Homemade Dough Conditioner Pizza 4/19/2011

The Lehmann dough with the 7% blend and the regular Lehmann dough were made into pizzas Tuesday.  The clear winner was the Lehmann dough with the 7% blend.  The crust had a much better taste (although I can’t explain what made it so different), and it was moister in the rim.  The 7%  blend Lehmann dough also had a better oven spring.  Steve and I both agreed the blend Lehmann dough pizza was better.  The only thing that I had to do with the blend Lehmann dough pizza, was to put a pizza screen under the pie, because I thought it was browning too fast.  I didn’t have to put a pizza screen under the regular Lehmann dough.

First set of pictures are the Lehmann dough with the 7% blend.  Second set of pictures are the regular Lehmann dough.  Last picture is the two pizzas side by side.  It can be seen on both dough balls how differently they fermented on the bottom of the dough balls.

These are the ingredients I used in the natural "blend" or dough conditioner I am trying.
lecithin granules, high heat milk powder, Knox gelatin, vital wheat gluten, Diastatic Malt powder, and Vitamin C.  A big thanks to Peter (Pete-zza) for helping me to be able to understand how to go about even trying to make my "blend" to try out in the Lehmann dough!  If it wasn't for his understanding of math, I wouldn't have been able to go forward with these experiments.

Norma

Real New York Frozen Pizza Dough Baked into a Pizza 4/19/2011

I decided Monday evening to remove the Real New York Pizza Frozen dough ball from the freezer to defrost.  I first oiled the whole dough ball and also placed a little oil in the plastic container and placed it in the refrigerator over night.  Tueday it wasn’t defrosted, so when I arrived at market I left it sit out until about 1:00 pm.  The dough wasn’t fermenting very well, so I placed the dough on a container on top of my deck oven and left it there for a few more hours.  It still didn’t look like it had fermented enough, but I decided to make the pizza.  The skin was a little dry, but opened okay. When the pizza was in the oven, it formed bubbles in the middle of the pizza.  After the pizza was baked, it looked okay.  Steve and I both tasted the pizza and the crust was okay, but not like a longer fermented dough.  The crust had a more bread like taste.  If I had to rate this pizza from the Real New Pizza Dough, I would say it tasted almost like some of the pizzas I have tried at New York Slice businesses or about like most NY pizzas do, but not from a good pizzeria.  The crust did have some flavor.  It wasn’t bad.  What Steve and I didn’t understand was how someone that normally doesn’t make dough would know when this Real New York Pizza dough would be ready to use.  I have watched many doughs and would think if someone would just buy this dough at a supermarket, how they would know when it was ready to be used.  I don’t think people would have the patience to watch the dough as long as Steve and I did.  If someone just bought this dough, I can’t understand how they could know when to stretch the skin.  To me, this was a longer process than I thought it would be. I did post about when I bought the Real New York frozen pizza dough before.

Norma

My Pie Monday: Asparagus, Scalloped Potatoes, and an Easter Special 4/19/2011

MPM this week on Slice!

Slideshow of MPM  http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/04/my-pie-monday-asparagus-scalloped-potatoes-and-an-easter-special-slideshow.html

My MPM:  Norma's NJ Boardwalk Pizza: "I made another attempt for a Mack's NJ Boardwalk pizza this week. The pie almost tasted like Mack's pizza. Mack's pizza has been my favorite pizza since I was young. I used another formula for this pizza and it tasted like the crust of a Mack's pizza. I used a five cheese blend for the cheese on this pizza."—Norma427

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/04/my-pie-monday-asparagus-scalloped-potatoes-and-an-easter-special-slideshow.html#show-154313

My friends Steve’s Pie on MPM.  http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/04/my-pie-monday-asparagus-scalloped-potatoes-and-an-easter-special-slideshow.html#show-154311

Norma

New Kitten and my dough and Pizza making 4/18/2011

Since my dog found the newborn kittens, my time making dough and also making pizza has slowed down a bit.  I am still making experimental doughs and my preferment dough and doing a few other experiments, but I never realized how hard it is to take care of a new born kitten that was left to die outside, by a stray cat.  Taking care of a newborn kitten is very time consuming, considering it needs fed around the clock, it needs its bottom cleaned, bedding changed and washed, sterilized bottles all the time, and making formula around the clock.  It is also rewarding though, to be able to see how much the kitten grows each day and learns new things, just like babies do.  I know I have lost a lot of sleep though this process, but wouldn’t change things anything I have done so far.

