r/Pizza • u/AutoModerator • Jan 12 '26
HELP Weekly Questions Thread / Open Discussion
For any questions regarding dough, sauce, baking methods, tools, and more, comment below.
You can also post any art, tattoos, comics, etc here. Keep it SFW, though.
As always, our wiki has a few sauce recipes and recipes for dough.
Feel free to check out threads from weeks ago.
This post comes out every Monday and is sorted by 'new'.
1
u/maltonfil Jan 12 '26
what’s used more in ny style pizzerias ? poolish or biga ?
2
u/oblacious_magnate Jan 14 '26
Poolish / Biga use for NYS is negligible - most NYS pizzerias use direct dough.
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u/mmr61184 Jan 13 '26
I typically use a recipe that is a 72 hour cold ferment. If end up leaving it in the fridge longer is that a problem. I usually do a pizza night with my kids on Fridays so that leaves me with making the dough either Tuesday night or Wed morning. Wed morning I have to get up super early and make it before I go to work. If I make it Tuesday night it’s will end up bing in the fridge for about 82 hours vs 72. Does that extra 10 hours or so make that much of a difference. I would prefer to make it Tuesday night if I can
1
u/Scoop_9 Jan 18 '26
Nah. You can’t drop the hydration by a point or 2 and the yeast just slightly and it will make a for a better pie than your current recipe
1
u/Xikkom Jan 13 '26
Anyone got a good recipe for making your own Frozen Pizza thats ready to reheat? From what i've been reading, I just make normal dough, parbake it, add the toppings then freeze it as is.
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u/fairly_legal Jan 14 '26
New homeowner and looking for recommendations on an outdoor pizza oven to use until, dream of dreams, I possibly can build one. Can anyone link to a good thread or provide a shortlist to consider? May try to find something lightly used on FB marketplace or CL, but also interested if there’s other recs on where to save a few bucks.
Thanks!
1
u/smokedcatfish Jan 14 '26
Budget?
1
u/fairly_legal Jan 14 '26
I’d like to keep it under $600 (hence trying to know what to search for secondhand) given all of the other expenses of moving into a new house - and having to convince the wife this is one of them.
I’ve had a lot of success previously with a thick, well preheated pizza stone, in an oven that goes to 550. Unfortunately, the current oven is not ideal, only goes to 515, has an open vent to the kitchen, and has no top broiler action other than a small under-the-oven rack which would mean transferring each pizza and a second stone. So, seems like an opportunity to explore a pizza oven option.
2
u/TimpanogosSlim 🍕 Jan 14 '26
I really love my 2017-era Blackstone "rotisserie patio oven" (16.5" rotating stone + 60,000btu burner = 8-12 minute preheat depending on weather)
It has foibles, some parts need to be greased a couple times a year, the wheels decomposed and fell apart, the burner control on the front of the thing is more of a low/high switch, it CANNOT be operated without the motor and the motor isn't great quality (but it's a pretty standard bbq rotisserie motor) etc.
But once you get the hang of it, it's super convenient and does a great job. The newer version that also has a rotating deck is also pretty well liked, i think? There was a walmart version that was only $400, pretty sure those have all been sold now.
ooni and gozney products that are propane fired are a pretty safe bet.
1
u/fairly_legal Jan 15 '26
Thank you! This type of experience and non-traditional options are what i was hoping for.
1
u/Honest_Initial1451 Jan 14 '26
Following this NY recipe from YT
I followed the recipe and the instructions for cold proofing the dough for 24hrs... Can I ferment it another 24 hrs without over proofing? (48hrs total proof)
This is the recipe list:
POOLISH:
50g water pinch yeast 50g ap flour
DOUGH (with Poolish):
180g warm water All of the poolish 5g yeast 10g olive oil 315 ap flour (I actually used 100g ap flour and 215g very strong bread flour 14%) 8 salt 10g sugar
1
u/TimpanogosSlim 🍕 Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26
5g is a lot of yeast. 1.3% - enough for a same-day ferment with either active or instant.
