Pizza Balls in South Africa Pizza Discuss Pizza Balls in South Africa in the Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart forums; Hi guys, What is difference between rising and proofing? If I make pizza balls ahead of time, do I proof ...

[Tony Totten]

Hi guys,

What is difference between rising and proofing?
If I make pizza balls ahead of time, do I proof for an hour then refridgerate, or can one proof after the balls come out the refrigerator.
Assuming one proofs before going in to fridge, what - if anything- must happen to balls once they come out of fridge and before they are shaped into pizzas??
Thks TT

[dmun]

What is difference between rising and proofing?

There isn't any - same thing.

If I make pizza balls ahead of time, do I proof for an hour then refridgerate, or can one proof after the balls come out the refrigerator.

There are a lot of different ways of doing this. I do a bulk rise (4 or 8 balls worth) at warm room temperature until bulk doubles, then divide into balls, into containers, and into the fridge directly for 2-4 days. That's just what I do, there are lots of different methods.

Assuming one proofs before going in to fridge, what - if anything- must happen to balls once they come out of fridge and before they are shaped into pizzas?

Just leave them out long enough to go from cold to cool, two hours in the winter, 45 minutes in the summer. I use a silicone spatula to push down any bubbles, pull it out onto a floured board, and shape it without any additional kneeding. You want to handle the dough gently at this point or it's going to become very "rubber bandy"