Zach's Favorite Pizza Dough


 

ZachMendel

TVWBB Member
Yep, another pizza dough.

This recipe is based on a Brian Lagerstrom dough recipe. It adds a nice amount of oil and sugar to the dough to help with browning, texture, and flavor.

Makes 3 pizza dough balls

Ingredients:
540g lukewarm water (85 - 90 degrees F)
10g instant or active dry yeast
60g olive oil
70g sugar
860g All-purpose flour
24g Salt
Cornmeal
Pizza Toppings

Making the dough

1. Add yeast, olive oil, and sugar to water and let proof for 5-10 minutes
2. Meanwhile, add 860g all-purpose flour and 24g salt to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix to combine
3. Add the yeast mixture to the bowl of the stand mixer and mix slowly to combine fully, scraping the sides and bottom to incorporate all of the wet and dry.
4. Mix on high until gluten is fully developed and dough passes the windowpane test, about 10 minutes
5. Divide dough into 3 equal sized dough balls and shape into tight rounded balls.
6. Place dough balls in round containers into the fridge to bulk ferment at least overnight and up to 4 days.

Making pizza with it

7. On pizza day, take the dough balls out of the fridge 1-2 hours before pizza time to lose the chill.
8. Preheat a pizza stone or steel for at least an hour at the oven's highest setting.
9. To shape, dust both sides of the pizza dough with cornmeal and gently hand shape or roll out the dough with a rolling pin. The dough should roll out up to 12 inches depending on crust thickness preference.
10. Drag the dough onto a square of parchment cut to a bit larger than the pizza
11. Assemble your pizza. Follow your heart.
12. Cook the pizza on the stone/steel on the parchment paper, rotating to ensure even browning, about 11 minutes.
 
I make this with the "home deck oven" method from the book "Pizza Czar". Basically I have one pizza steel on my top rack and another pizza steel on the rack below it. I cook the pies on the lower pizza steel and get the top and bottom radiant heat. If I need to get some browning on the cheese/toppings, I can move the pies to the top pizza stone and hit the broiler.


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with that much sugar, is this a 24 hour dough or a use in 5 hours dough? curious as the sugar amount is high, thus a more rapid and robust fermentation, versus say a natural fermentation where the yeast feeds on the flour's natural sugars and no sugar is in the recipe.

nice pies. looks real good and probably has a nice crunch in each bite.
 
The pies look really good! I will stick with Caputo 00 Red/Blue depending on temps & no sugar.
 
with that much sugar, is this a 24 hour dough or a use in 5 hours dough? curious as the sugar amount is high, thus a more rapid and robust fermentation, versus say a natural fermentation where the yeast feeds on the flour's natural sugars and no sugar is in the recipe.

nice pies. looks real good and probably has a nice crunch in each bite.
Sugar weakens the gluten strands allowing for a softer crust beneath the crunchy exterior. Also in that concentration it adds a good flavor. Always 24 hours in the fridge.
 
@ZachMendel what temps are you cooking this at? Is this home deck oven done inside in the electric hot box?

I have a similar recipe for dough that is ready in 2 to 3 hours but can go overnight. I've found using AP flour and sugar means the highest heat I can cook at is about 600F, maybe 650F. Any hotter and it burns.
 
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This goes inside an electric convection oven set to 550 on the "convection roast" setting. I tried it in my kettle on the kettle pizza at around 600-700F once and it burned to a crisp.
 

 

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