Pizza Balls collapsing in container after 24 hour rise.

[Pizza Man]

I use the cold method of letting the dough rise in the frig. for 24 hours. Sometimes the balls collapse in the container making a big sloppy mess. They all stick together. The balls do not keep their shape. I usually make a fairly wet dough. After I re-knead the dough, the pizza comes out fine. Why is my dough collapsing? Thanks in advance for any help.

[heliman]

How much yeast are you using?

[texassourdough]

You need to give us more information. What flour, what % hydration, what else do you put in your flour, how is it developed, what is the temp of your refrigerator, and as Rossco asks, "How much yeast is in it? And a photo of what you mean by "collapse" would help.

Without more info it is probably too wet and underdeveloped. But wet doughs will tend to lose shape and run together. Comes with the territory. To do anything other than guess I need more info.

[Pizza Man]

I thought it might be the yeast. I only use flour, water, salt and yeast. I use approx. 8 cups flours and the last batch I cut back to 1 1/2 teaspoons of yeast and it was better...still a little spongy and flat.

[texassourdough]

If you don't weigh things you will be hard pressed to be repeatable. You can get away with it on pizza (to some extent) but not with bread. And if you aren't weighing you are hard pressed to know the hydration and that is important to your problem. Even if you were using too much yeast and your dough balls are tripling in size, if they were well developed and moderate hydration they would tend to hold their form and not collapse. There is more than yeast that is driving your problem.

You haven't told me anything that suggests you problem isn't too wet and/or underdeveloped or that you are simply trying to get a wet dough to do something it can't do - and that is defy gravity.

[lwood]

Hydration %? Sounds like high hydration and too much yeast.

[Tscarborough]

If you use a wet dough, your best bet is individual containers for each ball. That solved my problems completely.

[Pizza Man]

O.K., let me be more precise. I start with 6 cups 00 caputo flour in the kitchen aid mixer. I add 3 cups cold water with 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast and 1 teaspoon salt. I mix with paddle and change to dough hook. I add between 1 cup and 2 cups additional flour, just enough to have dough form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl. I mix for 10 minutes, divide into 8oz. balls and place in frig. for approx. 24 hours.

[dmun]

I think you're using too much yeast. Here's FB's volumetric recipe:

4 cups Molino Caputo Tipo 00 flour
1 ½ cups, plus 2 TBL water
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry active yeast

I also vote for round plastic containers for cold retardation. The pizza shops that are using dough balls in trays are usually using much lower hydration than we do. And you certainly don't want to be re-kneeding dough before stretching it out.

I don't use a mixer, but I'm thinking 10 minutes of mixing is excessive if you're refrigerating overnight.

Just a few thoughts.

[Pizza Man]

Thanks everyone... I appreciate your help. I will cut back to 1 teaspoon and see what that does.