Pizza Dough Mixing

For those of you not taking notes at the workshop on the 18th, here is the mixing schedule that we used for the pizza dough:

• mix pre-ferment + flour + water (no salt) on low for 4 minutes
• 20 minutes bulk ferment, covered
• add salt and mix on medium 6-8 minutes
• 45-60 minutes bulk ferment
• One fold
• Return to bowl for 30-45 minutes
• Quick shape & divide
• shape into 10oz. balls, cover and retard at 40° for 90 minutes
• pull the dough from the retarder 1-1.5 hours before baking.

And here are some other notes:

• Desired dough temperature is 76°
• Hydration was 70%
• Salt was 0.5% (a scant tablespoon)
• Friction factor for the KitchenAid mixers is about 20°

We rushed the retard part on Saturday.  As a result, our dough developed a little less flavor than it might have with a longer retard, but gluten development didn't suffer at all, so, yes, you can push the times.

I usually do a 70% hydration with high-protein flour (Central Milling High Mountain, Giusto's Ultimate Performer, or Tipo 00 pizza flour will all work).  Avoid adding flour after the first mix; it's okay to adjust consistency by adding water during either mix.

I posted the XLS file that I use to calculate specific dough proportions on the LA Bread Bakers meetup page under "files."