Pizza Today - September 2016 - 20

with TONY GEMIGNANI

respecting the craft

Thin is In
Tony's tips on making the perfect crispy thin-crust pizza

o many students ask me how
to make a good, crispy thincrust pizza. Is it the dough
recipe or the technique? It's a little of
both, actually, but definitely more technique. One of my most popular thincrust pizzas is my Chicago cracker thin.
The dough has five percent cornmeal
in the recipe and I use Ceresota Flour.
This flour comes from the Chicago region and not too many operators know
about it. It's a very regional flour. Its
bake, crispness and chew are the perfect
example of how a thin-crust pizza
ought to be.
If a dough is matured properly and
cooked correctly, your thin crust should
be pliable and strong. Many people
think you need a dedicated thin-crust
pizza recipe, but I can make amazing

semolina or cornmeal instead of
flour to your dough recipe will
assist with a crispier crust.
* Higher hydration - Use
more water in your dough recipe.
The more water, the crispier your
crust. Try adding two to four
percent more water.
* Warmer dough - Taking your dough out of the fridge
before use will cause your dough
to warm up. That's a good thing!
A good rule of thumb is to never
put cold dough in a hot oven.
One reason is that cold dough
can scorch the bottom of your
pizza in a brick oven, making it
cook too fast on the outside and
not enough in the middle. Cold
dough can also bring out more
thin-crust pizzas from a standard New
bubbles, which isn't the best
York or California type dough recipe as when trying to make a super thin
well. Here are some tips how:
pizza.
* Dough docker - This is a great
* Watch the sugar - Too
tool that de-gases your dough by rolling high of a browning agent in your
over your pizza before it is sauced.
crust like sugar, malt or honey
* Trimming the perimeter -
could make your dough brown
After your pizza is sauced close to the
too fast. This results in a weak
end of the crust, take your pizza wheel
pizza that isn't cooked all the way
and trim a clean complete circle around through. A dough formula that
your pizza. This will assist in making a calls for sugar at one to three
thin crust even thinner. When you trim percent of your flour weight will
the dough you may notice that your
be fine as long as you allow your
dough is squared off. Press it down with dough to mature for at least 24
your fingers for a cleaner, straighter rise. hours and you bring your dough
* Dusting - When dusting,
to approximately 65 F before use.
use Semolina or cornmeal. This will
I have other great tips for thinstrengthen your dough and is much
crust pizzas that I will be happy
better for carryout orders. Even subto share with you next month.
stituting five to 10 percent of either
Stay tuned! ■

RESPECTING THE CRAFT features World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani, owner of Tony's Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco and Pizza Rock in Sacramento. Tony compiles the column with the help of his trusty assistants, Laura Meyer and Thiago Vasconcelos. If you have questions on any kitchen topic ranging from prep to finish, Tony's your guy. Send questions
via Twitter @PizzaToday, Facebook (search: Pizza Today) or e-mail jwhite@pizzatoday.com and we'll pass the best ones on to Tony.

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Pizza Today - September 2016

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