I started the day wanting to make a pizza dough with 100 percent hydration. I whisked flour, salt and instant yeast in a bowl. I added the water and used a spatula to mix the dough together. It resembled a thick batter. After one hour I used a spatula to fold the dough over itself. I let the dough rise for 2 more hours, folded the dough and put it into an oiled Detroit style pan. I covered the pan and let the dough rise and spread in the pan. After 3 more hours I looked to stretch the dough in the pan. I did a below average job stretching the dough. To repair my work I folded the dough over itself and into a rectangle and put it back in the pan. I covered the pan and let it rise for another 4 hours to fill the pan once again. This time I let it do its own stretching. I topped the dough with cheese, sauce and more cheese. I baked the pizza for 20 minutes at 500°F. I cooked the pizza for the first 5 minutes on a baking steel then raised the pan onto a rack to finish cooking.
When the pizza was done I used an offset spatula to release the caramelized cheese from the pans edges and put the pizza onto a wire rack to rest for a few minutes before carving.
The pizza was crisp, tender, light, and totally crush-worthy.
100 Percent Hydrated Pizza
Makes one 10"-by-14" pizza
300 grams flour
6 grams salt
3 grams instant yeast
300 grams room temperature water
Whisk together the flour salt and yeast in a medium bowl. Add the water and mix with a spatula to form a wet dough, resembling a thick batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 1 hours.
After 1 hour, use a rubber spatula to fold the dough. Pull one corner to the center and then give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the process. Do this for a total of four folds and then flip the dough over, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, repeat the folding process and then, instead of flipping the dough in the bowl, flip it out into an oiled Detroit style pizza pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 3 hours.
After 3 hours, gently stretch the dough to fill the pan. Cover the pan and let is rest at room temperature for at least 1 and up to 4 hours before adding toppings and baking the pizza.
To Bake:
Preheat oven to 500°F.
Add toppings to your pizza and bake for 20 minutes, turning the pan at least once during the process. If using a baking steel, bake on the steel for the first 5 minutes then rotate the pan and move it to a rack so the bottom of the pizza doesn't burn.
Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before removing it from the pan to cut.
Years Past
January 7, 2009
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