Making the dough, I started with 60% hydration level (i.e. 60g of water per 100g of flour). The dough turned out very soft and 'wet' and so I added more flour to adjust the hydration level to 58%. This was better and more easy to handle. The flour in the previous bag had gone a few months past its 'best before' date and it was no longer possible to produce a satisfactory smooth dough even with 62% hydration. You usually get about 8 months from the date of purchase until the best before date and a 25kg bag of flour makes approx. 125 pizzas.
I use 200g of flour for each pizza base and make 2 pizza bases at a time. i.e 400g of flour.
Method: Put all the water into the food processor bowl. Add 1/2 to 2/3 of the flour and mix until smooth. Leave for 20 - 30 mins. (this rest period is called 'autolyse').
After the rest period, add the yeast, salt and the remainder of the flour and process until a smooth dough is achieved. Divide into two balls and cover with cling film.
Leave to rise. I made four dough balls, one for now and I put the remaining three in the fridge for a slow rise to be used at a later date. The dough improves with time. In the past I have used up to seven day old refrigerated dough and it produces a very light and airy pizza base.
Here is the assembled pizza before going into the oven at 400 deg C. The toppings are tomato sauce, mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan, pitted green olives, red chili peppers, fresh basil and a swirl of extra virgin olive oil.
I checked the pizza after 90 secs and it was done, so I quickly whipped it out before it burnt. At 400 deg C there is very little lee way. The oven takes takes over an hour to get up to temperature and the pizza is done after 90 secs to 2 minutes.The crust was soft, light and full of air pockets. The new flour is a huge improvement, but the last bag may have originally been the same but just deteriorated over time. Time will tell.
Sue arrived home from work at around 5:00 pm and she sat down with a cup of tea and the newspaper to relax. Smiffy joined her. I didn't realise he could read.
Later in the evening Suzanne, Howard and Sara came round for drinks. Howard brought his recently purchased iPad 2 with him. Sue and Howard played with their iPads and made Facetime calls.
