Milk Kefir Focaccia Like Dough

My next attempt for this kind of pizza was made at home this evening.  This dough was also sticky, but it came around after doing more stretch and folds than my last attempt. I just dumped the dough into the deep-dish pan and then spread it around with my fingers.  I used 85% Durum flour and 15% Caputo flour for this attempt. My home oven can only go a little over 500 degrees F, so I baked this pie in the pan on the stone. This pie was also leavened with milk kefir, but it took way over 24 hrs. for it to ferment, at room temperature. I hadn’t planned on this dough taking so long to ferment.

The dressing were simple on this pizza. I used fresh rosemary, sea salt, and grape tomatoes.
This pie was also good eaten cold.

We had snow overnight late night and into the morning.  That meant I had to shovel.  Now they are calling for more snow tomorrow.  Guess I will be shoveling again..lol  At least it gives me some exercise outside.  I don't like this cold weather, but I know in my area, I will just have to put up with it, until spring.

At market today the inside temperature was only 42 degrees, when I was cleaning and making my poolish for Monday's dough  I sure moved around fast to try and keep warm.

Norma

Milk Kefir Attempt at something like pizza in teglia

This was another attempt at a pizza like pizza in teglia.  I surely don't know if I ever will get this kind 
of pizza right, but these are pictures of my attempt.  This attempt did use milk kefir as the leavening agent.  


Norma

Norma's Cavolfiore attempt at Jim Lahey’s pie on Slice, first week in 2011

Slice added one of the pies I made last week to this weeks "My Pie Monday".

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/01/my-pie-monday-20110103-slideshow.html#show-131130

This is what was said about my pie. Norma's Cavolfiore: Norma sent in her spin on Jim Lahey’s pizza cavolfiore: "This pie was dressed with garlic and herb infused olive oil, green and black Kalamata olives, fresh Feta cheese, Red Cow Parmesan cheese, rehydrated green and red peppers, Foremost part-skim full milk mozzarella, Bella Fran, part-skim whole milk mozzarella, half of a cauliflower head (grated on Mandolin), grape tomatoes, and sprinkled with seasoned panko bread crumbs. The crunchy breads crumbs did give this pie a nice crunch."

Thanks Slice for thinking my pie was worthy of including in with all the other beautiful pies!  :)

Norma

Monday, a Day Before Root’s Market-My Trip

My typical Monday is preparing dough balls for Tuesday to use at my market stand at Root’s Market, making sauce and getting other things ready at market.  Some Mondays or other days of the week I have to pick up flour at C.O. Nolt and Sons, Inc.  I could get them to deliver for me, but it would be more than the gas I use and also trying to fumble about with 50 lb. bags of flour when I am trying to wait on customers would be hard.  I picked up flour today.  There is a train track that goes behind C.O. Nolt & Sons, Inc.  In some of the pictures it can be seen what C.O. Nolt & Sons, Inc. looks like.  Also in the same area there are many Amish families.  I took some pictures of the Amish farms today along with how they hang their wash on long clotheslines.  I find it fascinating how they hang their clothes on long wash line that the women can reel the wash back into their homes. The children was just leaving school today after I picked up the flour.  The all go together in a little one room school house.

I also took a picture of the kind of Tomato Sauce I use on my pizzas at market.  I only use KASL flour for my pizzas at market, because I don’t want to use bromated flour.  Many pizzerias across the US do use bromated flour in their pizzerias.  I pay a little bit more for KASL, but I think it is worth it not to make my pizzas with bromated flours.  Bromated flours are banned in many countries.

Norma

Life in being a person that is obsessed with PIZZA!!!!!

This is post is try to explain what it is like to be obsessed with PIZZA and all what goes into making different kinds of pizzas.  My relatives have called me a pizza geek and I know I spend way too much time trying to understand how dough behaves and all what can go into many different kinds of pizzas.  I know I could make better use of my spare time, instead of going over and over what can go into making a great pizza.  I really can't explain why I am so interested in pizza.  It is something that began when I decided to open a pizza stand at market.  I always did love pizza, but now the understanding of how all doughs behave differently has intrigued me to the point of I am also studying about dough, sauces, preparation of doughs, yeasts, starters, time, temperature, flours, hydrations and how this can all fit into making the kind of pizza I desire to make at any given time.  I have learned a lot on my journey, but always I seem to want to know more.  I don't know if I could be called a pizza addict, but I am more tending to think I am, by the way I behave and always having to look at all the posts on pizzamaking.com, Slice, and other websites about pizza.  I don't know where this journey will take me in understanding more about pizza, but the journey is interesting.  Every time I think I am going to shift my focus somewhere else, I am back on the seeking trail about pizza.  I have been helped on my journey by many people, as I posted before.

This is something to show what I have accumulated in the past 1 1/2 years since I began this journey.  I do have other folders that I didn't post in these pictures.  I am always studying over different formulas and also studying what can go into making a better pizza.

I wish this hobby wouldn't take up so much of my time, but right now it does.  I know if anyone reads this post, they might think I am crazy to spend so much time trying to learn about pizza. This is my way of life right now.  Maybe things will change in the future and I might, if I am lucky, be able to get away from being so involved and obsessed with pizza.  I would like to just be on this journey part of my waking hours.  Each day I try to not wonder so much about pizza.  Hopefully in the next few months, I will be able to start paying attention to other things in my life.  Many times it is a lonely road when trying to understand pizza.  I can think of many other ways I could improve my life.  I could improve my relationship with other people that are close to me, or even develop new relationships with others.  I also have many ways I could improve where I live or at my pizza stand.  My place where I live needs my attention, too.  Some of these things would make my life more positive than studying about pizza all the time.  I will continue to help others learn about pizza, if I have enough knowledge to help them, as others have helped me.  I think in a way, my life has become too consumed with pizza.

I am always trying to find the best crust taste I can achieve. I think the crust taste of a pizza is what is most important, although the dressing for a pizza can also influence how a pizza tastes.

Norma