I feel that the basic pizza recipe of 65% water, 5% oil, pinch of salt sugar and yeast is quite adequate for both thin wood fired style pizza as well as fat pan pizza. The secret to both of these pizza types is getting the fermentation time right. Most recipes request you to ferment the pizza until the dough doubles or triples in volume or leave it on the counter for x number of hours. You might (if you are very lucky, with the weather and temperature being just right, and if you don't forget) be able to make a well fermented dough this way but chances are it will be over or under fermented.
Over fermented dough will have an overly beery smell and will look flat at the end of fermentation. After rolling it out, it won't rise up in the pan nor will it rise in the oven. The result will be an eatable but rather flat and hard pizza, far from pizza perfection!
Under fermented dough is hard to judge because it will be well risen, smell nice and will also rise in the pan and the oven. The result however will be (depending on how under fermented it is) ranging from a hard biscuity cracker like pizza (severely under fermented) to more commonly a slightly tough unappealing texture. It will seem to be crunchy, but when you bite into it, it has a strange toughness about it.
Perfectly fermented dough will be well risen, smell nice and rise in the pan and oven. Depending on how it is cooked it will be either soft, tender and slightly chewy (cooked in ultra high temp for a short time on a stone) or crispy on the bottom and tender, soft and delicious in the middle (cooked for a longer time in a pan).
The secret to getting a perfect fermentation each time is a long slow rise. It is very simple, after kneading and preparing your dough seal it in some kind of container, Tupperware or anything seal able is fine. Leave it on the counter for about 10-15 minutes, this allows the yeast to come alive and start their work, then throw it in the top section of the fridge. Leave it in the fridge for 24 hours, after 24 hours it should have risen quite a bit, punch it down once, this allows the yeast to unlock and eat more sugars. After 48 hours it is ready to use and will be perfectly fermented. The best thing is you can keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days and still have excellent results. I normally leave it in the fridge for 72 hours to guarantee it is well fermented. The other benefit of a long slow fermentation is, it allows the flavours to develop, giving the base a richer flavour profile.
So now you have it, the secret to perfect fermentation every time. This approach takes a bit of effort but is well worth it!
Over fermented dough will have an overly beery smell and will look flat at the end of fermentation. After rolling it out, it won't rise up in the pan nor will it rise in the oven. The result will be an eatable but rather flat and hard pizza, far from pizza perfection!
Under fermented dough is hard to judge because it will be well risen, smell nice and will also rise in the pan and the oven. The result however will be (depending on how under fermented it is) ranging from a hard biscuity cracker like pizza (severely under fermented) to more commonly a slightly tough unappealing texture. It will seem to be crunchy, but when you bite into it, it has a strange toughness about it.
Perfectly fermented dough will be well risen, smell nice and rise in the pan and oven. Depending on how it is cooked it will be either soft, tender and slightly chewy (cooked in ultra high temp for a short time on a stone) or crispy on the bottom and tender, soft and delicious in the middle (cooked for a longer time in a pan).
The secret to getting a perfect fermentation each time is a long slow rise. It is very simple, after kneading and preparing your dough seal it in some kind of container, Tupperware or anything seal able is fine. Leave it on the counter for about 10-15 minutes, this allows the yeast to come alive and start their work, then throw it in the top section of the fridge. Leave it in the fridge for 24 hours, after 24 hours it should have risen quite a bit, punch it down once, this allows the yeast to unlock and eat more sugars. After 48 hours it is ready to use and will be perfectly fermented. The best thing is you can keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days and still have excellent results. I normally leave it in the fridge for 72 hours to guarantee it is well fermented. The other benefit of a long slow fermentation is, it allows the flavours to develop, giving the base a richer flavour profile.
So now you have it, the secret to perfect fermentation every time. This approach takes a bit of effort but is well worth it!
