What's in your (PIZZA) oven?

Evan B said:
I've seen opinions on both. The book I have and use a lot says to do it after the cold ferment. I did goof a bit though, which is probably why mine is a bit over-proofed. When I took all the dough balls out of the fridge on Friday, I should have immediately put the two for later in the freezer. I totally spaced it just being on autopilot, and let them sit on the counter coming to room temp for probably 1.5hrs before I realized I screwed up.
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Good tip. In retrospect I did get my batch of dough out and rising to room temp for probably 3-4 hours before determining I had enough extra to make a dough ball to freeze. If I can determine a way to get consistent results with frozen dough for neapolitans I'll make a big batch and and wrap and vacuum seal enough dough balls for 10 or a dozen pizzas. Most of what I have read says they have a freezer life of about 3-4 months. I can see this experimentation is going to take some time. When I first read mcswny in an earlier post divulge that it took him some 5 years to achieve a result that he was really happy with I did not give that statement the value it deserved. Once again kinda like tying fully dressed salmon flies. In better than 20 years of trying I can think of only a couple that I wouldn't want to modify in some small way. But I remember them well.
 
Evan B said:
I've seen opinions on both. The book I have and use a lot says to do it after the cold ferment. I did goof a bit though, which is probably why mine is a bit over-proofed. When I took all the dough balls out of the fridge on Friday, I should have immediately put the two for later in the freezer. I totally spaced it just being on autopilot, and let them sit on the counter coming to room temp for probably 1.5hrs before I realized I screwed up.
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When I freeze sourdough, I knead it followed by a couple of stretch and folds, then it goes right into the freezer. I don't let it proof other than the time between the stretching and folding.
When I thaw it, I do it gradually in the fridge. Once completely thawed, I proceed with the proofing keeping a close eye on the bulk of the dough.
Once the bulk proofing is complete, I will go ahead with the pre and final shaping. When preshaping previously frozen dough I've found I need a bit extra flour to keep the hydration in check.
The other option is to do the bulk proof and pre and final shaping and then immediately into the freezer. I thaw it gradually, again in the fridge, and then the final proofing being mindful of over proofing.
Most difficulties I've found with with bread making comes with over proofing. If long storage or longer fermentation times are desired, you are going to need to reduce the amount of yeast, poolish, or starter. The yeast eventually eats all the gluten. The more yeast, the quicker that happens.
 
Evan B said:
So I made two extra dough balls last week for a freezing experiment. Been wanting to try freezing dough balls and making later. Have a friend gathering tonight so am thawing them now.

I'll report my findings and process once I finish my parbake here in a few hours.
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I've had mixed results when freezing dough, mostly on the bad side. I gave up on it since my results with my dough didn't seem worth the effort. I think I'll next try freezing leftover pizza (does that ever happen?) to see if I can make my own "frozen pizzas" for quick weeknight meals.
 
Evan B said:
OK parbaking complete. Texture is a bit different but it will be a good pizza. Underside didn't cook as much as usual and stuck to the well-oiled pan pretty bad.

More to come
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I'm looking forward to your assessment of the finished products crunchiness and chew. I have a couple dough balls for Detroits in the fridge now to be used tomorrow. I am wondering about panning one up to use immediately and the other stretched in the pan and then snap on the lid and freeze that way. Any thoughts?
 
I don't have any more thoughts than you do I'm afraid. I feel like I have more questions than answers at this point
 
et64 said:
I've had mixed results when freezing dough, mostly on the bad side. I gave up on it since my results with my dough didn't seem worth the effort. I think I'll next try freezing leftover pizza (does that ever happen?) to see if I can make my own "frozen pizzas" for quick weeknight meals.
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I have frozen whole baked pizzas. We make a GF dough for my daughter that makes two pies. I didn't have confidence the softer dough would hold up to freezing. She eats one and we bake the second also. The 12" pie fits in chamber vac which I lightly vac to not squish toppings.

Another time we were too full before we cut into the last calzone. Vac and froze it. Both were delicious upon rebake.
 
