Monday Morning Open thread: 11/1/2021
Pizzember 2021 launch edition
Welcome to this’s weeks Wordloaf Monday Morning Open Thread. Today is November 1, which means that Pizzember, our 2nd annual month of pizza content, is underway. So let’s use this open thread to talk about the state of our pies.
What pizzas—doughs, recipes, topping combos, etc.—are you making regularly at home, and how are they?
What pizza recipes/styles would you like to learn to make at home?
—Andrew
All Andrew recipes, all the time!
I'm most confident with the sourdough recipe from last Pizzember, and I've modified it slightly to end up at at a flour ratio that is about 60% Caputo 00 and 40% bread flour. Sometimes, I might add a little less than 5% rye. Instead of letting it sit untouched for the suggested two hours, I add in two stretch and folds about 40 minutes apart, and then once more before putting into the fridge. I've found those extra touches help give me the added lift and structure I want.
I'm still trying to figure out best practices for pan pizza, such as Andrew's al taglio one. I don't find that my pies brown in a predictable manner, and sometimes I have to blast the heat for the last five minutes. Still playing around with on and off a baking steel.
Also trying to figure out the best time to add toppings to these pies. I parbake my crusts naked for a little less than half the cooking time. I'm not a big fan of browned cheese, so I'm still trying to find the perfect moment of when to add it so that it's perfectly gooey and not crusty.
I make pizza very often and now am using the sourdough thin pizza crust recipe that you posted here about a year ago for nearly all my pizza-making needs . I had asked a bread-friend (who is also a regular friend - clarifying in case they read this) what sourdough pizza crust they liked, and they pointed me to Wordloaf. I had tried many sourdough pizza dough recipes before, but always found the NYT version of Roberta's non-sourdough to be superior. That was not the case with yours. It's delicious, with real depth of flavor and is reliable in terms of how it behaves. I found that it doesn't even require as long of a cold ferment as you suggest (though the flavor does deepen if left for the longer rest). I've made it many times on the same day (final dough mix in the morning, shaping and baking in the evening) using the same levain build that I use for my other breads and bagels. If I'm making pizzas in my Ooni I divide the dough into four balls instead of two. This same recipe makes killer flatbreads for falafel, etc. It's been a game-changer for me. Thank you for sharing it!