Perfect Pizza Dough by Weight

[thehoj]

Is it possible to make a dough like this entirely by hand?..

I don't have a mixer of any kind.. and I have generally been making my dough by mixing for as long as I can in a bowl.. gets pretty hard to mix after about 1 - 2 minutes .. And then I knead it for like 5 - 8 minutes..

I've been fairly happy with the results, but I've just been using standard plain old all-purpose flour and supermarket grade ingredients, so I know I can do better..
I recently ate an authentic Napoletana pizza at a restaurant in Calgary, AB (Pulcinella) which was amazingly good.. And so I'd like to try to replicate this as best I can with my BroilKing grill (will go up to 700 degrees) & pizza stone..

Once I'm able to locate the proper ingredients I'd like to attempt to make this without the aid of a mixing machine. Is it possible??

Originally Posted by james

We have been experimenting with this for some time, and I think we are ready to offer a standard "by weight" recipe for Pizza Napoletana dough. One thing that is remarkable is how simple it is -- if you start with the right ingredients and use a digital scale, it can be easy and fast. This is an olive oil-free recipe, but in order for it to work, you need to use real Italian Tipo 00 pizza flour.

I have started working in grams, as the baker's percent is easy to calculate digitally. If you don't have a digital scale, think about getting one. They aren't expensive (I bought my scale at Walmart for $25), and a scale will definitely improve you baking. If you don't want to go digital, you can find our Pizza Napoletana recipe (in cups) here:

That said, I have enjoyed moving from volume (cups) to weight (grams). It is more accurate and it's fast. It can also be consistently replicated -- which unlike most home recipes, it very important.

Here goes:

500 grams Caputo Tipo 00 pizza flour
325 grams water (65% hydration)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp active dry yeast

Using a stand mixer set a low speed (use #2 for a minute or two, go to #4, then back to #2 with a KitchenAid mixer), blend the water and flour until you have reached a dough ball. It should take a couple of minutes. Once you have incorporated all of the flour, stop, and let everything rest for 10 minutes. This period will allow the flour to fully absorb the water.

Then mix the dough for 10 mintues.

Let the dough rest at room temperature for 90 minutes. It should have doubled.

Then, cut the dough into four balls (125g each). Shape the pizza balls, and set them on a floured surface to rest for at least 30 minutes. If you start in the morning or the night before, make your dough balls in advance and put them in the refrigerator.

If you use Caputo Tipo 00 flour, the moist (65% hydrated) recipe and you handle your dough gently, you will reward you with a supple, silkly pizza base that is easy to shape, springs in the oven, and tastes great.
James

[CanuckJim]

TH,

Of course you can do it by hand. After all, it was done that way for centuries before electricity arrived. Have a look at some of the videos at pbs.org that feature Julia Child & famous chefs. In several spots, there are people making dough entirely by hand. The best way to know if you've hand kneaded enough is to learn the windowpane test discussed in the "Wood-Fired Bread Cookbook." If you can see a dark pattern of gluten threads in the stretched dough, it has been kneaded enough. This is easier to accomplish with better flours, so maybe try a 50-50 blend of AP and hard bread flour until you get your hands on some Caputo.

Jim

[james]

I've been without an stand mixer for a year, and I have enjoyed the experience of hand mixing dough. It puts you in touch (hah) with the ingredients.

Of course I miss the smell of the gears burning on my KitchenAid mixer.
James

[Ted Rosenberg]

James, what speed on the KA mixer for the last 10 minutes?

[james]

Hi Ted,

I just read through the PDF file, and I can see that it needs to be more clear. I would run the mixer on 2 for a minute or two to mix everything together into a loose ball, then let it rest for 10 minutes. Then I would mix it for 10 minutes on 3 or 4 (I don't have a mixer here to double check).

Having said this, I would defer to Jim on his thoughts.

Meanwhile, I am re-writing the PDF and will post it shortly. This will also be part of the upcoming Wood-Fired Pizza e-Book, so the timing is good.
James

[james]

Here is a new version of the Using Caputo Tipo 00 pdf. Take a look and let me know what you think. I am very open to making changes to this.
James

http://www.fornobravo.com/PDF/Using-caputo-tipo00.pdf

[Ted Rosenberg]

James, I think you meant to say "bring them back out of the refrigerator" not "oven" in the next to the last paragraph.

[james]

Thanks Ted. I've fixed that.
James

[CanuckJim]

James,

The dough pdf is looking good. Under ingredients, there is a typo: year for yeast.

As for mixing times, it really depends on the mixer. I stick to temperatures for this, normally between 77 and 81 F, no higher. Ten minutes in the mixer seems like a lot to me. I always finish my doughs on the bench by hand to make sure the consistency is where I want it. A dough can feel too tacky in the mixer, but once on the working surface with a dust of flour and a minute or two of hand kneading the consistency changes quite a bit. Better to undermix in the machine than overmix.

Jim

[james]

Very good. Thanks. I will add that commentary, and fix my millionth typo.
James