Pizza Today - June 2017 - 28

method: it is possible to reduce the mixing
time, which will greatly diminish the
adverse effects of oxidation (thus further
improving the flavor of your dough). If
all of this isn't enough to convince you of
the advantages of autolyse, this method of
mixing will also improve extensibility and
enhance your dough's ability to retain gas.
The result will be the beautiful open crumb
structure sought after by today's artisan
pizza makers.
Typically, artisan bread baking formulas

utilize relatively wet dough with hydration of 70 percent or more. You will find
that even at the lower hydration levels of
standard pizza dough (in the range of 58 to
65 percent) you will get dramatically improved results using autolyse. The standard
method of autolyse is to combine flour and
water only and mix for about three to four
minutes on slow speed. You can then let the
mass rest for up to 30 minutes. However,
even a 15-minute rest will work wonders.
Continue the mix on second speed for

approximately four to five minutes until
the dough is smooth and silky. Divide
and round as you would normally and
refrigerate. If you are using fresh yeast,
this dough will be useable in 24 hours
(but will actually improve with up to 72
hours). With instant yeast, dough will of
course be greatly reduced even with cold
fermentation.
Since I'm not inclined to stick to
the rules lately, I've been experimenting with slight variations on
the process. Instead of adding yeast

after the rest, try dissolving the fresh
yeast in the water before adding flour.
Because the dough does not contain salt
(which is a yeast inhibitor) in this initial
phase, the yeast will run wild during the
30-minute rest. Think of this method as
a super charger for your dough. Fresh
yeast amount will be .5 percent of total
flour weight. So for a 50-pound bag of
flour you will use four ounces of fresh
yeast.
If using instant yeast, sprinkle yeast on
top of the flour before initial mix if your
hydration level is 65 percent or above.
If hydration is lower than 65 percent,
it may be best to dissolve the yeast in
the water before adding flour. Instant
yeast amount will be .14 percent of total
flour weight. So 1.3 ounces will work
for a 50-pound bag of flour. Remember
to reduce total mixing time for your
dough by about 20 percent when using
the autolyse method. This is particularly
important if you are using 50 pounds of
flour in a 60 quart mixer. Friction is the
enemy of tender dough and excessive
heat will encourage over-fermentation.
Most pizza makers prefer to slightly
under-mix dough in the rounding and
extending phases because we are handling our dough more vigorously than a
bread baker would. If we fully develop
dough in the mixing stage your finished
pizza may be tough. By using the autolyse method you are allowing biology to
do much of the work - and the result
will be an improved dough with less
mechanical interference. n
JOHN ARENA owns

Vegas.

2 8 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / J U N E 2 0 1 7

Metro Pizza in Las
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Pizza Today - June 2017

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