Mastering Pizza

For every 500 grams of flour called for in any of my dough recipes, you can use about 200 to 250 grams of active Whole Grain Sourdough Starter at 100% Hydration (this page) instead of the yeast that’s called for. To account for the flour and water already in the starter, reduce the flour and water in the recipe by 100 to 125 grams each. For instanc

Why? Oil makes the dough richer, softer, and easier to stretch thin. It also makes the crust crunchier. That’s what I’m going for in a crisp pizza Romana (this page and this page).

Hotter ovens cook dough more quickly, giving water less time to evaporate, resulting in a softer overall texture in pizza. Cooler ovens cook dough more slowly, giving water more time to evaporate, resulting in a crisper overall texture in pizza.

SINGLE NAPLES DOUGH BALL AT 70% HYDRATION If you’re baking at 500° to 600°F (260° to 316°C) and want a single Neapolitan pizza tonight, try this dough recipe. A stand mixer does all the work. After mixing, you let it sit on the counter for a couple hours, ball it up, and let it sit again until you’re ready to make pizza. Simple! You can also double

SOURDOUGH AL TAGLIO DOUGH AT 80% HYDRATION: For the complex flavor of wild yeast, replace the dry yeast with 200 grams (about 1 cup) active Bread Flour Sourdough Starter (this page). To account for the flour and water already in the starter, reduce the flour and water in the dough by about 100 grams each. In other words, use 400 grams (about 3 cups

For the Naples-style pizzas at Pizzeria Vetri, we actually let our mozzarella chill for a bit to keep the cheese from leaking out too much moisture when it cooks. We also found out when testing Naples-style pizzas in home ovens that fresh mozzarella sometimes overcooks and separates from the long cooking time under the broiler. With that method, de

Ovens that burn wood are actually part of a larger category called masonry ovens. In fact, the very first ovens were masonry ovens. Going way back, they were clay pots with lids that were put over a wood fire. Today’s Dutch ovens are direct descendants of those original primitive ovens. A lot of today’s wood-burning masonry ovens are still made of

Stefano’s dough is almost 70% water (relative to the flour), which is pretty high for Naples-style dough. That amount of water, gives the dough a lot of bubbles and a big lift, which makes Stefano’s crust light and airy. His pizza oven is about 800°F (427°C) on the floor, which puffs up the dough pretty fast and makes the bottom crust nice and cris

That pizza dough cooks in just 90 seconds. There’s less water in the dough, and the water evaporates quickly at that high temperature: the dough firms up fast, creating a nice, crisp yet foldable crust. At the other end of the spectrum, pizza al taglio usually gets baked in electric ovens at a much lower temperature of 450° to 500°F (232° to 260°C)