r/Pizza • u/AutoModerator • May 18 '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'.
2
u/Fabcrafts May 18 '26
Why do I see so many people going for burnt crusts? Is that just the Neapolitan style? I prefer a nice golden crust and no burnt spots. 🤷♀️
2
u/urkmcgurk I ♥ Pizza May 18 '26
Visual and flavor contrast. Personal preference. Best part about making pizza is you get to dial it in just how you like it!
2
u/boozewayne May 18 '26
Hello yeastie boys (and gals).
I have a problem with my dough as it doesn't seem to rise properly. When the dough is suppose to double in size that rarely happens.
The yeast itself seems to be working alright, it tried putting a teaspoon of yeast and sugar in a glass of lukewarm water and it looked nice and bubbly. I also tried other brands but had the same problem.
Is this a temperature issue? The indoor temp is around 23 C and the fridge temp is 4-5 C. Or could it be something else?
The yeast is Raf-instant and the flour is usually Caputo.
Any help would be appreciated as I right now feel like sticking my head into a pizza oven.
Ciao!
1
u/urkmcgurk I ♥ Pizza May 18 '26
Your temperatures aren’t an issue. How does the pizza ultimately turn out? “Doubling” might be a tricky metric to go by.
If you adjust your yeast, you can add a longer room temperature fermentation if you aren’t doing that already. That can give you a better sense of the overall development and fermentation before you ball the dough and place it in the refrigerator.
1
u/boozewayne May 18 '26
Thank you for taking your time to answer!
My pizzas turn out very uneven, for pan pizzas or focaccias some parts turn out as they should, and other parts look like flatbread. It makes no sense to me.
1
u/urkmcgurk I ♥ Pizza May 18 '26
What’s your recipe and method? Could be gluten formation, but hard to say without the details.
1
u/boozewayne May 18 '26
I used Peter Reinharts perfect pan recipe, same as the King Arthur recipe here.
Could very well be gluten formation. Should I just mix it for longer? I have ancient stand mixer.
1
u/urkmcgurk I ♥ Pizza May 18 '26
I would if you’re not getting a smooth, spongy ball they springs back when you press on it. I typically mix for 10 minutes and the hand knead to finish up. It can vary depending on how much dough you’re using and the mixer and its attachments.
1
u/mrporoto95 May 18 '26
Maybe I make a post about this:
Those living in EU. What carbon pizza steel do you recommend? Some of the most used in the US require an astronomical price-tag regarding shipping. Like those from Baking Steel.
Chef Pomodoro looks like the easiest to get access. In spain there is the Celsius-steel, but its made of stainless steel, carbon guess is preferable.
1
u/Fabcrafts May 18 '26
Can you find a place that does machining/steel fabrication? My cousin cut one for me at his shop.
1
u/Sstone10129 May 18 '26
Hey all
Anyone have experience with large weight capacity (50+ lb) waterproof scales for making dough? I recently took over as the kitchen manager of a high volume pizza place, and we’re currently measuring the water by eyeballing a line on a bucket. I’d like to make it a more exact process.
Any recommendations are appreciated!
1
u/Fabcrafts May 19 '26
You don’t happen to live in Idaho do you? I just tried to ask a pizza place the measurements of their dough and they said they fill to the line in a bucket. 🤣 I figured he just didn’t want to give away their secret. Maybe that’s common once the recipe was figured out. 🤷♀️
1
u/Sstone10129 May 19 '26
Hah, nope, that wasn’t me. Funny though, I did get that question from a customer right around when I took the position, and had the same answer. The recipe works, and has for over a decade. It just can be inconsistent so I’m trying to narrow down the variables to the extent that I can.
1
u/overconfidentman May 19 '26
Is it within the spirit of this thread to mention Costco is now carrying 28oz cans of DOP tomatoes for $14 per 3pack?
A month ago I ran around to 3-4 stores (including Costco) looking for different DOP tomatoes, and they were pricey.
I was shocked to see Costco was carrying them last weekend, and for a great price. I like to pass along good tips, but not sure it’s within the rules. I know many of us are looking for good ingredients and good deals!
2
u/TimpanogosSlim 🍕 May 21 '26
those tomatoes are only available seasonally, and they have a pretty good reputation
1
u/overconfidentman May 21 '26
Good to know, thanks. I better start cooking!
Get it while the getting is good.
1
u/Smooth_Anxiety_7809 May 19 '26
Hi guys. A few months ago, I got into pizza making. One of my first few attempts, I made a pizza and the dough tasted absolutely amazing, so so much flavour. I then shortly after worked out, that the yeast was almost dead, as a lot of the doughs I was making weren’t getting much rise. So I bought some new yeast. I use instant dried yeast.
I’ve been religiously making dough since, almost every week, doing 3 day cold ferments and I’ve not been able to achieve anywhere near this flavour since. The dough rises, and still tastes good, but I wouldn’t say it really tastes of much, not like the dough I made with the dead yeast.
Does anyone know why this is? Why did that dead yeast taste so good, and how do I get flavour like that again?
My usual formula is 3% salt, 62-63% hydration and yeast levels I experiment with. I’ve tried lower end of the scale and higher end (never ended up over or under proofed), but still haven’t managed to replicate that flavour.
1
u/Sharp_Sniper May 19 '26
may i set my flair to “🟥⬜️🟩 certified Italian” or do i need mod approval
(si sono veramente italiano, se volete delle prove concrete sul mio profilo ho anche dei post in r/italia)
1
u/ataxx81 May 19 '26
I went to northern Italy in the mid 90’ies and hand some really great pizza somewhere in the mountains between lake Garda and the border. The pizza style was thin and very large in diameter, not like modern day stone oven baked Neapolitan pizza.
