"Baking Mad" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hello.
>
> Anyone try using Type "00" flour for pizza dough, baked in a standard
> kitchen oven? I've tried King Arthur Flour's "Italian style" flour.
> It made a very slack dough, which took some getting used to.
> I don't know whether imported Type "00" would differ much from KA's.
>
> I've been placing the pizza pan directly onto the bottom of a small
> oven, with decent results. Does using a baking stone placed on the
> bottom make much of a difference? Sometimes I'll place the tray
> between the bottom of the oven and a baking stone and slide the pizza
> onto the stone for a little extra crispy crust bottom.
>
Don't use a pizza pan, except to serve the pizza. Always use a stone at
least 1/2 inch thick, heated for
one hour to 550F.
I think you can more or less duplicate type 00 by using 2/3 all purpose
flour and 1/3 cake flour.
I've asked around the Italian markets in the SF Bay Area for type 00 flour
without any success.
I've come to the conclusion that in the pursuit of the ultimate home pizza
one should forget that.
I use all purpose flour, usually KA. Whatever you use, it should be
unbleached.
Always use a preferment, like biga, poolish, or just old dough. You can also
use
very little yeast/flour and let your dough rise very slowly overnight in the
frig.
Use a "wet" dough, as do Julia Child, Alice Waters, Peter Reinhardt and
Wolffie Puck do; three cups flour, 1.25 cups water, salt and yeast. I, as
most, add oil, usually 2TB to the previous mix. If I'm making pizza and
I know it that morning I make a poolish, with 1 cup flour, 1/4/-1/2 tsp
yeast, and 1 cup H2O, and let it
bubble all day. That gets added to 2 cups flour, salt, olive oil, .25 cups
water, and with or without
additional yeast, depending on the activity of your poolish, the
temperature, and when you want to make your pizza. Then, don't overknead. I
only rise once, being careful not to over-rise. Divide dough into 2-3 balls.
When you make your pizza, heat heavy stone to 550F for one hour. Carefully
stretch a dough ball to pizza size, don't use a rolling pin, place it on
your paddle, top and bake for 6-7 minutes at 550F. Spray H20 inside the oven
3 times during baking.

Ken