Why the cold ingredients for pizza dough?
I'm sure many here have Peter Reinhardt's Bread Baker's Apprentice. This site is actually the reason I bought the book, and a great buy it was!
The pizza dough recipe calls for chilled flour, ice cold water, and judging from his temperature readings after shaping, he's working pretty fast to get them into the fridge. I've made the dough several times now, and I can't argue that it IS great. Still, I'm more of an Alton Brown fan, and I like to know WHY I'm doing something, not just how to do it.
So WHY is he working with so much cold to make his pizza crust?
I understand that yeast's fermentation is retarded by salt and cold. But why not just mix it together and put it into the fridge afterwards?
I understand why I work this way with pie crusts: I don't want the fat to have a chance to melt. Keeping it cold lets me have flakier quick breads. But how does this apply to a pizza dough, who's only fat is olive oil (defintiely a liquid, even at these temperatures)?
Any insight would be GREATLY appreciated. I'm having no trouble making the dough, I just want to know why he has me working with cold to make it happen.