Yes it does affect the flavour but it’s mostly to give the yeast time to convert sugar into CO² and make the dough more airy, in turn you get big air bubbles during the cooking which makes the dough lighter.
Thanks all. Lots of things to try.
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And lots of pizzas to eat 
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Dont forget the time to develop the gluten into a pliable dough.
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I dont care about the shape, it is the taste.
I invited the all the Hameau (6 people) for pizzas at 18:00 on Saturday as I was lighting the four à bois. One person said he could not attend as he is a gendarme reserviste and was on duty. At 18:00 4 gendarmes arrived.
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Right, trying again, this time with @Corona ‘s man.
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I’m still struggling with the gluten structure - getting holes in the dough - and the base just crumples up every time.
But the dough itself (cooked at ~400degC in the Ninja) was very nice indeed, the best yet.
I may not have allowed enough time to the gluten to develop its structure.
I fancy trying a sourdough recipe, à la @JaneJones , but I’m going to try the poolish recipe again, on foil.
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Sourdough’s better in many ways for most bakingy things.
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To build gluten, careful stretching without tearing is helpful. If the dough has a high water content and is very soft then use a coil fold technique, if slightly firmer then 3 or 4 rounds of stretch and fold at 15-30 min intervals before leaving the dough in the fridge for a long cold proof. If the dough is dryer and firmer then a tuck under in a ball approach works well. The stretch is what helps gluten form and gives the dough more structure and resilience.
When making the dough into separate balls, cut it, but don’t tear, as that seems to affect gluten strength. Also avoid adding fat/oil early on (may not apply here) because that can inhibit gluten forming. Finally make sure your flour has a protein content of at least 12.5 % or higher for more structure.
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Well after all AM’s advice, if you don’t get it right might be best to stick to Domino’s.
Only joking, surely great home-made pizza is the Holy Grail of bread-making.
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We have a Kiosque a pizza in the town!
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Quick example - I’m making a ciabatta style loaf to bake tomorrow morning. 350g 12.8% protein flour, 310g water, 6g yeast, 8g salt. Water, yeast and salt in a bowl first to mix, then the flour in 1 go, mix together for 5 mins into a gooey dough, cover and leave 30min. A quick series of stretch and fold and into the fridge, repeated 2 hours later, then repeated about 6 hours after that - these are pictures from the last set of stretches:
Dough from the fridge.
First stretch - the gluten is very relaxed, and the dough soft and easily elongated.
Second stretch - the dough has already tightened a lot.
Third stretch - the gluten is now tight and I can easily lift the dough clear of the bowl.
I wet my hands with water to stop the dough sticking - this is about 80% hydration and very soft. A good flour will cope with 100% hydration although you need coil fold technique for that.
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Sounds like it
And once youve got the base right, it’s time to work on refining the topping -
Good pizza don’t come easy…
When I worked in Little Italy in the Italian North End area of Boston, I commented on how good the local hole in the wall pizza was: my friend Erik explained, “When you make pizza for the Mob, you get it right.”
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So, I’ve read all the posts and what a faff to make a pizza.
My recipe.
A box of frozen margarita pizzas from Lidl.
Add more toping, tuna, smoked salmon or smoked lardons. Then thin slices goats cheese, red and yellow sliced peppers, mushrooms and olives topped of with grated parmesan.
20 minutes in the oven on pizza tray with greaseproof paper between to stop sticking.
When done slip the cooked pizza off the greaseproof paper onto pizza board.
Slice and serve.
Perfect every time.
For me I also like an egg nestling in the middle.
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Well, as long as you’re happy, we won’t be wound up by that…
Careful! You’re in danger of sliding into galette territory…
Not a wind up Mark, it just how I like um, egg and all
Also a bowl of mixed salad ro compliment the tasty meal.
Friday night has been pizza night in our household for nigh on 40 years abd now it keeps us sane just remembering what day it is.
Bon appetite!
We’ve had routines like that in the past, although not so much now.
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We used to do that as well (though with one particular pizza, from Tesco).
And it is a faff, at the start. It’s the kind of thing that becomes automatic once you get the hang of it, I think, and the flavour of the crust is quite different. And you can choose the quality of the toppings.
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