Neapolitan pizza - 70% hydration, 50% biga, 72hs fermentation
Hi everyone, I just wanted to share one of the pizza recipes I do from time to time. Nothing revolutionary, but with very good results and very tasty.
The formula I used is as follow, and yields 6 dough balls of ~280 grams each.
The procedure:
Day 1, afternoon (I would do this at 19:00 or so)
- Mix the ingredients for the biga.
- Let it ferment 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, then move to the fridge for 12 to 18 hours.
Day 2, morning/noon
- Mix and knead all the ingredients for the final dough. I use a spiral mixer and start with 60% of the total water and no salt in the bowl, and the last 10% I'll add slowly as gluten develops; the salt I usually add with the last bit of water. I use cold water from the fridge to keep the final temperature on the cooler side.
- Form a ball, put it in an airtight container and let it bulk ferment for about 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature, then move it to the fridge for 24 - 48 hours.
I see a lot of people divide the dough shortly after kneading and then put the dough balls in the fridge for a couple days. This time I wanted to see how it comes out if I do a long bulk fermentation on the fridge, do the staglio (italian word for dividing the dough) a few hours before baking and bake after a shorter appretto (italian word for final fermentation).
Day 3 (or 4, depending on how long you want to bulk ferment in the fridge), 6 - 8 hours before baking.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and let it come to temperature for about 2 hours.
- Form 6 balls of ~280 grams each. Put in a container for final proofing.
- Let it proof for 4 - 6 hours.
- Stretch, put the desired toppings and bake at 430 - 450°C for about 90 seconds, until reaching the desired color.
For this particular bake I let the dough bulk ferment for one day in the fridge.
Regarding the flour, I used Caputo 00 Pizzeria, mixed with a small percentage of a stronger 00 flour with higher W-value and protein so it can handle fine the 3-day process. For a 3-day process I would probably choose a flour (or a mix of them) that has a W-value of 300+ and 13%+ protein.
Some pictures:
My technique for the stretching can be improved, I know. Also for some people this pizza might be towards the pale end of the spectrum, but I find this point fantastic.
