I never thought of hydration like that! That’s why sourdough bakers make insanely high hydration loaves that’s nearly or sometimes even higher than their starter. It’s also why using a steel (thick original baking steel, not thin pizzacraft steel), an even convection and broiler (I did the bread test), and 550°F doesn’t work for me because the bottom burns before the top even has a chance to finish, so I just use a stone at 500F with no fan.
If I use that setup, how much should I raise the hydration by? Would using all 4 fast pizza cooking methods be overkill or even overcook the pizza? Thanks!
Jax - I'm a little confused, but I would NOT adjust the hydration until you've tested all of the methods to see which ones work best for you, if at all. The hydration I've landed on is designed for a home oven already.
So far 550 gives way more color to the top than 500 so i’m keeping that! rotating is a pain so i’m gonna try convection next time to see if i get even results!
Convection works! it makes the baking even and I don’t have to turn it. Baking time has been reduced to 4-5 minutes and the underside crust has been getting small blisters that you expect from bagels! there’s no burnt taste now and this is the best one so far. next time, i’m going to test out 4 broiler methods.
Ivy - Are you 100% sure about that? Many ovens have sealed/hidden burners underneath the bottom of the oven and an exposed broiler on top. I've never used an oven that only heated from the top, and I have no idea how you'd use it for pizza. It seems like it would be difficult to cook many things evenly when all of the heat was coming only from above.
What factors do you find to be most important to produce those nice little leopard spots? I'm having pretty decent results, but want to maximize the effect. Hydration? Long fermentation? Type of flour? Other?
Gary - I don't really have a good sense of what encourages leoparding specifically, other than high temps and sugars in the dough (ie diastatic malt). Will ask around and let you know if I find anything out.
Thanks. My sense is that you need have many tiny gas pockets, very near the dough surface, however get there....... Blistering heat from sides and above,of course...
I have a Baking Steel I love, but have heard the baking stone "battery" idea before. (In Cook's Illustrated, completely unsurprisingly.) My question, though: Can you use a second Steel as a battery, too? I have a Baking Steel Griddle I got as a gift, and would love to use that if it would have the same "charging" effects as a baking stone.
Yes, you could, but I think a stone is a better heat sink than a steel, for the same reason that it is less conductive than the steel. I'm sure more steel is better than less, though!
Super interesting and insightful! The only element I'm confused about is hydration levels for high temp cooking. You seem to recommend high hydration for Napolitan type pizza. Youtube star Vital Lacopelli says the opposite and I am confused. He says regular oven need higher hydration dough as it will cook longer. Could you please clarify... The rest is god sent advice!
Jean - I'm no YouTube star, but my take and experience is the opposite. Wet doughs take so long to cook that while they might be moist on the inside, they are also fully cooked (similar to a high-hydration focaccia, which while moist on the inside is not slightly "rare" the way I think a good pizza should be). Hope that helps, and I'm glad you found the post helpful!
One doubt, do you preheat the oven with the bottom resistance, top resistance or both activated?. And about cooking the pizza, with what oven configuration do you make it? bottom, top or both resistance activated?.
Rafa - If by "resistance" you mean do you use the top or bottom elements, I don't believe it matters (most US ranges don't allow you to choose, unless you are using the top one as a broiler). As for cooking, you'll note that I recommend using the broiler (top element) judiciously, to avoid burning. So mostly the bottom element, with the top, carefully.
I never thought of hydration like that! That’s why sourdough bakers make insanely high hydration loaves that’s nearly or sometimes even higher than their starter. It’s also why using a steel (thick original baking steel, not thin pizzacraft steel), an even convection and broiler (I did the bread test), and 550°F doesn’t work for me because the bottom burns before the top even has a chance to finish, so I just use a stone at 500F with no fan.
If I use that setup, how much should I raise the hydration by? Would using all 4 fast pizza cooking methods be overkill or even overcook the pizza? Thanks!
Jax - I'm a little confused, but I would NOT adjust the hydration until you've tested all of the methods to see which ones work best for you, if at all. The hydration I've landed on is designed for a home oven already.
