Making pizza on the WSM.
- Thread starter Arun L.
- Start date
Arun L.
TVWBB All-Star
Following this recipe.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/07/basic-new-york-style-pizza-dough.html
Mixing it, then putting it in the refrigerator for at least a day.
Then letting it get to room temperature before it's ready to use.
Yours looks really good.
What do do you think of the consistency / stickiness based on the picture in #100? How does yours feel when you're stretching it? Not very sticky?
Mine are not very sticky at all when stretching it out for the pizza. What I do is mix the batch. Let it sit for 30 min or so in the bowl. Then kneed it a couple times and place it back in the same bowl but I spray it with pam so it doesn't stick. Let it rise for 2 hrs. Then divided it in to dough balls. I then put the dough balls in the fridge for 24 hrs. Remove from the fridge about 2 hrs before cooking. Then stretch the dough ball out in to a pizza crust. I start off by totally covering a dough ball with flour. Start to press it out on a floured counter. Then move to stretching it out over finger tips and closed fists. If I feel its wet I will put some more flour on. Your not mixing or working the four in to the crust your just using it to keep the surface dry. What you don't need wont stick.
Making the dough balls can make or break a pizza. You want to stretch the gluten across the surface of the dough ball so its nice and tight and smooth. How I do it is with the heel of my hands. The dough starts out there hanging between your hands resting on the heel. Then work your heels up while pushing down with your fingers. Do this a couple times until the top surface (part facing down) is nice and taugh and smooth. Then pinch the seam shut and place seam side down in the container or tray.
Making the dough balls can make or break a pizza. You want to stretch the gluten across the surface of the dough ball so its nice and tight and smooth. How I do it is with the heel of my hands. The dough starts out there hanging between your hands resting on the heel. Then work your heels up while pushing down with your fingers. Do this a couple times until the top surface (part facing down) is nice and taugh and smooth. Then pinch the seam shut and place seam side down in the container or tray.
Arun L.
TVWBB All-Star
Thanks for those tips. I used some of them.
Made this on Thursday.
Pics:
http://imgur.com/a/tX448/layout/grid
The first pic is the dough after mixing. It was definitively drier this time. Still doesn't look smooth like I've seen others do it, but several steps in the right direction.
The 2nd pic is after stretching it.
I took two pics of the bottom, from different parts of the bottom, so I could give a better representation of what the bottom looked like.
I made sure the steel temped at 500 degrees this time.
I think I cooked it for 7 minutes.
Didn't have trouble using the peel this time. It slid underneath. However, a small portion of the part farthest from the steel was a little resistant to getting on the peel.
Similarly when taking it out, that portion farthest away was a little resistant. I had to push the peel toward the back of the oven to get it to slide on. The pizza didn't deform or alter its shape, though.
How can I get the top looking better?
I see my oven has a broiler, but it's a separate button from the main oven. I guess with the broiler, it's automatically going to have the oven on?
Similarly when looking at my toaster oven, the broil button is separate. This bothers me a little more on the toaster oven, because I'd like to be able to use the convection bake with the broiler. But I'm not sure if the convection fan will be on if I use the broiler.
Should I mix the honey-water mixture with yeast, and let that sit for a few mins? Someone else had a dough recipe where they let the yeast sit in warm water until the yeast powder rose.
You can switch your oven to Hi broil with a few minutes left to cook. This will blast the top side with heat and your stone will still have enough heat to continue to cook the underside.
Your dough still isn't smooth. Are you letting it rest and then kneeding it. Then letting it rest again before dividing it up in to dough balls? I typically let mine rest for 30 minutes between the mixing and kneeding. Then it rests for another 2 hrs before dividing it up in to dough balls. The dough balls then go in to the fridge for 24hrs. When you go to stretch that dough ball out you don't kneed or fold or do any type of mixing. You just start to stretch it out by hand. Other wise you mess up the gluten structure and degas the dough.
Your dough still isn't smooth. Are you letting it rest and then kneeding it. Then letting it rest again before dividing it up in to dough balls? I typically let mine rest for 30 minutes between the mixing and kneeding. Then it rests for another 2 hrs before dividing it up in to dough balls. The dough balls then go in to the fridge for 24hrs. When you go to stretch that dough ball out you don't kneed or fold or do any type of mixing. You just start to stretch it out by hand. Other wise you mess up the gluten structure and degas the dough.
Here is a good video showing how to ball your dough. Start around the 7:50 mark.
https://youtu.be/oYQedBu7mW4?t=7m54s
https://youtu.be/oYQedBu7mW4?t=7m54s
I start out with the warm water in the mixing bowl. Add the yeast and wisk until its all dissolved. Then add your honey, salt and other small quantity ingredients. Mix all that up and start adding the flour. I don't add any type of sugar to my crusts. It pretty much flour, water, salt, and yeast, maybe a little bit of olive oil.
What kind of flour are you using?
Arun L.
TVWBB All-Star
Bread flour.
I'll try adding the flour last.
The latest recipe I tried though said to mix the 1/2 a cup of flour with the yeast.
