Fermented Pizza dough, yet another neo neopolitan recipe

[ZooBeeQ]

After lurking in this forum for too long, trying to figure out how to best make this elusive pizza I present this recipe straight from my favourite flour mill, Anson Mills. here . I have amended this to what I do and use with tips etc. on the bottom. Original recipe here.  All the pictures are there.

Its the flour , it really is. Makes all the difference.  

12 ounces (just over 2 cups) Anson Mills 00 Pizza Maker’s Flour, plus additional for shaping the dough

1 generous teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher
½ teaspoon instant yeast
10.3 ounces (about 1⅓ cups), cool spring or filtered water

for the sauce:
1 teaspoon minced garlic

4 teaspoons good-quality olive oil
1½ cups and good Organic Strained Tomatoes or other pure strained tomato product. I use my home canned 'maters.
Red pepper flakes
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

for the topping:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1  (5-ounce) ball fresh buffalo mozzarella, cut or just tear it off. If you know where to get the Buffala, great, if not any fresh handmade will do, or you could try to make youself, its easy fun and for another post lol.
15 fresh basil leaves

 1. Make the dough: Place the flour, salt, and yeast in a large mixing bowl and whisk well to combine. Make a well in the flour and pour the water into the well. Stir with a wooden spoon until the ingredients come together to form a wet dough, about 1 minute. When the dough has come together, begin kneading it by hand, using pulling and pushing motions to lift the dough up from the bowl and snap it back down (fig. 1.1). Continue kneading the dough in this fashion until it is smooth and elastic, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

2.    Proof the dough: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let the bowl stand at room temperature until the dough loses its sluggish appearance and becomes lively and bubbly, 4 to 5 hours (fig. 2.1). Use a plastic scraper to scrape down the sides of the bowl and fold the dough over upon itself with a few light strokes. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Repeat the folding strokes and let rest for 15 minutes. Repeat folding once more and let rest for 15 minutes.

3.   Make the sauce: While the dough is rising, in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, warm the garlic in the olive oil until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer over medium heat, and then turn down the heat to maintain a light simmer and cook until the flavors come together, about 5 minutes. Do not reduce the mixture to a thick sauce. Season to taste with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.

4.  About 1 hour before baking, Get your KK up to temp with your favourite rack position; up high in the dome. Place a pizza steel on the rack and heat the kk to 700 or there abouts degrees. Yes Pizza Steel or baking steel, no more need to worry about breaking stones , Steels are the new stone, get one they are awesome Steel here

5. Round the dough: Liberally flour a work surface or wooden dough board. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto the board (fig. 5.1). Toss a generous amount of flour on top of the dough (fig. 5.2) and round the dough by cupping both hands around the sides and dragging its bottom against the surface, using the dough’s stickiness to stretch and tighten it into a smooth, round ball sealed with a veil of flour (fig. 5.3 very important). Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Use a metal bench knife to cut the dough into three 7-ounce pieces. Flour and round each piece (fig. 5.4). Let the dough pieces rest about 10 minutes.

6. Shape the dough: Working with one piece at a time, flatten the dough lightly with your fingertips (fig. 6.1). Sprinkle or, using a tea strainer, sift 1 tablespoon of semolina over the surface of a baker’s peel. Transfer the dough to the peel. Flour your hands and stretch the dough from the center out into a 10-inch round. If the dough sticks, gently lift an edge where it is sticking and sprinkle more semolina underneath, on the peel. 

Note that when you purchase this flour, you get a 4 ounce bag of this marvelous heritage semolina .

7. Drizzle the dough with olive oil and brush the oil across the dough’s surface. Use a clean pastry brush to brush any excess semolina off the peel. Spoon about ¼ cup of the tomato sauce over the dough and smooth lightly with the back of a spoon add the rest of your ingredients (fig. 7.1). Slide the pizza onto the pizza steel and close the KK quickly. Bake for 1 minutes. Open the KK and quickly slide your peel under the pie and   check for doneness and rotate the pie, remove parchment if you used it, I do sometimes. close , hold your breath and guess how much longer to eat.

8. Using the pizza peel, remove the pizza from the KK and transfer it to a cutting board. Let cool for about 5 minutes, and then top with 5 fresh basil leaves. Cut the pizza and serve it right away. Sweep the semolina that remains scattered on the pizza steel into a bowl using long oven mitts and an old, clean cloth. Let the KK recover its temperature while you shape and sauce/cheese the next piece of dough. Bake the second pizza, and then repeat the process again to bake the third.

I have never had ppl over to make more than one pie but the dough ages well and we end up eating pizza a few more times that week. Oh darn.

The hi hydration of this dough and the hot steel make the crust fairly explode in a fabulously moist chewy  airy crisp crust. ( phew! ) I am still working out the kinks timing wise but even the burnt crust was heavenly. 

If you want to delve into bread the way an Artisan baker does and not have your head hurt read Artisan Bread Making with Peter Reinhart or any of his books for that matter, making great bread and dough is so simple and strangely enough with the rediscovered, recovered?   easy techniques of  our grandparents, it tastes fantastic. Flour still matters and Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills grows and fresh mills some of the finest heritage grains on this continent. Not to be missed.

I have used this recipe with Whole wheat  flour called Supersprout  flour from Lindley Mills   here . All the whole wheat caveats apply but it makes the most wondrous pita, to die for WW chocolate chip cookies and a great wheat pizza crust . Only sold from KDL Foods  in 25lb bags. Trust me, you will use it all, we seem to no problem and there are only 2 of us. But also cookies are fun to share.

The only tip/trick I have to offer is always ALWAYS rehydrate your yeast in warm water before you pitch it in the flour. All yeast will benefit from this.

Always use a scale, bread is science and if you want to recreate it weigh it. All dough will benefit from at least a 24 hr ferment. I am pretty sure there would be no such thing as gluten intolerant if we made and ate bread that was properly fermented.  

Enjoy !

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to write about your KK adventures, I have learned a lot, if i wasnt so tired I would name you all but you know who you are

S

 

[CeramicChef]

Thanks!  I'll give this a try.  

[Stile88]

That sounds delicious zoo thanks

[MacKenzie]

ZooBeeQ, thanks for that fantastic write up and info. Always interesting to read and try new things with pizza.   

[ZooBeeQ]

Thank all,

Really is there such a thing as too many recipes or ways to make stuff ??  mmmmnope.

S

[tinyfish]

Sounds good.