Pizza help please!

Recently each weekend I’ve been learning to make pizza using the ChefSteps recipe. It’s tasting great and although the pizza doesn’t look great in the photo, it still had plenty of crunch - just gotta get the grill hotter (tried it on the Weber master touch for the first time). Big question for me though is how I get a dough I can work with really easily. When I stretch it out it gets really, really thin in the middle and be real tricky to shape how I want. I’m using 00 flour which is the only flour I can get from a local deli at the moment during lockdown. Any suggestions?

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fisher23

I had the same problem, I now use 50/50% 00 and bread flour.

The_London_Glutton_238897

Gotcha. And that sorted it?

FrankM_3301

I make a lot of pizza. My preferred formula is one I picked up from Grant years ago.

100% high protein OO flour (400g)

6% vital wheat gluten (I often sub the same proportion of whole wheat flour) (24g)

75% water (300g)

2% salt (8g)

.25% yeast (1 g)

I prefer to make the dough in the am for the evening, as opposed to a rise of more than a day. I find I get better oven spring that way. Shape into balls (these weights make 2 pizzas) about 2 hours in advance of shaping, and let rest covered. They should be easy to work with that way.

I cook on a steel in my oven, at highest possible temp (525F or so), and at the highest rack level. I preheat at least 1.5 hours, and wait several minutes between pies. I don't get the leopard spots you would in a forno, but the results are the best I can do in a home oven.

Shaping is important. Don't roll. Use your hands. Keep a thicker edge than center.

The_London_Glutton_238897

That’s great! Thank you

montebello1964

The pale color is probably because you are using an Italian-style non-malted flour, which won't get any color unless you get it really, really hot. You could try adding some sugar, malt, EVOO, all of which would contribute to better browning at a lower temperature.

I haven't tried Italian flour in the Heffernan recipe, just KABF as in the original CS recipe. But if you are having problems opening the dough balls, try measuring the temperature while tempering on your counter. Let the ball warm up to 50-60°F (I usually do 60°F, by just sticking a ChefAlarm probe in the center and setting the alarm, about 10-15 min on a granite countertop), not the hours at room temperature that many people recommend. This is advice from Tom Lehmann ("The Dough Doctor" on PizzaMaking.com). You'll find it a lot easier to shape.

This is the Heffernan KABF dough after 5 hr RT + 24 hr cold ferment, then cooking at 750°F for 90-120 seconds in a Breville Pizzaiolo oven:

The opening technique in the Heffernan video is essentially what I do. You might also check out these good videos:

https://youtu.be/9f9-xTcKzZo

https://youtu.be/Entzcl8q7H4

fisher23

Did for me.

The_London_Glutton_238897

Appreciate it mate. Thank you. Problem I’ve been having is that the dough seems basically too relaxed when I go to shape it and stretches too easily. Probably got a crap technique too which won’t help... love all the advice

The_London_Glutton_238897

great - will give it a go tomorrow. Think I’m gonna heat the pizza stone up for an hour, then switch the grill on for ten minutes and try just grilling the pizza so I can get more downward heat than I’ve been getting in the oven

montebello1964

Gluten is tighter the colder it is, so I bet tempering to a lower temp like 50-60°F will make it easier for you. Of course, you don't want the gluten so tight that it snaps back when you try to open the ball. So there is a happy medium depending on your dough recipe and your skill at stretching.

The_London_Glutton_238897

Great thank you. Think I’ve been pulling it out of the cold ferment too early and leaving it at room temperature for a couple of hours or so. I’ll try doing the 50/50 plain flour and 00 flour but pull it from the fridge about 25 mins before I want to open it

boris_855476

The solution is much simpler and has nothing to do with the dough.

Place the dough with toppings on a paper baking sheet, cut the paper 10 cm around the pizza and pop all in a blazing hot (LODGE) cast iron pan (preheated on the stove top) and put it for a few minutes in the oven grilling / baking at 210º C

Presto!