Pizza Troubles
Hi All,
I've been lurking around this site for a few months and have found it immensely helpful. I am just beginning my bread making journey and all of your knowledge makes it much less intimidating, so, thanks for that!
My journey first began with pizza dough and has since branched out into sandwich breads and artisan style boules and batards. I had become quite comfortable with pizza dough until this past weekend, when something changed. All of a sudden, my pizza dough became a little too soft, for lack of a better descriptor. It actually seems far more gassy than before, and I am at a loss. It still makes a decent pizza, but it is much harder to work with than before. I've tried longer rest periods between handling, but still, it is more elastic than before and just soft.
The only thing I changed from one batch to the next was the type of flour - I had been using Gold Medal bread flour and switched to King Arthur bread flour. Could that be the cause? Could the slightly higher protein content in KA bread flour make that much of a difference?
if it helps, here is the recipe I've been using:
- 22.5 ounces (about 4 1/2 cups) bread flour, plus more for dusting
- .5 ounces (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) sugar
- .35 ounces kosher salt (about 1 tablespoon)
- .35 ounces (about 2 teaspoons) instant yeast
- 1.125 ounces Extra Virgin olive oil (about 3 tablespoons)
- 15 ounces lukewarm water
I feel a little stupid asking, because it seems like most people have trouble with their crusts being too dense, and mine is perhaps a bit too much of the opposite!
Thank you in advance for any insight or advice you can share!