Here's my formula...I'm sorry it's "old school," i.e., in ounces not
grams (and you can convert 1 ounce approximately equals 28 grams).
But bakers' percentages are included. This is how much I use to make
one pizza...I scale it up to make multiples.
Note: Yeast proportions in both Poolish and Final Dough recipes are
for ACTIVE DRY yeast.
Total Formula
-------------
AP Flour 10.0 oz 100.0%
Water 6.0 oz 60.0%
Salt 0.15 oz 1.5%
Yeast 0.08 oz 0.8%
Olive Oil 0.20 oz 1.5%
Poolish
-------
AP Flour 5.0 oz 100.0%
Water 5.0 oz 100.0%
Yeast 0.1% 0.03 tsp
[[ Editor's note: 0.03 tsp = 1/4 of 1/8 tsp = 0.15 ml ]]
Final Dough
-----------
AP Flour 5.0 oz 100.0%
Water 1.0 oz 20.0%
Salt 0.15 oz 3.0% 0.626 tsp = 1/2 + 1/8 tsp
Yeast 0.08 oz 1.5% 0.469 tsp
Olive Oil 0.15 oz 3.0% 0.9 tsp
Poolish 10.0 oz 200.0%
[[ Editor's note: volume of oil based on density of 0.9 ]]
A few things to note about this formula:
a.. It uses AP flour, not high protein bread flour. Bread flour is
typically so strong it doesn't roll out well. Some gourmet's use
bread flour, but their process usually has the dough sitting around 1
or 2 days during which the proteins are degraded to the point that
the dough is extensible
b.. It adds a bit of olive oil...this seems to be a common theme in
most recipes I've seen.
c.. It uses a 12-15 hour room temperature poolish. Very wet
pre-ferments like this make doughs more extensible...which is great
for pizza dough (and baguettes, etc.).
d.. It uses active dry yeast instead of instant. This is one of the
very few instances I use active dry instead of instant. Active dry
yeast has live yeast cells surrounded by dead. Instant doesn't have
th dead cells. The dead cells have glutithione...and this chemical
promotes extensibility. If you want to use instant yeast instead,
just decrease the yeast amounts by 20%.
Note that my bakers' percentage calculation for yeast is a bit
confusing...the % and weight is based on cake yeast--since that seems
the most common rule of thumb--and then converts the teaspoons to
active dry yeast on the assumption that 1 oz. cake yeast works like
0.5 oz. active dry yeast.
Dough Preparation
For poolish, mix water and yeast, then mix in flour. Cover and let
sit at room temperature (70F) for 12 15 hours.
For final dough, activate yeast in remaining water (110F); mix
poolish, yeast, oil, and water in bowl of standing mixer. Add
remaining flour and mix for one minute at low speed. Let rest 20 minutes.
Mix for one minute at low speed, add salt, mix to "improved mix"
stage, approximately for four more minutes. Target final temperature
is 74 76F.
Transfer dough to large oiled bowl and cover. (Now is a good time to
adjust your oven rack to the upper position, put a pizza stone on it,
and crank the oven up to its highest temperature, typically 550F.)
Let dough ferment one hour at 75F.
Shaping
If making multiples of this recipe, scale dough into 16 oz. pieces.
Shape each into a loose boule.
Let boules rest 20 minutes. Then gently flatten and stretch each into
a 14" disc. (You may have to do the stretching in multiple stages
with short rest periods in between.
Dust pizza peel with flour, corn meal, or semolina. Place dough on
peel. Dress dough as desired: typically a thin coat of tomato sauce
(the "6-in-1" brand is fantastic!), 1/2 lbs. of cheese, and a few
vegetables and/or meats.
Double check that pizza is still sliding on peel. Then deftly slide
pizza onto stone. Bake approximately 8 minutes.
Remove pizza using peel. (Now is a good time to throw on a few
slivers of basil.) Let cool a few minutes before eating.
Hope this helps
Allen
San Francisco