Tom,
Since I really think your formulation for NY Style pizza is great and people really like the taste, I would like to try your formulation using a longer fermentation time to see how that improves the taste. I now make the dough on Monday and use it on Tuesdays. I can’t get into the market over the weekend. Do you think it would be possible to make the dough on Friday and lower the yeast? I had talked to Peter about that on pizzamaking.com. I first am going to try the All Trumps this coming week and see how that performs. Then by next Friday, I will see if I can try a four day fermentation in a test batch. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Norma
I’m not TomL, but…
Four days may be stretching it a bit…
We use our dough 2-3 days after 1st made, but we use 100% walk-in cooler cold H2O and .75 oz IDY yeast for 25# of flour (All Trumps), mixed @ 8 minutes…
On day #4, the dough doesn’t perform quite a well and may or may not develop darker “spots” on the doughball, but they’re gone when forming the skin…
Norma;
Lowering the yeast is not the right way to go, instead, lower the finished dough temperature. To hold the dough up to 4-days in the cooler, I would suggest targeting a finished dough temperature of 70 to75F, which means that you will most likely be using water in the 40 to 45F range.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
Patriot’s Pizza,
Thank you for your advise. I will try a test batch next Friday and see what happens. I know this is a stretch for keeping the dough. I bought the All Trumps today. I have deli case and my pizza prep with refrigerator underneath. I don’t have the room for a walk-in. Sure wish I did. That’s fine you answered my question. I can use all advise from experienced pizza makers.
Norma
Tom,
Thank you for helping me to figure this out. I bought the All Trumps today and will try a small test batch next Friday. I will let you know how it turns out.
Norma
Norma;
If you don’t have a walk-in cooler, a good way to store your dough in a reach-in is in plastic bags placed on sheet pans. Oil the entire dough ball and drop into a plastic bag, twist the open end to form a “pony tail” and tuck it under the dough ball, then place onto a sheet pan, leaving about a 2-inch space between dough balls and store in the cooler.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
Tom,
That is a good idea. I will try some of my dough in the bags this week. How can I stack the pans? I have white containers with lids, that fit tight and can hold 6 dough balls in them. After I mix the dough I form the balls, weigh them, put them in the containers without the lid, then into the deli case or pizza prep refrigerator. Then after they cool for awhile, put the lids on, and then stack them. I tried dough boxes and they were too big to put in though the doors in my deli case. This is working okay for now, but I like to try to see if there are other ways to do things. Thanks for your advise.
Norma
Many, many years ago - I only had a reach-in 2-door cooler & no dough boxes or racks for sheet trays…
We ended up using a disposable type ZipLock round bowl…used spray release & dropped the slightly rounded ball in & put the lid on…it proofed & we then used a sheeter…kept 'em in bread/hamburger racks as used by the grocery store
Patriot’s Picza,
Thanks for the great idea. I will give that a try, also. Being a new person to the Pizza Business, I really appreciate everyone’s help! I look at all the posts and see how many people contribute to peoples questions. I am learning new information all the time. I had looked at Tom’s dessert idea and that sounds good, too. Since I sell at a point of view, I think I am going to try his dessert pizza this week and put it in the deli case and see if people buy it.
Thanks again,
Norma
Norma;
Your “white boxes” should be OK to use so long as they are approved for food contact. When you put them into the cooler, just keep track of how long they are in there uncovered. Depending upon the weight of the dough balls, the time should be 2 to 3-hours.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
i use all trump mix ball cooler 2 hrs. restack use next day.dough best , day two dough pretty good , day three dough starts to lose it texture and harder to work with day 4 bad no good.
i use all trump mix ball cooler 2 hrs. restack use next day.dough best , day two dough pretty good , day three dough starts to lose it texture and harder to work with day 4 bad no good.
BLVDPUB:
That’s about right. With good dough management, (temperature control) the dough will be in its prime on the first day after it is made, it should still be quite good to use on the following day (day 2), useable on day three, and beyond use by day 4. From your description, I’m guessing that your dough might be just a little on the warm side after mixing, or favoring the high side of the temperature range (80 to 85F). Also, keep in mind that dough pieces/balls exceeding 16-ounces in weight are best left cross stacked for an additional 30-minutes (2.5-hours), and anything at or over 24-ounces should be allowed to remain cross stacked for at least 3-hours.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
Tom,
The All Trumps really worked out well. The skins were a lot easier to open and the taste of the pizza crust were great. I am now going to try a four day fermentation with you NY Style pizza formulation to see what happens. I made a test batch and will try it Tuesday.
Thanks, Norma