experimental 90% hydration pizza
Many stretch and folds (almost pretending I was making pan de cristal) later, this is a stupidly soft crust. Like a Neapolitan style.
I'm going to try this again soon with slightly lower hydration, more oil, more heat, and a pre-bake of the crust without toppings so it gets more of a chance to grow. Any suggestions are very welcome.
Do you have the recipe posted anywhere? I have tried doing a few homemade pizzas and would love to try this. it looks great.
I didn't actually follow a recipe as such. From memory though, it's something like
With about four strengthening folds and a lot of EVOO in the skillet. Sorry if that's too vague, this was very freeform. If you're just starting out, I'd really recommend a beginner recipe with a video. I got my start with Brian Lagerstrom's pizza recipe, and after doing it several times and getting better at breads in general I got confident enough to experiment. If you're going to get into baking though, don't make my mistake of waiting three years to get a Dutch oven. They're a game changer.
83% hydration is pretty high for pizza. Gives lovely bubbles but makes browning hard.
It was an experiment. Next test is all same but 75%.
Thank you!
Looks delicious! What did you cook it in?
A 12" cast iron skillet, preheated!
I love my Field skillet. It was a retail therapy splurge from COVID, but no regrets at all.
Sourdough or instant yeast? Did you give any time to proof after stretching out the dough disk?
I don’t use any oil in the dough, but cook on a oiled sheet pan and brush some on the outer crust.
It was instant yeast, but it did sit overnight in the fridge first because I wanted a little sourness so it wouldn't be so much like eating an entire pillow.
And no, but once I was done doing strengthening folds I proofed it in the bowl while the skillet heated up, then it was straight in with toppings.
I did break it a little with one clumsy coil fold. I want to try this again with a par bake.