Steve’s Experiment with using Peter Reinhart’s Neo-Neapolitan Dough Baked in a Pan (Great Results)

Steve, my friend, did an experiment at market Tuesday using a 67% Reinhart Neo-Neapolitan dough ball and baking it in a pan.  He greased the pan with corn oil.  The dough was left at room temperature and proofed in a pan for 4 hrs. total time.  Steve’s dough ball for cold fermented for 4 days.

The ending pizza turned out very light and airy in the crust.  I thought Steve’s experiment worked out great.

I also am going to try an experiment with the same dough this week, and since I didn’t know what amounts of honey, oil, or salt Steve used in his dough, I am just going to guess what to use.  I also added more water in the formula.

Video of the slice reheated the next day.  The slice was still moist and light. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNPrdyu0Bzk

Norma

Another Attempt at a Mellow Mushroom Pizza (with molasses and honey) 11/15/2011

The experiment using Peter’s MM#5 formulation with the Brer Rabbit Mild Flavored Molasses and Wildflower Honey went well.  The dough ball sat out for 4 ½ hrs to warm-up.  The dough ball looked about the same color as MM dough balls, and opened well.  The dough could be tossed and twirled.  The pie baked well, and did have good oven spring and also a moist crumb rim.  The color of the crumb also looked good to me.

Steve, my taste testers, and I thought this attempt at a MM clone was really good.

Norma

Mack's Attempt with Dietz and Watson's Sharp White Cheddar 11/15/2011

The Mack’s attempt with the Dietz and Watson’s sharp white cheddar went okay in terms of the crust and sauce, but the flavor of the Dietz and Watson’s sharp white cheddar didn’t taste like the cheese Mack’s uses.  The Dietz and Watson’s sharp white cheddar was a very creamy and a buttery cheese when baked on the Mack’s attempt.  If anyone likes a different flavor when making a pizza in the cheese, the Dietz and Watson’s sharp white cheddar is a good cheese to give a try.  It melted very well, was greasy, didn’t break down, and added a very delicious taste to the pizza.  Steve, Randy, my taste testers, and I all enjoyed this cheese on a pizza.

The sauce used was the Great Value tomato paste from Walmart.  It also was very good and close to the taste of a Mack’s pizza.  I added a fair amount of dried Oregano, a little dried basil, salt, pepper, and water to thin the paste.  The Great Value tomato paste also is a good paste to use for sauce for a pizza in my opinion.  After adding the spices, the sauce sat for awhile and it really changed the flavor profile.  We thought the flavor profile really became better.

We all enjoyed the Mack’s attempt with the Dietz and Watson’s sharp white cheddar, but I should have put less cheese on the Mack’s attempt.

Randy, a friend of Steve’s and mine, that comes to market each week, seems to be very knowledgeable about almost anything, and we all were talking about maybe what kind of white cheddar that might have been used back in the 50’s for a pizza businesses.  Randy mentioned Cooper American sharp cheddar, because he knew it was made years ago.  He said Cooper American sharp cheddar does have a tang and is creamy.  I checked on the web about Cooper sharp cheddar and found it was made in the Pa. area in the 50’s.  http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_makes_cooper_sharp_cheese  I can easily purchased some Cooper sharp cheddar to try on a Mack’s attempt maybe for another week.  If anyone has access to Cooper sharp American, maybe they might want to try the cheese on a Mack’s attempt.  Cooper sharp cheddar is like an American cheese with a tang, but I am not sure if Cooper sharp cheddar is manufactured by Schreiber Foods, Inc. or not.  This is a picture of 5 lb. of Cooper Sharp American cheese and it can be purchased at Walmart.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cooper-Sharp-American-Cheese-5-Lb/15136820  I would guess, but don’t know, if the Cooper Sharp Yellow American might taste like the Cooper Sharp White American. http://www.shoprite.com/pd/Cooper/Cheese-Sharp-Yellow-American/1-lb/277747000000/  Another link for product finder for Cooper Sharp American cheese, if anyone is interested. http://www.hannaford.com/product/Deli/Cheese/Slicing-Cheeses/Cooper-Sharp-Cheese/c/28189/sc/46299/ssc/46308/794622.uts?refineByCategoryId=46308 

Norma

My Continuing Saga with my Market Scale 11/17/2011

The adventure with the preferment Lehmann dough, and my market scale not working right, is still continuing.  The service manager has been emailing me, and he thinks my AC adapter went bad.  He said I would need to go though the dealer that I purchased the scale from and request a replacement adapter.  He said they could ship it from their company, but their policy now is they have to go though the dealer for any parts.  I called the dealer I bought the scale from (they do have a place where they repair equipment) and they told me they can’t get in contact with the company that sells the scales.  I said I had no problems getting a hold of the company that sells the scales to other places and they are willing to send me another AC adapter, but it would have to go though them.  The business I bought the scale from did have their contact number on the bottom of the scale if something went wrong.  The dealer I bought the scale from told me basically what I bought was a throw away scale if something went wrong with it and they can’t do anything about it.  Finally the service manager at the company that sells the scales to dealers told me today he is going to send me a replacement AC adapter, but he has to send me a used on that works, because that is the only way to get around the system. I did give the service manager the contact numbers of the dealer I bought the scale from and the place that does repairs for them.  The service manager also told me once I get the AC adapter to let him know if it works.  What a mess!

Well, luckily my batches of preferment Lehmann dough were okay this past Tuesday.  I could tell they were different in how the dough felt, but they made what appeared to be the same pizzas.  Thank goodness for that.  At least the preferment Lehmann dough is okay to be modified some.  Randy told me on Tuesday that since my kitchen scale is only rated for 6.6 lbs. of weighing, it might not be accurate over that amount.  Maybe that is why the preferment Lehmann dough didn’t turn out the same. I did add more preferment than I usually do to the final mix though. At least I know what my dough is supposed to feel like when it is mixed.

Some pictures how some of the pizzas turned out on Tuesday.  I guess I will have another week of not having my market scale to weigh my ingredients for the preferment Lehmann dough.  If I don’t get the AC adapter, or it doesn’t make the market scale work until later next week, I am going to purchase a new scale.

Steve, Randy, other taste testers, and I tasted some pizzas and they did taste okay.

Norma

Next attempt at a Luigi's Pizza with 2% sugar in the dough and 65% hydration with the Power Flour 11/15/2011

The attempt with the Luigi’s pizza went better yesterday with the suggestion for 2% sugar added in the formula by Peter.  There was better crust coloration on the rim, and bottom crust, but I am not sure if it still was enough.

The Luigi’s dough ball was left to ferment beside the deck oven for about 4 hrs.  Gene’s idea of letting the dough ferment beside the deck oven went well, and the dough ball didn’t over ferment or get top bubbles.

The dough ball was very easy to open and could be tossed and twirled easily.  In my opinion, there is great strength in this dough.  The Luigi’s pie did turn out good in the flavor of the crust, and also the crispness in the crust and rim.  Steve, my taste testers, and I enjoyed this pie.  There was one thing I didn’t understand about this pie though.  I didn’t eat a reheated slice, but Randy did, and he said after the slice was reheated the pie became more chewy or was tougher to eat.  Randy said the pie made last week was better after the reheat.

This is a video of the Luigi’s attempt being cut by Steve.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyjiLGo4mLM 


Norma