- - - Updated - - -
Thanks. I'll let you know after I watch it.
I just prefer to add the yeast to the water first. That way it gets 100% hydrated / dissolved.
Also oil can cause your dough to look chunky and dry. The dry flour absorbs it and doesn't take any water in. I usually add the oil last or event wait and add it in when I kneed the dough. Just make. Little crader in the dough and put the oil in it and start folding it over.
Also oil can cause your dough to look chunky and dry. The dry flour absorbs it and doesn't take any water in. I usually add the oil last or event wait and add it in when I kneed the dough. Just make. Little crader in the dough and put the oil in it and start folding it over.
That recipe should produce a really soft dough that's hard to handle.
1 cup of flour is approximately 120g for a total of 360 g of flour. Flour is hard to measure exactly by volume. Your cup of flour and my cup of flour will differ greatly based on how it's scooped. This is why it's best to by weight. 360g of flour is 360 grams. It doesn't matter how tightly or loosely it's packed / scooped.
1 1/4 cup of water is 295g.
So 295 g of water / by 360 grams of flour comes out to 0.8194444. 82% water or hydration is pretty high. So if your getting a dry dough that isn't runny your probably using more flour than what you think.
1 cup of flour is approximately 120g for a total of 360 g of flour. Flour is hard to measure exactly by volume. Your cup of flour and my cup of flour will differ greatly based on how it's scooped. This is why it's best to by weight. 360g of flour is 360 grams. It doesn't matter how tightly or loosely it's packed / scooped.
1 1/4 cup of water is 295g.
So 295 g of water / by 360 grams of flour comes out to 0.8194444. 82% water or hydration is pretty high. So if your getting a dry dough that isn't runny your probably using more flour than what you think.
Wayne Ficklin
TVWBB Fan
I cook on a 22" Kettle w/ the KettlePizza attachment. I use a hinged grate so I can feed the fire between pizzas without having to disassemble anything. Just keep the hinge over the fire in the back and slide chunks of oak or peach on top. I'm usually cooking at 650-700 and takes 6-8, maybe 9 minutes to cook a pizza. On the top of the KettlePizza, I've added a grate and covered it with a couple layers of Aluminum foil. On top of that, I have a pizza stone, but I'll probably be adding some cast iron or maybe firebrick in the future as well. I have a few ideas to improve on that, but that alone really made it so that the bottom and top were cooking evenly.
The first few times I "launched" my pizza onto the stone I used parchment paper and after a minute or 2 was able to remove it and spin the pie throughout the cook. Lastly, if the bottom is cooking faster than the top, "dome" the pizza by lifting it up closer to where the heat is w/ the peel for the last 30-45 seconds. (It really helps to have lowered where the heat is being trapped w/ that foil covered 2nd grate on the top.)
Its been too long since I made pizza. I'm going to have to get it back on the rotation!
The first few times I "launched" my pizza onto the stone I used parchment paper and after a minute or 2 was able to remove it and spin the pie throughout the cook. Lastly, if the bottom is cooking faster than the top, "dome" the pizza by lifting it up closer to where the heat is w/ the peel for the last 30-45 seconds. (It really helps to have lowered where the heat is being trapped w/ that foil covered 2nd grate on the top.)
Its been too long since I made pizza. I'm going to have to get it back on the rotation!
I think I am going to have my local welding shop cut out a disk to use for the roof of my KP. Then I think I will cut and lay firebrick on the top to help insulate it. My Red Sky pizza stone broke when I was cleaning it so I cant use it for the roof in my KP.
Arun L.
TVWBB All-Star
Can you post some pictures of your setup?
Arun L.
TVWBB All-Star
Sorry for the long delay.
I was taking a break from making pizza.
That video was helpful for me to see what it looked like. Thanks.
Arun L.
TVWBB All-Star
As per the recipe, I'm using instant yeast. The directions for instant yeast say you don't need to add water.
Arun L.
TVWBB All-Star
I'm trying the Kettle Pizza again. Hadn't tried it since January.
There isn't much height clearance out front when loading the pizza.
Wouldn't it be easier to load the pizza from the top, no lid on top?
I don't think my setup would be good with a lid on the Kettle Pizza anyways, since my steel is so big (15" square). I need more room for oxygen.
There isn't much height clearance out front when loading the pizza.
Wouldn't it be easier to load the pizza from the top, no lid on top?
I don't think my setup would be good with a lid on the Kettle Pizza anyways, since my steel is so big (15" square). I need more room for oxygen.
Arun L.
TVWBB All-Star
If I don't put the lid on, the fire burns better. It can burn to the temperature it needs to.
But then the top doesn't get done.
Here's an old picture of my setup. I'll post the results of this attempt another time.
http://i.imgur.com/aleXeyg.jpg
Yep that's why I do it on my kettle and not wsm. The kettle has larger vents and will burn hotter with the lid in place. Also the steel plate for a ceiling helps hold high heat down on the top side of the pizza.
Arun L.
TVWBB All-Star
What can I do, given that I only have a WSM, and not also a kettle?
And given that's the steel I have?
I'll also post more details of the actual cooks tonight.