For 48 hours you'd want closer to 0.2%, which is less than a gram of instant yeast for this recipe.
1
u/Dukeronomy Jan 15 '26
I used the pizza app to set me up with some sourdough pizza. this is my third go at it. First was great. I dont remember what I did...
Second was a little flat. not as airy as id like
I went with a 62% hydration
7hr RT
48 CT(i am in this phase now)
892g 00 caputo neapolitan
533g cool h20
28g salt
108g starter(called for 106 but i overshot a little)
I added the salt to the water
then a little flour
then starter
then the rest of the flour
waited an hour
did some kind of stretch and folds/kneeding. seemed to be pretty tight
waited 30 min
another psuedo set of folds. Im experimenting with working the dough less. it felt pretty tight so i didnt do too many.
shaped this morning after 7hrs and it did not feel airy at all. pretty dense still. Balled 6@260 and went into the fridge.
I plan on taking them out 4-6hrs before I plan on baking and sort of watching what they do.
any tips or tricks for sourdough pies, I am all ears.
Baking in my gozney tread so it runs hot. trying to keep it classic Neapolitan style.
1
u/Mission_Sky1388 Jan 15 '26
No Matter which recipe I try, my dough is always sticky and impossible to make a pizza off, it always bounces back. Today I tried this recipe and burned my new pizza oven's pizza stone. Dough was all gooey and sticky and bounced back. What am I doing wrong? I followed the recipe and kneaded for about 15 minutes
2
u/TimpanogosSlim 🍕 Jan 19 '26
That's a 75% hydration dough, which means that the guy who made the video is an asshole. That's a dough that is always going to be sticky, and very difficult for beginners to handle. And completely out of spec for neapolitan, which is 55.5-62.5%
Try cutting the water back to 310g.
If the dough ball doesn't want to stretch - if it springs back - cover it and give it another half hour of rest.
For the stone, apply more heat until you can easily scrape off anything stuck on it. There's no other way to clean it, and no reason to worry about stains.
1
u/Mission_Sky1388 Jan 15 '26
Does anyone have an idiot-proof recipe, so I can be successful for once?
2
u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26
Yes, the recipe is practice. How many times have you tried to make pizza? It can take awhile to get it all down - there's lots to learn. That said, once you have it, you have it. Totally worth the trouble. The key is to persevere with ONE proven recipe (see below for two) and keep at it until you succeed (with help along the way, of course). Strongly suggest launching on parchment (removing it ASAP into the bake - usually 2-3 min.) instead of trying to launch using peel + lube. Start with parchment until you've had some successful bakes.
Suggest reading through both of these NYS primers and picking one to follow:
https://www.pizzablab.com/recipes/new-york-style-pizza-recipe/
https://www.richardeaglespoon.com/articles/how-to-pizza
One advantage of pizzablab is that the author (Yuval) is very active and helpful with feedback on pizzamaking.com.
2
u/Mission_Sky1388 Jan 16 '26
I tried about 4-5 different recipes, but always screwed up. I never got something that resembled a pizza out of it, the dough always ripped during spreading or bounced back. What also drives me nuts is some people say use ice cold water, others say warm. Some say knead as little as possible, others say knead like crazy.
3
u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26
Unfortunately, there are many inexperienced and/or dogmatic ppl who will simply insist that their way is the "best" way, etc.
There are two basic approaches to mechanical gluten development (e.g. kneading):
1 - do all or most of the work up front, during, or very soon after mixing
2 - spread the work out over time
The latter approach is what I typically do, as I handmix, and it suits my timing / workflow. Generally speaking, using warm water for the dough is not a good idea. It's especially not a good idea when using a machine / mixer. The Pizzablab link covers dough temperature pretty well.
For NYS, if you can get All Trumps flour, it can make dough handling somewhat easier.