Raising a new born kitten is something like learning to make dough or pizza.  Something new is learned each day.  Hopefully Chance will live longer than Lucky did.  Chance has more than doubled his weight in the almost 3 weeks since he was born and left outside in the cold.  I thought she was dead when my daughter and I tried to warm her.  Chance can now stand on all of her four legs and walk some that way.  Her eyes are opened now.

I look forward to learning more about pizza dough and also learning how to take care of a newborn kitten.

Four new dough experiments this week also have kept me busy, but they will also help me learn more about dough.

A few pictures of Chance a few days ago.  To think just a few weeks ago, I never thought I would be taking care of a newborn baby kitten..lol

Norma

Another Attempt at a Mack’s Pizza 4/12/2011

Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket insisted on going along to market today.  Usually they don’t want to help me with any work, but they are anxious to see how the next attempt at a Mack’s pizza will be.  The dough ball today looks something like a Mack’s dough, but I have no idea how the dough ball will handle when opening the dough ball into a skin ,and then baking it into the pizza.  Hopefully it will be able to spin in the air.  I am trying out 5 kinds of cheese on the attempt.  The cheeses are two kinds of white sharp cheedar, Fontina, and two kinds of mozarella, with the white cheddars being the predominate cheese.

At least I remembered to take my bigger peel along to market today.

Pictures of the dough ball today and Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket helping at market.
I was happy today, that this attempt for Mack’s pizza was the best I have done so far.   The crust reminded me more of Mack’s crust and even the whole pizza, more than any I have tried so far in this thread. The taste of the crust was really good and even had the same texture as a Mack’s crust, at least in my opinion.  The dough performed well, and could be tossed many times. Steve took two videos of me tossing the dough, and after I look at them, if they are okay, I will upload them on Youtube.  The dough ball looked just like a dough ball sitting at Mack’s.  I let the dough ball warm-up for two hours and as can be seen on the top and bottom of the dough ball, it looks something like Mack’s dough balls. Even the crust coloration was about the same as Mack’s.  The crust was foldable and had the right crispness.

Even the blend of cheeses almost tasted like Mack’s cheese, after being baked on the pizza. I had other people sample the Mack’s attempt and they asked me if I am going to continue making this kind of pizza. That is how much they liked it.

Thanks Peter, for pointing me in the right directions to get the results I had today, on this Mack’s attempt. :)  I don’t know what kind of award I can give you, but I am grateful for getting the results I did today.  

Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket were jumping for joy when they saw this pizza.   Steve really enjoyed this pizza too.  Steve had brought me two bottles of his home brewed pale ale to take home to try today, but after this pizza turned out so well, we broke open a bottle and celebrated.

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,9068.msg134887.html#msg134887

YouTube videos of my throwing the dough..lol  I am not good at throwing the dough!


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

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o300i_cWtCA


Norma

Adventures with a Homemade Dough Conditioner or “blend” 4/12/2011

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,13385.0.html

The first two pictures are of the dough ball  top and bottom with the blend in the Lehmann dough.  The second two pictures are of the regular Lehmann dough ball top and bottom.  The first set of pictures after those four, are of the Lehmann dough with the blend steps and final pizza.  Then the next set of pictures are the regular Lehmann dough steps and final  pizza

The dough balls looked about the same (the one with the blend fermented differently on the bottom of the dough ball) and both had a bubble on the top of the dough balls, but the dough ball with the blend didn’t rise as much.  Although neither pizza had good oven spring, the pizza made with the blend tasted better in the crust.  I can’t explain how it tasted different, but there was a better flavor in the crust.  Both pizzas were crisp on the rim and bottom.  It can be seen in the picture of the bottom of the crust with the blend, it looked like kinda warts on the bottom.  That didn’t detract from the taste of the crust.  Steve also agreed that the pizza made with the blend was better.  Both pizzas reminded Steve and me of regular Lehmann dough pizzas.

More blend Lehmann doughs experiments to follow, unless I find a blend that works.

Norma