no knead dough Pizza Discuss no knead dough in the Brick Oven Cooking forums; Howdy guys, someone has probably already posted about this, but I couldn't find anything with a quick search. I don't ...

[Mitchamus]

Howdy guys,

someone has probably already posted about this, but I couldn't find anything with a quick search.

I don't (as yet) have a stand mixer so I decided I would try some no-knead Vera Pizza Napoletana Dough.

I added all the ingredients into a large bowl, gave it a quick mix by hand until it formed a ball, covered it with cling film and left it on the bench overnight.

the next morning, I turned the dough out of the bowl gave it a couple of needs, then formed my dough balls and then left them in the fridge till that evening.

They were the best tasting and performing dough balls I have ever made.
Absolutely fantastic, and with little or no effort!

I think I'll be making all my dough like this from now on.

cheers,
Mitch.

[mgraban]

So what was the recipe you used??

[Mitchamus]

Just the standard Vera Pizza Napoletana recipe
found here:

Pizza Dough | Italian Pizza Dough | Authentic Pizza Dough

just mix it... and leave it to do it's thing overnight...

cheers,
Mitch.

[dmun]

I never much kneed my dough. Long cold fermentation means you can cut down on yeast, as well. I bulk rise for 4 hours in a warm place, or overnight in a cool one (like the kitchen in winter), then divide into individual plastic bowls and into the fridge for 2 - 4 days. You can freeze unused balls after that, but they do tend to freezer burn after a couple of weeks.

[Mitchamus]

Hmmm. do you find that the flavor improves more over a longer time? (2-4 days)

Thanks for the info, next time I might make my dough batch a few days out.
(for a big party)
This will leave me more time to do more important things.

[texassourdough]

12 hours at room temp is about as long as you want to go. Forty-eight hours or so in the fridge unless you want to do a second expansion of the dough to replenish the flour. The enzymes and baceria will be breaking down the flour and it will get increasingly soupy over time. Yes, the flavor may (or may not) improve to some extent as the degradation products accumulate but it will get harder to handle. Not a big deal in the fridge but will be pretty obvious on the counter. (You can help to some extent by reducing the amount of yeast but...the enzymes are already in the flour.)

A good experiment is to leave a dough ball out for a while and see what happens - or leave one in the fridge and check it every day. It will lose strength.

That said it will still make a crisp crust in my experience so not a disaster as long as you can deal with the dough.

[Richie]

When you say the dough breaks down, what does that look like? Is that when it collapses?

[dmun]

dough breaks down, what does that look like?

The dough ball in the plastic container gets wet. It's hard to handle, and prone to tearing as you stretch it out. You can still use it as long as you're careful, and don't try to re-kneed it.

[Richie]

Am I better off using a big proofing tray and covering it with wet towells vs a tight seal with plastic wrap in a plastic bowl?

thanks

[Mitchamus]

Depending on the temp/humidity, the towel might dry out over a 12hr period.

I use a stainless bowl and plastic wrap.

The wrap will give you protection against insects as well..