Sourdough pizza crust for wood-fired oven
I can consistently make a nice, well-blistered, chewy pizza crust in my wood-fired oven. My recipe is Caputo flour (the red bag), 60% hydration, 2.5% salt, 0.25% instant yeast; knead until smooth; form into balls; age at 9 C for four days.
I've tried to expand into sourdough, and I can't get satisfactory results. My best approach has been to use the starter (also at 60% hydration, doubled every day and kept at room temperature) for 1/4 of the dough volume. This produces a reasonably okay dough, but without much sour tang, and with less elasticity (difficult to keep the thickness consistent, and stretches out of shape when pulled onto the peel). I've also tried fermenting at 35 C initially and reducing the fermentation time, as well as a long ferment at 100% hydration and adding flour to bring it down to 60% hydration an hour before forming.
In all cases, whenever the dough develops significant sourness, it also becomes completely unworkable for forming and transferring to the oven floor. I assume that the acidity is simply destroying the gluten structure, which wouldn't be a big problem in a pan but is impractical for baking on the oven floor.
Any secret technique, for getting a pronounced sourdough taste in a pizza crust without it turning into goo?
Best Answer
I have done some experimentation very similar to yours and ended up with the same observations. I also can confirm your assumption that the acidity breaks down the gluten is right. Creating a sourdough pizza with good taste that is still good to stretch is an art that is not easy to master but it can be done (though I have given up this path for me at least for now).
A 4-day rise at 9°C seems to be very long and warm to me, which probably also contributes to the transformation to goo.
I suspect that most folks doing sourdough pizza are maintaining their starters at rather warm conditions, which should result in a milder, more lievito madre (LM) like composition, which is more on the yeast/lacto-acidic side, than on the acetic. But given that you are striving for a pronounced sourdough taste, this also seems not to be the right approach for you. Maybe it is possible to use a regular yeast dough as base and work in sourdough for the tase just before the final ball rise.
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How do you cook sourdough in a wood fired oven?
Once you can see the steam building, you can place your loaf directly onto the cooking floor. Bake for around 35-45 minutes or until your sourdough is golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped. Leave to cool for twenty minutes. Once cool, slice or tear your sourdough and serve with lashings of butter.Can you cook sourdough in a pizza oven?
Sourdough, ciabatta, foccacia, rollsThere are a few types of breads which you can cook in a wood fired oven. At the top of the temperature range you have the types similar to a pizza such as naan breads and garlic breads which cook in minutes.Can you make wood fired pizza in an oven?
Preheat your wood-fired pizza oven to at least 600\xb0F. Once the fire dies down to about 500\xb0F, bake the bread or dessert, rotating numerous times for an even bake. Place flatbread dough right on the baking surface.Wood Fired Sourdough Pizza
More answers regarding sourdough pizza crust for wood-fired oven
Answer 2
I have the same experience. Did you try using a preferment that is half yeast preferment and half sourdough preferment? It is a technique used in Tartine and I have had some promising results with this.
Answer 3
At the Bavarian bakery where I apprenticed long ago, sour doughs were only stretched and rolled tighly before proofing.
Mostly round wooden baskets, some batton shapes too, they were jiggled-hopped onto baking stone directly or via floured belt contraption.
They didn't like being flipped upside down. I know because some that got too stuck in forms were gently inverted; those I got to eat. Bit compacted.
So, if you have a flat plate size form to proof in and a nice flick of the wrist... wouldn't be thin neopolitan but poking a few spots like foccacia may be worthwhile
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