one from scratch, but didn't like the baby sitting and frankly couldn't tell that much difference in the end.

I can't see the brick oven, at least not for once every 10 -14 day pizza? I use a 14" Lodge pizza pan as floor and a tile above it for my oven. I set our electric at 500 and I pre-cook my crust for 5 minutes. I use a peel to drop the pizza on the cast iron and to remove it, they CI pizza pan never leaves the oven.

The dough can make all the difference in a pizza and I think it and concentrating the heat is the key.

My dough at present is about a 50/50 KA bread flour and semolina rolled as thin as I can get it..

Today's release is tomorrows gift to another fisherman.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can't roll pizza dough!! What are you thinking man!!! :secret-laugh:

I love hearing everyone's different methods. Most of mine are just cooked in the regular oven with the heat turned all the way up. Brick ovens are nice and do a great job but it is a pain just for home pizza. The Big Green Eggs work well but so does an insulated Weber. The hotter the better.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried the sourdough route, but just didn't think it was worth the hassle for me. I've just settled on Saf yeast. I bought one from KA and I also started one from scratch, but didn't like the baby sitting and frankly couldn't tell that much difference in the end.

I can't see the brick oven, at least not for once every 10 -14 day pizza? I use a 14" Lodge pizza pan as floor and a tile above it for my oven. I set our electric at 500 and I pre-cook my crust for 5 minutes. I use a peel to drop the pizza on the cast iron and to remove it, they CI pizza pan never leaves the oven.

The dough can make all the difference in a pizza and I think it and concentrating the heat is the key.

My dough at present is about a 50/50 KA bread flour and semolina rolled as thin as I can get it..

If you rolled it and used 50% semolina, it ain't pizza dough. It's crackers. :D Other that that we're on the same page, mostly.

My recipe has evolved over time to a much wetter dough (75%) to get the crust I want. It's pretty hard to handle, and easy to screw up, so my plan for next time is to do a quick par bake to set it before adding the sauce and toppings. That also allows me to cook the toppings less, as we don't like browned cheese or overcooked toppings. I do 500 degrees on a Fibrament stone on the top rack and total cook time is around 8 minutes.

You can't roll pizza dough!! What are you thinking man!!! :secret-laugh:

I love hearing everyone's different methods. Most of mine are just cooked in the regular oven with the heat turned all the way up. Brick ovens are nice and do a great job but it is a pain just for home pizza. The Big Green Eggs work well but so does an insulated Weber. The hotter the better.

Yeah -- I think the brick ovens are cool, but there isn't one in my future. I hear about the green eggs and other outdoor methods, just haven't pursued it and probably won't.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can't roll pizza dough!! What are you thinking man!!! :secret-laugh:

Most places that have a thin crust roll it. They use a low moisture dough and run it through a machine. I simply put my dough between oiled parchment and roll it real thin. I'm not into the Old World focaccia crust with basil and mozzarella, maybe a sliced Roma for color. When I go chewy thick crust i go all the way, deep dish.

I don't see the cracker Ness? It's still chewy, just not bread. Nothing like Imo's, which I've made once and eaten from the place once. The "crunch" from the semolina isn't the same as the cracker. at least not to me. I do like it in deep dish especially well.

Today's release is tomorrows gift to another fisherman.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.