So final verdict is that it was not awesome. All my extra attempts to crisp up the bottom didn't work at all, and the overall texture of the dough was dense and kinda chewy. Not sure if this is what happened, but what it overall seemed like was the case is that the dough almost seemed steamed. I think @mcswny may be onto something with mentioning over-proofing. I just don't think the dough itself had enough structure to make a nice, light and airy crust when baking.

I still want to figure out frozen dough, but need to try something different.
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Evan B said:
So final verdict is that it was not awesome. All my extra attempts to crisp up the bottom didn't work at all, and the overall texture of the dough was dense and kinda chewy. Not sure if this is what happened, but what it overall seemed like was the case is that the dough almost seemed steamed. I think @mcswny may be onto something with mentioning over-proofing. I just don't think the dough itself had enough structure to make a nice, light and airy crust when baking.

I still want to figure out frozen dough, but need to try something different.
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I imagine the idea is to freeze it right when you start the bulk proof. But then still having to bulk it once it defrosts kinda defeats the purpose of saving time.
 
So I made my pizza Saturday night... turned out great, even with some issues with the crust, being crusty mostly.. It had fermented in the fridge for 5 or 6 days.. not intentionally as mom and I didn't want pizza till Sunday.. or she didn't I guess.

Made quick sauce, good tomatoes, might have been the ones suggested, but good none the less.. started with chopped garlic, sautéed in Olive Oil, add the tomatoes.. fresh parley, dried basil and oregano. salt and pepper to taste.. turned out fantastic.. no measuring.. just winged it as usual!20250301_172729.jpg
 
Evan B said:
So final verdict is that it was not awesome. All my extra attempts to crisp up the bottom didn't work at all, and the overall texture of the dough was dense and kinda chewy. Not sure if this is what happened, but what it overall seemed like was the case is that the dough almost seemed steamed. I think @mcswny may be onto something with mentioning over-proofing. I just don't think the dough itself had enough structure to make a nice, light and airy crust when baking.

I still want to figure out frozen dough, but need to try something different.
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So a bit of good news: Reheated on the cast iron, it's 1000x better. Still not as good as my regular crust, but definitely fixed it in to something I'm happy to eat.

Edit: Also, total shocker... but I'm loving this Colatura. Been having my reheated leftovers with it.
 
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My first attempt at a Grandma Pizza. I think I will let the dough proof in the fridge overnight rather than a few hours next time. (I wanted pizza last night.) I used a large square cornered pan we had in the cupboard ... neither my wife nor myself know where it came from, but we've had it for a while. Fate?

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Evan B said:
So final verdict is that it was not awesome. All my extra attempts to crisp up the bottom didn't work at all, and the overall texture of the dough was dense and kinda chewy. Not sure if this is what happened, but what it overall seemed like was the case is that the dough almost seemed steamed. I think @mcswny may be onto something with mentioning over-proofing. I just don't think the dough itself had enough structure to make a nice, light and airy crust when baking.

I still want to figure out frozen dough, but need to try something different.
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Was speaking with my son who also bakes bread and has a pizza oven. He is a warehouse manager for Costco and is very familiar with their bakery operations. When they freeze any dough that is to be used later they par bake it first before sealing it to freeze. Then thaw and bring to room temps before proceeding to make use of it. Perhaps that is something that might be worth a try. Thoughts?
 
albula said:
Was speaking with my son who also bakes bread and has a pizza oven. He is a warehouse manager for Costco and is very familiar with their bakery operations. When they freeze any dough that is to be used later they par bake it first before sealing it to freeze. Then thaw and bring to room temps before proceeding to make use of it. Perhaps that is something that might be worth a try.
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I do like that idea
 
Evan B said:
I do like that idea
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Have a batch of dough that will make 2 Detroits ready for tonight. Since 1 is plenty for just me I will par bake the other and give it a try. Maybe get it out of the freezer this weekend and see what kind of result is produced. May be a disaster but who knows. If it works a sorta last minute decision to be able to make a pie would be welcomed.
 
Weight loss/gain is calories in vs. calories out...

That one weird trick to losing weight fast (number 5 will shock you !!!) doesn't exist.
 
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