On 2018-10-25 10:52 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On Thursday, October 25, 2018 at 12:37:03 PM UTC-4, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> On Wed 24 Oct 2018 09:19:38p, U.S. Janet B. told us...
>>
>>> On Wed, 24 Oct 2018 15:03:10 -0700 (PDT), Silvar Beitel
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> The "Pizza with everything" thread ("RFC: Every topic a rathole!")
>>>> got me thinking about crusts. I've decided the pizza I like
>>>> best[1] has a blistered crust, i.e. crisp on the bottom, chewy
>>>> above that, but with large(ish) air pockets. The Goog is full of
>>>> "guidance" on how to get that at home. What's *your* advice?
>>>
>>> overnight the dough in the fridge will get you blistery crust
>>>
>>
>> How does that work exactly? I've made a lot of home pizza dough with
>> generally very good results, but never blistered. Nor have I thought
>> to put it in the refrigerator. Obviously that must make the
>> difference, and I will definitely try that, but I'm curious as to
>> what makes it work. TIA
>
> I suspect that blistery pizza crust is produced by the same things
> that produce bread with an open crumb:
>
> Bread or high gluten flour, good yeast, high hydration, good gluten development (try folding every 30 minutes during bulk fermentation), adequate proofing (but not too much - if you press the bread with a finger or two, it should come back slowly, and not all the way), and hot and hot baking temp.
>
> <http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/11527/secret-open-crumb>
>
> When I make pizza, we split the dough in half and my husband takes
> his half and puts it on the pizza stone without toppings for a few
> minutes. His get much better bubbles than mine. I suspect that's
> the "hot and hot" baking temp.
>
> I do about a 66% hydration for pizza crust and use King Arthur bread
> flour. I would experiment with higher hydration, but neither of us
> is very good at manipulating soft, wet pizza dough.
>
> Cindy Hamilton
>
My best pizza bases have been made with low gluten, Italian "00" flour.