Dough

[texassourdough]

Something sounds a bit strange if you are finding you must go to 57 % hydration to get dough you can handle. What kind of flour are you using and what recipe - there are several on FB? And how are you mixing? I don't know of any AP flours that can't be manageable at 60%.

[bigred]

OO flour...500 gram 325 gram 7 g salt 3 gram yeast
i just want to see what happens if i lower moisterue so i can lower oven temp to see what happens

mix till wet....wait 30 minutes....kneed with mixer for 8 minutes...cold ferment.....ball before use and rise at room temp for 90 minutes

[azpizzanut]

Hi All,

Non-expert baker here, but I want to share some information I read in an artisan bread book about no-knead bread dough. Dough will form gluten if it is "wet" and allowed to ferment for several hours or overnight, no kneading at all. The method works well if you make up the dough in the morning and either cook with it that evening or put it in the 'fridge and bake the next day. I've tried other methods and they all seem to work but this no-knead method produces the best results for me. Some folks either don't like the method or haven't had good results, but my breads and pizza doughs are a vast improvement over previous methods that I've tried.

To give you some idea of the method view this YouTube video: YouTube - Making No-Knead Bread

and a recipe here: No-Knead Pizza Dough Recipe by Jim Lahey from Co. Pizzeria in Chelsea, New York City | New York City - TastingTable

Try it. It takes the issue of too little or too much kneading out of the equation. A caveat though, don't be tempted to over mix or knead this dough, it just isn't necessary.

Cheers,

[texassourdough]

Hi Bigred!

As you go to lower hydrations you will tend to get smaller bubbles and less spring in your cornicione. It can be beneficial if you want to make thick pies with lots of toppings but it tends to run counter to what WFOs do best and most uniquely. If you use lower hydration and lower temp you will tend to get pies that are more like what you can make in your indoor oven at 500 F. With thin pies you will tend to overcook the dough and get tougher, chewier crumb and have a less charred and potentially less golden (if you cool too much) crust and less caramelization of the toppings. If you want to go that route you also lose a lot of the benefit of 00 flour IMO. To me it is at its best at higher hydrations and at lower ones you might as well use cheaper flour.

Good luck!
Jay

[bigred]

i am looking to try 700 degrees and 57% with some extra sugar to get some additional quick browning. Looking for a little more forgiving temperature in the oven

[heliman]

The standard FB recipe, tweaked for hydration level (try going higher) and kneaded for about 5 minutes (don't go more than about 6 mins), will produce a good textured dough. I don't believe in adding anything like olive oil or sugar but prepare my dough in accordance with the Neapolitan method and has produced consistently good results.