Robert,
Thank you for the compliments but I am afraid I am going to disappoint you when I tell you that I am not a professional (and never have been), but rather only a student of pizza–albeit a serious one. It was solely for my personal amusement that I tried to reverse-engineer the Di Fara dough and pizza (you can read about my exploits, and those of others, at the Di Fara reverse engineering thread at pizzamaking.com). But I think I have learned enough about the Di Fara dough and its processing to be able to get you started. Whether a Di Fara-type dough is something that will work in the oven you plan to use is something that you will have to determine. That is outside of my area of knowledge. Evelyne may be able to counsel you there much better than I.
I will start by mentioning that my biggest surprise about the Di Fara dough was its short fermentation time. Just about everyone raves about Dom’s crust so I always assumed that the dough was made in the evening for the next day’s lunch time crowd, and possibly also early in the morning for use for the dinnertime crowd. When I asked Dom about this, he told me that the dough is made throughout the day and given only 1 to 2 hours worth of fermentation, at room temperature. To me, that is not a particularly good dough from a quality standpoint, but by using a high oven temperature and a relatively long bake time, Dom is able to achieve a decent oven spring (good but not great) and coloration in the crust, with the somewhat charred look as seen in the photos. The long bake also allows sufficient time for the toppings on most pizzas to cook up properly. Also, since Dom uses very good tomatoes, cheeses, and some of the finest and freshest toppings (freshly prepared artichokes, porcini mushrooms, thick pepperoni slices, etc.), whatever deficiencies there may be in the crust are disguised by what he puts on the pizza. What appeals most to Di Fara fans, and they are legion, is the masterful way in which Dom creates his masterpieces. He paints his pizza canvas much like Michelangelo painted the Sistene Chapel.
What follows is an explanation of the ingredients used by Dom in making his dough and pizzas, including the brands he used when I last visited the subject. The only ingredients used in the dough are flour, water, salt and yeast. No oil and no sugar are used in the dough, although oil is used on the pizzas themselves.
Flour: Dom uses a blend of imported Italian 00 flour and high-gluten flour, in a ratio of 75% 00 flour/25% high-gluten flour, by volume. Originally, he used the Delverde brand of 00 flour but later switched to the Caputo 00 Pizzeria flour. I have read that he may now be using a Colavita 00 flour. There is a stocking distributor for the Caputo 00 Pizzeria flour in the San Francisco area, so the Caputo 00 Pizzeria flour may be a good flour choice. It is a very good product. The last I knew, the high-gluten flour was the All Trumps, from General Mills. I don’t believe there is an organic version of that flour but I think an organic high-gluten flour from another source should meet your needs.
Water: Dom told me that he uses 2 1/2 parts flour to 1 part water, again by volume. His dough is often described as being on the wet side, although Dom says it is not and, when I saw it, it did not appear to be particularly wet. However, based on the absorption rates of the two flours he uses, I would say that the hydration rate is something around 60% (by weight of flour).
Yeast: Dom uses fresh yeast. It is hard to say how much since he just takes a piece off the block to use. This will be an area that will be subject to some experimentation.
Oil: The oil that Dom has used in the past on his pizzas, and may still be using, is the Felippo Berio brand of olive oil (the kind in the yellow can, not the next level up in the green can).
Salt: I assume that ordinary salt is used but it could be a sea salt or something equivalent. This is an ingredient where some experimentation may be needed as to quantity required, although I would guess about 1.5-2% (by weight of flour). In Naples, sea salt is the most common choice. Sicilian sea salt is considered by many to be the very best.
Tomatoes/Sauce: The last I knew, Dom was using the imported Vantia brand of San Marzano tomatoes. The Vantia tomatoes come in two versions, the DOP version and the non-DOP version. Dom has used the DOP version. The DOP version are grown in certain identified regions around Naples and are deemed by many to be of higher quality than those grown outside those regions. That is not always true but some users rely on the DOP certification (the cans even have labels with serial numbers, etc.) as an indication of quality. Almost always, the price of the DOP tomatoes will be greater, often much greater, than the non-DOP versions. In your case, you should be able to find a good brand of San Marzanos, either DOP or non-DOP, in your area. The Di Fara sauce, which is uncooked, is made by blending the Vantia DOP tomatoes and fresh tomatoes (quite possibly in a blender or food processor) and adding either fresh basil or oregano (dried).
Cheeses: Dom uses a combination of several cheeses, and he will switch around from time to time based on price and availability. But they usually include bufala di mozzarella cheese imported from around Naples (Caserta, which he puts on pizzas in small pieces), a “fresh” fior-di-latte (cow’s milk) cheese (“Ovoline” cheese from Grande), a whole-milk mozzarella cheese from Grande (which is sliced in strands on a box grater, rather than shreds or dice), grated imported Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and/or grana padano cheese, served either on the pizza as it bakes or on the side, or both. According to Ed Levine in the book he wrote about the best pizza establishments around the country, the ratio of buffalo mozzarella to the Grande used by Dom is about 3:1. In your case, I think you should be able to get all of the cheeses quite easily. You might also be able to substitute the Bubalus Bubalis domestic version of the buffalo mozzarella cheese. Bubalus Bubalis is one of the few domestic producers of buffalo mozzarella cheese, and also happens to be in California. I have heard on occasion that Dom uses a Romano cheese and, while that is possible, I have not been able to confirm it from anything I have heard or read.
Herbs: As best I can tell, Dom uses fresh basil and dried oregano. You should be able to use just about any locally grown basil, or you can grow your own. If you want Neapolitan authenticity in your pies, you can try the Napoletano variety, for which seeds are available from Botanical Interests, and others. I will forewarn you, however, that the Napoletano variety is much more potent than the common domestic varieties. I believe the dried oregano used by Dom is an imported variety, possibly Italian or Greek.
I think the only remaining major piece of the puzzle is the baker’s percents of a dough for you to experiment with. If you will specify a test quantity of dough, by weight, I think I should be able to come up with some numbers for you to play around with.
Peter