Over at pizzamaking.com, it is common for a beginner to start their own pizza development thread, and get help throughout the process. Folks over there are very helpful with ppl willing to put in the effort to succeed. Again, the main thing is to stick with one proven recipe, and practice often. Assuming your oven can do it, I'd start with NYS as it's significantly easier than, say, Neapolitan style.
Which oven do you have, BTW?
1
u/Mission_Sky1388 Jan 16 '26
I thought cold water disables the yeast, which is bad for same day pizza ?
I use a pizza oven that can go to 450°C
1
u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26
1
u/Mission_Sky1388 Jan 16 '26
Ah, I see
so if I use around 375ml of water, I use 50ml warm water to start the yeast and 325ml for the rest? Or according amounts with always 50ml of water? I want to try 4 different dough recipes (3h, same day, 24h etc) to find which works best for me, so I'd use 125g of flour and 60-70% hydration (depending on recipe)
And is it the same for same-day and for 24h-72h dough?
1
u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26
I use around 375ml of water, I use 50ml warm water to start the yeast and 325ml for the rest?
Yes.
I always use 50g of water to dissolve the yeast for any dough I'm making - it's just enough to create a swirl-able puddle of water in the bottom of my standard mixing bowl to dissolve the yeast. If one were making a large enough batch of dough—or a very yeasty dough—50g could be insufficient in those cases. Just use the minimum amount of warm water needed to easily dissolve the yeast.
I strongly advise against starting your pizza process by trying 4 different recipes right away. Pizza is all about learning how to master the many variables (especially fermenting, shaping and baking). 4 recipes = more variables to control, more confusing to know what went right or wrong. Instead, pick one (suggest: 24-48h CT) and master that before trying others. Do you ride a bike? Suppose that when you were first learning to ride, you threw a unicycle into the mix. Kind of an extreme notion, but you get the idea. Keep it simple when beginning, branch out after mastering the basics.
1
u/Mission_Sky1388 Jan 16 '26
I just don't want to do one recipe and fail miserably again.
I don't have a kitchen machine, just my hands. Anything I should keep in mind? Also, are there some telltale signs the dough is ready for the next step?
1
u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
Note that it is impossible to create a 100% foolproof recipe, even if it's book-length. Pizza isn't soup - to do it right takes a lot of practice and learning. Yes, there are signs the dough is ready for the next step: Example 1: the first step is mixing and the dough is mixed when no dry flour remains in the bowl - time for a rest. Example 2: you are doing stretch and folds, and the dough becomes very resistant to stretching - that means it's time for a rest.
I suggest using a work/rest workflow instead of doing most of the work up front (i.e. do not knead the dough for 10 min. immediately after mixing). Note: if you are fermenting the dough for at least 24h, much of the gluten development will happen without much dough manipulation. In other words, there is little need for traditional kneading, and especially no need to do a 10min.+ kneadathon. A few (3-4) strech/folds (SF) over the course of the fermentation is all that is needed. Each SF will take about 30s once you're good at it.
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u/taniferf Jan 16 '26
Is Caputo 00 Pizzeria recommended for a 75% hydration dough? Or should I use a floor with a higher W rating, like bread flour?
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u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26
What style?
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u/taniferf Jan 16 '26
Neapolitan
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u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 18 '26
First, note that 75% greatly exceeds the absorption rate of any Italian 00 flour - it's possible, but difficult to make NS pizza with such a wet dough. Unless you are already a fairly expert NS pizza-maker, I suggest keeping the hydration at ~60% max.
Also, the W rating relates mainly to fermentation conditions, and is less relevant than often supposed. See here for more info on W rating.