So far 550 gives way more color to the top than 500 so i’m keeping that! rotating is a pain so i’m gonna try convection next time to see if i get even results!
Convection works! it makes the baking even and I don’t have to turn it. Baking time has been reduced to 4-5 minutes and the underside crust has been getting small blisters that you expect from bagels! there’s no burnt taste now and this is the best one so far. next time, i’m going to test out 4 broiler methods.
Andrew my oven, which is electric, only has a heating element at the top. What’s the best way to bake the pie with my oven situation?
Ivy - Are you 100% sure about that? Many ovens have sealed/hidden burners underneath the bottom of the oven and an exposed broiler on top. I've never used an oven that only heated from the top, and I have no idea how you'd use it for pizza. It seems like it would be difficult to cook many things evenly when all of the heat was coming only from above.
Of course there’s a bottom heating element in a sealed space!
(picture me smacking my forehead). I feel a bit silly for not figuring that out on my own. Thanks Andrew!
What factors do you find to be most important to produce those nice little leopard spots? I'm having pretty decent results, but want to maximize the effect. Hydration? Long fermentation? Type of flour? Other?
Gary - I don't really have a good sense of what encourages leoparding specifically, other than high temps and sugars in the dough (ie diastatic malt). Will ask around and let you know if I find anything out.
Thanks. My sense is that you need have many tiny gas pockets, very near the dough surface, however get there....... Blistering heat from sides and above,of course...
I haven't tested it but Chefsteps suggests pretoasting your dusting flour to promote leoparding https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/tips-tricks-pre-toast-your-flour-for-pro-level-pizza-at-home
I have a Baking Steel I love, but have heard the baking stone "battery" idea before. (In Cook's Illustrated, completely unsurprisingly.) My question, though: Can you use a second Steel as a battery, too? I have a Baking Steel Griddle I got as a gift, and would love to use that if it would have the same "charging" effects as a baking stone.
Yes, you could, but I think a stone is a better heat sink than a steel, for the same reason that it is less conductive than the steel. I'm sure more steel is better than less, though!
Super interesting and insightful! The only element I'm confused about is hydration levels for high temp cooking. You seem to recommend high hydration for Napolitan type pizza. Youtube star Vital Lacopelli says the opposite and I am confused. He says regular oven need higher hydration dough as it will cook longer. Could you please clarify... The rest is god sent advice!
Jean - I'm no YouTube star, but my take and experience is the opposite. Wet doughs take so long to cook that while they might be moist on the inside, they are also fully cooked (similar to a high-hydration focaccia, which while moist on the inside is not slightly "rare" the way I think a good pizza should be). Hope that helps, and I'm glad you found the post helpful!
Excellent entry!
One doubt, do you preheat the oven with the bottom resistance, top resistance or both activated?. And about cooking the pizza, with what oven configuration do you make it? bottom, top or both resistance activated?.
Many thanks! :-)
Rafa - If by "resistance" you mean do you use the top or bottom elements, I don't believe it matters (most US ranges don't allow you to choose, unless you are using the top one as a broiler). As for cooking, you'll note that I recommend using the broiler (top element) judiciously, to avoid burning. So mostly the bottom element, with the top, carefully.
Yes, when I speak of top resistance I mean a top element and when I speak of bottom resistance I mean a bottom element :-)
Most European ovens have a function that allows you to use both elements at the same time:
https://static.eldiario.es/clip/cb24322f-865e-489c-aff3-4d906fa304c3_16-9-aspect-ratio_default_0.jpg
In this function, the top element does not work as a broiled, it does not glow and the heat it emits is less.
I want to place my steel plate on the upper rail, do you think this function would be useful? Or is it better to turn on only the lower element?:
https://static.eldiario.es/clip/a435ceef-cc72-451b-99e2-15e234cd5d91_16-9-aspect-ratio_default_0.jpg
Thanks for everything!
I think if it works the way you say it does, then it should work great! Just keep an eye out that the top doesn't cook too fast or burn.