Air bubbles in my pizza

[rizzo308]

So why am i not getting large air bubbles in my cooked pizza (like in the picture would be ideal) i am only getting small bubbles my crust is good crispy and have some large bubbles in the crust the bottom is the same crispy but i would like to see larger bubble scattered through out the pizza, any input is welcome.

[kmrice]

Assuming you are using a WFO, I'd suggest:
1. going with a wetter (higher hydration) dough;
2. being sure to NOT cover the dough all the way to the edge - the rim (corniche or something in Italian), which is where you want the large bubbles, won't puff up, or won't puff up as much, if it has sauce or cheese on it;
3. if you refrigerate your dough, making sure you bring it back to room temperature before using it - this takes about two hours for me; and
4. letting your dough rise longer before using it.

Hope these help. Good luck.

Karl

[dmun]

5. Never use a rolling pin.

[Tscarborough]

A couple of things. First, never touch the rim when pressing it out if you want a puffy crust. Second, you do not need to let the dough get to room temp before you press out the crust. I keep them in the fridge until use.

Here are two pies, identical in every way except one has the dough pressed out to the rim, the other I kept back 3/4 of an inch. Both are 80/20 KABF/semolina, at around 65% hydration cold fermented for a couple of days.

[texassourdough]

While I would agree with dMun that using a rolling pin is not recommended, if you have really well developed, peak dough you can roll it and still get a good, puffy cornicione. The biggest bubbles will be gone but...there is more to it than that. You show us what you want but not what you are doing. Pictures of your failures would help us recognize what is causing your failures.

[kmrice]

Rizzo308 did attach one photo, which seems to show cheese and sauce all the way to the rim, a sure oven spring killer in my experience.

Tscarborough, I was surprised to learn that you get good results without letting your dough warm up. My dough, which is all sourdough (no commercial yeast) goes into the fridge for a cold retard as soon as I make it. Unless I let it warm up for a couple of hours, it doesn't really fully proof. I guess if it gets fully proofed before going in the fridge, perhaps it would not need warming up. Any thoughts on that, Tscarborough? When do you refrigerate?

Karl

[texassourdough]

Hi Karl!

I saw the photo but I think he implies that is what he wants and not what he is getting.

WRT your SD, it pretty much has to have some time at room temp for SD is generally not as active as commercial yeast at refrigerator temps. Splatgirl seems to have a strain that lets her refrigerate fairly quickly but...mine really shuts down in the fridge. I personally prefer recovery time AFTER refrigeration than before but..there are advantages to cold doughs (particularly if wet and sticky!)

God Luck!
Jay

[Tscarborough]

My normal routine is to mix by hand for 3-4 minutes, let double for an hour, then knead for 7 folds and ball into tupperware and straight into the fridge for 24-48 hours. I use ADY which I feed and proof in warm water for 10 minutes prior to use.

[kmrice]

Jay, you're right - the picture was what he wanted, my mistake. I be disappointed if I didn't have more bubbles than that, especially at the rim. Between your comments and Tscarborough's, I think the difference is my sourdough needing time to proof out of the fridge. I may try a pinch of commercial yeast in my dough before I put it in the fridge since sometimes I want dough without a two hour wait. Normally, though, if I take it out before starting the fire. it's ready when the fire is.

Karl

[Tscarborough]

I do not normally weigh my ingredients, but I did today:

720 g KAAP
160 g semolina
7 g ADY
1 tea ea salt and sugar

Total weight of proofed dough: 1611

Total weight of balled dough: 1685

This means, if I calculated it correctly, that I am at 76 percent hydration so it is wet although not sticky.

I plan on using this dough tonight so it will rise at room temp (72) for 5-6 hours.

I took pics but am not on the computer now.