Classic Neapolitan-Style Margherita Pizza

Sure do!

2. Water heater temperatures are traditionally set to 120°F (49°C) to protect against burns. So, let your water heat to what feels hot to touch and that’s typically very close to our 110-115°F (43-46°C) range for blooming the yeast.

1. Additionally, if you warm the mixing bowl ahead of time by filling it with tap-hot water and then pouring it out before adding the warmed water and honey there shouldn’t be more than a 1-2 degree change in your mixture’s temperature making the process much less finicky.

3. I prefer to bloom yeast separately, instead of in a poolish. This way I can make sure my yeast is still live (activated or fresh) before adding salt or flour and no fermentation happening. It’s much less of a loss to toss my failed bloom than an entire loaf that isn’t proofing.

There may be 3 reasons your yeast doesn’t bloom:

1. Your yeast expired (literally). Check the expiration date on your active dry yeast packets or jar before using. I, personally, like to label my jar with the date I open it and replace it every 6 months to make sure I don’t have any issues. If your yeast isn’t alive to begin with, it won’t start converting simple and complex carbohydrates (sugars) into carbon dioxide. No bubbles = no rise.

2. Your water was too cold. If your water temperature is lower than the specified range, it may not activate the yeast at all or activate very little, which slows the fermentation process substantially.

3. Your water was too hot. If the water temperature is 120°F (49°C) or higher, it will kill the yeast and then there will be nothing to start the fermentation process. Without fermentation, your bread will have no leavening agent and will be flatter than a pancake. There’s baking soda and powder in pancakes! 😉

2 simple reasons:

1. A more concentrated sugar to water ratio allows for better yeast bloom.

2. Dissolving the salt in warm water guarantees it gets evenly distributed throughout the crust.

TLDR… It will still be a delicious pizza.

Long answer… First, the 00 refers to how finely ground the flour is which ranges from 00 to 2. 00 flour is the finest level of ground flour, and is typically made from durum wheat. Durum wheat has great structure but less elasticity than their red wheat counterparts (all purpose and bread flours). Simply put, doughs with 00 flour in them are less chewy, making them ideal for the softer and lighter texture of Neapolitan style pizzas. But that’s not everything you need to know.

So, let’s talk protein… Most 00 pizza flours have a higher amount of protein (12-13%). However, the King Arthur 00 Flour, which is what is stocked at my local grocery store, has 10.5%. This allowed me to experiment mixing in their higher protein all purpose flour (11.7%), in order to add chew without greatly affecting the softness I was after in the crust. I found that sticking to a protein content around 11-12%, with a mix of durum and red wheat, seems to work well for my prefered textural results.

Here is a little breakdown for you:
– 00 flour’s protein is between 10.5-13%. It will create a soft yet structured pizza crust because of the fine mill and the type of wheat (durum).

– All purpose flour’s protein is between 10 and 11.7%. It will give some more chew and body to your crust because of the coarser mill and the type wheat (red).

-Bread flour’s protein is between 12-14%. It will add yet more chew a bit of crunchiness and produce a thicker pizza crust (think NY style pizza).*

*I would not recommend only using bread flour. But, believe it can be used effectively when mixed with lower protein all purpose or 00 flours. I would also say to go easy on the ratio of bread flour to whatever other flour you use.

All that to say, the range in protein between all purpose and 00 flours are similar enough that they can be used interchangeably. There will be some textural differences, but the pizza will still be delicious. Mix and match to your heart’s content!

I know, I know 48 hours of cold-proofing has you saying, “Kari what are you nuts?!” That number can be cut down to 24 hours, but the flavor will be less pronounced and the gluten structure will be weaker when the pizza bakes. This means it’s not going to puff up and hold those beautiful bubbles as well.

Another option for my “are we there yet” people is simply leaving your dough on the kitchen counter for 16 hours after the first knock down. The structure and flavor is very similar to the 24 hour, cold-proofed dough.

Absolutely! Push from the middle to the edges, to form a small circle with a slightly pronounced rim. Flip the dough over and press again. At this point you can stretch by rotating the dough over your knuckles in a circle. You can also place your non-dominant hand over the middle of the dough and use your dominant hand to flip the dough back and forth over your other hand. It will immediately stretch the dough out. Rotate as you go for a circular shape. Feel free to pull and press with your fingers as needed to stretch and reshape your pizza. Just be careful not to let any sections get too thin (see through) or break.

The trick to getting the pizza off the peel and onto the pizza stone with its shape intact is twofold. First, make sure to spread either cornmeal or semolina onto the peel before placing down the stretched dough. These coarse flours will not incorporate into the dough and allow the pizza to roll freely on top of the peel.

Second, when you go to place the pizza in the oven, touch the end of the peel about 2/3rds of the way across the pizza steel. Then, give the peel a small jerk to slide the pizza off at a roughly 15-20 degree angle. As the pizza slides down pull out the peel leaving the pizza behind.

Unfortunately, it’s difficult to use the peel to turn the pizza like you could in a pizza oven because there is very little clearance at the top of an oven. If you still want to turn your pizza, you have to wait until the dough has set and begun to rise. This way you know it won’t collapse on itself as you move it. I would also recommend a metal peel for this over a wooden one because it will be thinner and easier to get under the pizza. The play is to shove the peel under the pizza in a quick jerk, pull the pizza forward, shift it 1/4 turn, push it back to the center of the steel, and jerk the peel away leaving the pizza behind.

If you happen to have a pizza oven, then you probably already know everything I’ve talked about.

Just in case though, your pizza should be fully cooked in about 3 minutes at 700°F (371°C) or just 60 seconds at 900°F (482°C) depending on which temperature you choose.

Remember to turn the setting to the lowest it can go just before you put the pizza in or it will immediately burn. And, you will still need to turn the pizza in your specialty oven for even baking. Start turning about 1 minute into baking.

You betcha! To freeze your dough, separate and shape the dough into the 3 equal pieces just after the first rise but before the 48 hour rise in the refrigerator. Place the pieces you’d like to freeze onto a lined baking tray. Put the tray in your freezer for a few hours, until the dough becomes firm. Then, close each piece of dough into a sealable plastic baggie or airtight container. Date them and place them into the freezer for up to 2 months. 

To defrost frozen pizza dough, take it out of the freezer and place it into a lightly oiled and covered bowl in your refrigerator. At this point you would let your dough defrost and undergo it’s 48 hour cold proof.

A dough piece from this recipe will take at least 4 hours to defrost in your refrigerator, so include that into your proofing calculations. If you’d like to speed things up a bit, you can place the defrosting dough (in it’s covered bowl) on your kitchen counter. It can be left for 1-2 hours to defrost before moving to the refrigerator for it’s cold proof.

Once cold-proofed, knock back the pizza dough, reshape it, and let it rise (covered) on the counter. Act as if you had just completed the separating into three equal parts step. Follow the recipe instructions from there on out.