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You have answered "yes" and would like to know more.


Vito Iacopelli has a great video concerning the different hydrations levels used for pizza dough and their effects here:






Vito looks at a variety of different hydration levels which will allow you to choose your own adventure.
 
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Testing @jellodog's dough for the good of the planet. :chef

Starship Troopers GIF
 
I hadn’t realized it until looking at that thumbnail above, but the water content in dough is the secret place where you can make a pizza that’s got slightly well done toppings but enough water content will keep the dough from scorching too much. That’s obvious in thought after seeing the thumbnail, but I never thought of it. :rofl

I love it when the pepperoni cups (good pepperoni anyway) and the edges of the ham crisp up a bit, but don’t like biting into a crust that feels like I’ll break a veneer off.

I always just buy raw dough at the store then fight with it for 20 minutes until it stiffens and/or I get sick of it and have some weird ass shaped pizza. I very briefly knew how to toss dough in the air when I was training on the brick oven at one restaurant, but I f*cked up too many in one day and the chef made me go back to the grill. :ROFLMAO: Maybe it’s better stated as “I nailed a few tossed doughs one day, but f*cked up the majority”
 
jellodog said:
I generally agree with Sasha that "you want as much water as possible". A generous level of hydration is important for both pizza and bread dough (I make both), and that usually means a level of stickiness is unavoidable; which is why it's probably better to develop the skills to deal with sticky dough instead of avoiding sticky dough.

Sounds (and looks) like you've gotten it about right anyway @la szum !
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Meh. I just don't like that dude's "tone" around here. His first note always seems to have "You're an idiot" undertones.
That doesn't always sit in a mix that well to my ears. :LOL:

Oh, and when I see a Paisano wrestling with over-hydrated dough and having the shit stick to his hands while he or she is making
a pie then I may reconsider what I said. Until then. Make your pies how you want, and with whatever level of hydration-frustration
you can or cannot handle. :beer

:chef
 
I still think 70-75% is the sweet spot. Like I said prior. I can't imagine ever going to 80. :beer

Nothing I have seen since has altered that. Super thin Chicago style crust (or even crispy New York)
would require lower hydration amounts less than 70% and closer to the 60% to 65% range. So style
of Pie plays a huge role in the amount of water used relative to flour.

Biggest keys for me.... in my many trials and a lot more errors journey of discovery .... is using cold water
and a long refrigerated ferment (48-72 hours). When the dough is colder it is less tacky and you can get
away with using a more hydrated dough. Letting it warm up too much (above 60-65F) and that dough is
going be more and more impossible to work with.
 
jellodog said:
@la szum Agree! I only do long ferments and let time and the refrigerator do most of the hard work!
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Biggest game changer for me. I won't/can't do it another way now. :idk

A Tiga Starter/Poolish is maybe the second biggest factor in elevating the Dough Game. For me.

That means if I want a Pizza on Thursday I better start working on it Sunday/Monday. :LOL:
 
Have had great luck (so far!) in freezing Pizza Dough. Bulk ferment for 48-72 hours, and
then Ball and Freeze individually. Pull out of Freezer and put in Fridge for a day. Pull out
of Fridge and allow to get to 60F and then start stretching/making pie. :chef
 
jellodog said:
@tekbow WOW!

🤤 🤤 🤤

Perfect leopard spotting!
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It was the dough, finally figured it out, wasn't kneading it enough. Once you get dough that can be reliably stretched or transfered to and from the peel without tearing, everything else is gravy.

I also use the cold ferment method for proving, that makes for a more stable dough too I reckon.
 
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la szum said:
Have had great luck (so far!) in freezing Pizza Dough. Bulk ferment for 48-72 hours, and
then Ball and Freeze individually. Pull out of Freezer and put in Fridge for a day. Pull out
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Oh that's really useful information! I've never tried freezing. So the elasticity is still the same as never-frozen dough and you can stretch it out just the same?
 
Yup. I have had really consistent results, JD. I try and keep 2 Balls of Dough in the Freezer at all times.

Still takes a day to thaw in the Fridge and then come up to Room Temp.... but cuts off 2 to 3 days of
proofing time.

When I use those up I start a new batch that will yield 3 pies. Use 1 and freeze the other 2. :chef
 
I was going to order some bougie gourmet sh*t last night but my friend asked me not to as she’s making pizzas here tonight. I told her I’m holding her pizza to a very high standard due to cancelling the gourmet sh*t and all the posts in this thread. We’ll see how she does!
 
jellodog said:
Did I mention Caputo 00 flour yet? Wonderful stuff.

Anybody else tried it?
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I buy Cento Anna in 00 Flour 5 Kilo increments. :banana

Great for making Pasta, too.

Works out to roughly $2/lb when purchased in such a large amount.


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