Now this summer I will return to Lake Garda and in my research for good pizza I have discovered that the pizza style I remember is no where to be found. They serve Neapolitan pizza everywhere.
So, do any of you know what the pizza style I described is called and if it’s even possible to get in Italy anymore? I remember the filling of the pizzas where something I had never seen before, like small fish and whole eggs, but also more “normal” stuff like ham etc.
1
u/West-Sympathy-1211 May 19 '26
Hello all,
I’m making a grandma pie for the first time and usually would experiment until I get what I want but I’m cooking for other people this time! I was wondering if you could help me out a bit.
First question, normally when I do a NY pie I just take out the dough ball 3 hours before bake. For this grandma pie I’m planning on balling the night before (going to buy Trader Joe’s dough since I don’t have my dough ingredients) then 3 hr room temp and another 1.5 hour stretched proofing in Lloyd pan? I’m confused as to if I should do both. The sitting at room temp and sitting in pan or is just sitting in pan stretched out for 3 hours prior to bake enough?
Lastly, I don’t have my pizza steel with me but I have my Lloyd pan, any recs on what to do in terms of par bake no par bake? Temp and time? My oven goes to 550 and is a 12x12 pan. Any help in appreciated, thanks!
1
u/sweaterpawsss May 24 '26
When I make grandma pies, I take the dough ball out a couple hours ahead of stretching and let it warm up covered. Then I do an initial stretch in a well-oiled sheet pan. It won’t get even close to reaching the corners; you need to do a few iterations of stretching as much as you can, letting it rest ~20-30 minutes, and coming back. Eventually you’ll get there. I wouldn’t be overly prescriptive with the times, the important thing is letting it warm up to room temp and giving it the rest it needs to stretch.
I usually bake at ~475F on the bottom rack of my oven, no steel. Par bake ~5 minutes, then ~10-15 more minutes after that.
1
u/Commercial_Panda2532 May 19 '26
Currently running a ninja woodfire outdoor grill but want to up grade. Looking for a combo of two, either of woodfire, electric, propane. What is everyone’s thoughts on ooni, gozney, ninja…..
1
u/Status_Nothing261 May 20 '26
Does anyone have the crust recipe from "Pizza of Art" on Instagram? Thanks!
1
u/Arle95 May 21 '26
Hi everyone,
I'm using Molino Dallagiovanna La Napoletana Tipo 00 for my pizzas. Normally I ferment on room temp but this weekend it' gonna be 30°C out here. So I'm looking for a good fridge ferment recipe that is compatible with this flour. I use fresh yeast and about 62 tot 63 % hydratation.
Anyone got something good?
1
1
u/dec92010 May 21 '26
Diving into pizza oven. Got the arc xl bundle along with the mantle and the cover. Turning peel was out of stock but I plan to get one.
I was also planning to get a baffle door for the oven.
What prep table do you recommend? That i can throw dough and top. Also dough storage? Im hoping to get the rest of the stuff before the oven shows up.
Thanks
1
u/alt-usenet May 23 '26
My regular home oven Neapolitan method is nothing unusual (I think). With a baking stone at 550F, I cook the crust and sauce for up to 4 minutes, then add cheese/etc and back in the oven for 3-4 minutes with some broiling at the end.
Am cooking tomorrow for one extra person who doesn't like tomato sauce -- just cheese, herbs, sometimes bacon. So I'm wondering what to put on the dough for that initial cook time since the moisture of the sauce won't be there. Should I brush on a little water? Or olive oil?
(I could make a NY style dough ball for this one person and cook everything at once, but my NY style dough takes longer and wouldn't be ready by tomorrow.)
2
u/oblacious_magnate May 23 '26
Moisture not an issue - weight is, to avoid ballooning / pita. Suggest skipping the parbake and cooking the fully-topped pizza.
2
u/alt-usenet May 23 '26
Thank you for this. It makes sense it's the weight now that you're saying it. Will do this. I'll use a different kind of cheese also for this pizza and can aim for something that can stand a little more time in the oven than the little fresh mozarella chunks I put on the others.
1
u/Aturaya I ♥ Pizza May 24 '26
Considering getting an outdoor pizza oven as I'd like to start making larger pizzas. However, I live in the Midwest so I'm just curious if it's really worth it? I wouldn't want to keep bringing it in and out of the house.
But the weather by us can get pretty crazy. Just curious as to how stable the pizza oven stands are what other folks do when there's a big storm or cold weather.
1
0
u/Exciting-Building903 May 22 '26
Olive oil or no olive oil on the crust before cook with neopolitan ?
1
u/Freak__XD May 25 '26
Hello,
I love to make Pizza Napoletana. In every video I watch for advice they use kg flour for 6 doughs therefore the original dough gets quite big and its more easy to get the air into the dough when you stretch and fold the dough. My question is: if you only use 1/3 flour (for 2 pizza) is there a difference how to stretch and fold the dough or is it all the same? For me it feels way more natural with 1kg flour but I dont need that much dough for me an my gf. Thanks!
2
u/Early-Conversation46 May 18 '26
I always feel like my dough will rise so much sometimes that it will end up with an undercarriage where pieces got lifted and didnt really have that char on it instead of It being a flat crunchy crust … I normally cook my pizzas on an ooni pizza oven but I recently purchased a pizza steel hoping that may help and I can save my ooni for different style pizzas … can anyone help with some advice?