1) Knead longer to ensure that the dough is elastic enough to stretch out
without tearing

2) Let the dough rise overnight in the 'fridge for a better flavor

3) Bread flour will work fine; you can make do with AP

4) High gluten flour in 25 lb bags is dirt cheap at Smart and Final; some
Costco's have it at well.

5) http://theartisan.net/pizzabas.htm has all you need to know.





--

Regards

Louis Cohen
Living la vida loca at N37° 43' 7.9" W122° 8' 42.8"

"Russ Easby" > wrote in message
...
> Hello, for some time now I have been trying to replicate a pizza crust one
> would find in a good NY pizzaria. Now I know most of them use high-gluten
> flour, but this is not something I have been able to find in grocery
stores
> (seems to be a whole sale only item) so I started out using bread flour,
> figuring its higher protien content, while not as high as high-gluten
flour, is
> close (bread flour being around 12%, where as high gluten 14% and all
purpose
> 9%).
>
> So, my problem is, I have a terrible time tossing and stretching the dough
made
> with bread flour, it tears easily and is not very elastic, just plain
tough.
> So I gave up after many attempts.
>
> Next I tried just using all purpose flour, and the dough this produces is
very
> easy to toss and stretch, but the lower protien content makes it seem to
> produce a denser less chewy crust then what I am looking for.
>
> So, I thought maybe there is another element to the bread flour that isnt
in
> all purpose or high-fluten that maybe be making the dough tough? So I
tried
> just adding wheat gluten to all purpose flour (at 1 tsp per cup of flour)
and I
> end up with the exact same problem as when I use bread flour, tough dough
thats
> impossible to stretch, toss and shape.
>
> Do I just need to break down and buy my flour 25 lbs at a time so I can
get
> proper high gluten flour? Or, looking at some pizza industry web sites, I
> notice they cold rise their dough for 12 hours, does this somehow make
high
> gluten flours like bread flour easier to work with then a quicker room
temp
> rise?
>
> Here is the basic formula I use for making pizza dough:
>
> 3 cups flour
> 1 cup water at 115 degrees F
> 2 1/4 tsps active dry yeast
> 1/2 tsp salt
> 1/4 tsp sugar for proofing
>
> I have experimented with small amounts of oil as well, after seeing some
pizza
> industry websites use it in their recipies, while it did not hurt my
efforts,
> it certainly did not solve the problem.
>
> I primarly have done single rises, since not a single industry website
mentions
> anything about second rises in their dough making. Though in wondering if
this
> might be my problem, I have experimented with double rising, and it in no
way
> helped my problem.
>
> So is the flour type my problem? By the way I primarily use King Author,
but
> have tried other brands with the same results.
>
> I have been baking wonderful breads for many years with great success,
proper
> NY style pizza dough is just an obstical I cannot conquor. Rolled out
craker
> type crusts such as you get with chain pizza "thin crust" and deep dish
> sicilian are not a problem, just a problem with making a dough that can be
> properly hand tossed.
>
> Any help or suggestions are very welcome.
>
> Russell