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Pizza Dough Rising Too Fast!

JustJoel's picture
JustJoel

Pizza Dough Rising Too Fast!

I’m making pizza dough. The hydration, just water, is 67%. I used a biga to start it, with 2 grams yeast. After reading several recipes for New York style pizza for which the secret is apparently a long, long, long rise, up to five days, I decided to try a two or three day retarded rise in the fridge (Moses, I hate that word! Can we call it a “prolonged rise”or a “delayed rise?”). I mixed the dough and kneaded it; I added 2 grams more of yeast. It’s very nice, if a little wet, formed it into the traditional ball and placed it in an oiled glass bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge. On a low shelf. Towards the back. Where science says it’s colder. And the dough, in less than an hour, has already almost doubled! Did I use too much yeast? Are the temps off? Is my fridge on the fritz (everything else in there is cold)? Or does the dough have an initial rapid rise?

HansB's picture
HansB

What % yeast did you use?

suave's picture
suave

Your fridge is cold, but your dough isn't.  Depending on the amount, initial temperature, and other variables it may take several hours for the dough to cool down.

JustJoel's picture
JustJoel

I used 1% bread machine yeast. 400g of flour, so 4g - 2g for the biga and 2g for the dough.

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

cover the dough, flatten out in a big flat dish or bowl and cover dough directly with oiled plastic. Cover with a large ice bag, lots of ice with a little cold salt water.  Refrigerate or pop into the freezer.  Rotate or flip dough after 30 minutes to hit all warm spots, cover again with ice bag and return to fridge.

You can knock a lot of gas out of a dough like this and it will retard well.  Good word just badly used for too long.  Another option is "slow"    slow rise.

JustJoel's picture
JustJoel

“Slow Rise!” I like it! Sounds like an eighties rock song. Oh, that’s “Slow Ride.” Still, it’s simple, evocative, and kinda fun!

That seems like a lot of work just to quickly cool the dough. Couldn’t I just oil it a bit, put it in a ziplock baggy and plunge it into an ice bath for ten minutes?

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

:)

HansB's picture
HansB

For a cold ferment (CF) of 48 hours at 38F try .32% instant dry yeast (IDY.)

JustJoel's picture
JustJoel

Thanks! Do I use half for the biga and half for the dough? .32% is a wicked small amount of yeast! For a dough with 400g flour, it’s only 1g plus a pinch. Should I use the pinch in the biga (which ferments at room temp for 12 to 18 hours), and use the 1g in the dough?

HansB's picture
HansB

That's the total amount for 400g of flour. It's 1.28g. You can use the 1% in the flour and .28g in the biga. You really don't need a biga for pizza and you certainly don't want to freeze it. If you freeze it all activity stops, it is not a cold ferment that develops flavor.

BethJ's picture
BethJ

I make my dough balls, and stick them straight into the freezer.   The day before baking, I transfer to the fridge.  I have never gone more than 24 hours after pulling from the freezer, but you might be able to extend that a few days.  In any case, the dough will be ice cold when it goes into the fridge!

JustJoel's picture
JustJoel

One has to wonder what people did to retard fermentation back when there were no fridges.The icebox? And what about before ice boxes? Was the “slow rise” developed after the invention of refrigeration?

HansB's picture
HansB

They just used less yeast in warmer temps. For 8 hours @70F use .1% IDY.

JustJoel's picture
JustJoel

.1% would be like, two grains of yeast? Maybe four? Maybe it’s just “a pinch?”

HansB's picture
HansB
MonkeyDaddy's picture
MonkeyDaddy

try starting with ice water.  It'll start you out closer to the fridge temp - less time to cooldown.