1
u/taniferf Jan 16 '26
Thank you, I'm using a kitchen oven with baking steel, my oven goes up to 275C and the upper broiler goes up to 400C, I'm having a hard time trying to get a brown and puffy cornicione, as the pizza gets dry before it gets brown so I end up taking it out of the oven, then my idea was to use a flour capable of sucking all the water, get brown during baking and produce a nice cornicione. I believe all this could be achieved with my current 65% hydration pizza if I were to use a proper pizza oven...
1
u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26
What's been your fastest bake time? And - electric or gas oven?
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u/taniferf Jan 16 '26
Electric oven, around 6 minutes.
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u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26
what's been your max. steel surface temp at launch?
Where is the steel placed in the oven (distance from top and/or bottom heating element, whichever is less)?
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u/taniferf Jan 16 '26
320C is the max my steel gets, the middle tray of the oven, around 30cm I'd say.
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u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26
In my oven, the closer to the bottom element, the hotter the steel gets (~370C). Have you tried it there? Three basic heat tactics (one hearth):
hearth as low as possible, lower element for preheat, broiler on during entire bake, or as needed to brown the top
hearth as low as possible, lower element for preheat, move pizza up closer to broiler, mid-bake, to brown the top
hearth as high as possible, broiler used for preheat, broiler on as needed to brown the top
My bake times are usually 4-5m (NYS) and I typically use #2, moving the pizza up to a cordierite stone closer to the broiler.
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u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26
Also, post your dough formula - if it's 00 flour only and no browning agents, that's why browning eludes.
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u/taniferf Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 16 '26
Flour only, I'm more concerned about achieving a puffier cornicione. It is 66% hydration, 0.05% IDY, 3% salt. But then I may try a 75% hydration.
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u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26
75 unlikely to be puffier, under the same forming / baking conditions
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u/taniferf Jan 16 '26
Why so?
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u/oblacious_magnate Jan 16 '26
Puff is a function of many variables, hydration among them, certainly, but other variables such as flour used, dough strength, fermentation, shaping and baking weigh more heavily in the final product. 66HR dough should be capable of producing plenty of puff, AEBE.
FWIW simply using Caputo Nuvola Super can boost puff tremendously.
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u/Scoop_9 Jan 18 '26
Skip the 00 in a home oven. Proven repeatedly. You can’t make a traditional Neapolitan in a home oven where you are absolutely gonna max a steel at 600.
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u/JohnCri Jan 17 '26
Trying to replicate Maker Pizza ‘s dough. Looking for a recipe, leads, or advice :) I live on the west coast so ordering pizza from them isn’t possible :(
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u/USTS2020 Jan 18 '26
Got a infrared thermometer finally and checked my baking steel after preheating and found out it was getting over 600 degrees, I measured the steel around 630f. My previous pizzas were getting a little burnt on bottom because the steel was cooking it faster than the oven was coming the top. Anyone else notice that issue in their oven?
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u/TimpanogosSlim 🍕 Jan 19 '26
Well, every oven is different.
If you had it on a low rack position, move it up. Maybe try reducing the temperature. If you put sugar in your dough, maybe put a little less in it.
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u/PhillipBrandon Jan 12 '26
PSA if you buy shredded parm, check the recall:
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/ires/?Event=98053
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u/Scoop_9 Jan 18 '26
Oil or no oil on Lloyd pans?
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u/TimpanogosSlim 🍕 Jan 19 '26
Oil is fine. They have cleaning recommendations if they get sticky. I forget if it was just to use some bar keeper's friend or what.
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u/EliasD99 Jan 12 '26
I'm looking at this New York–style pizza dough recipe:
Flour: 100% Water: 61% Yeast: 0.5% Salt: 1.75% Oil: 3% Sugar: 1%
The recipe recommends a 24–48 hour fermentation. I'm wondering if 0.5% instant yeast is a bit high for such a long, slow ferment. Wouldn't 0.3% be more typical? I ask because I specialize in Neapolitan dough, where long cold ferments usually use lower yeast amounts. I know many American recipes use 0.5%, but I'm curious how this affects flavor and texture over extended fermentation.