Pizza dough - ending up with far less than recipe states

RainyDay

I'd be grateful for any light you can shed on this problem. I seem to be ending up with about half the amount of pizza dough than the recipe suggests.

I'm using a recipe from Rachel Allen's books - same as http://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/food/recipes/2011/0922/399-homemade-pizzas-with-quick-yeast-dough/ but with half the quantities - 350g strong flour.

The book suggests that you'll end up with enough to make 6 x 12" diameter pizzas, and I'm getting nothing near this. I divide the dough into six and roll it out. If I roll it thin enough to get anywhere near to 12", it is impossible to handle. Once I try to pick it up to put it on a baking tray, it just falls apart. When I roll it to a thickness that is manageable, it is more like a 6" diameter than 12".

Any ideas where I might be going wrong?

Minder

If it falls apart? How so? crumbly?

Faith

That recipe makes no mention of letting the dough prove. When I've mixed everything, I knead my dough on a floured surface for a few minutes until it's smooth and shiny, then I put it in a bowl, cover it with cling film, and leave it prove in a warm place until it roughly doubles in size. If you're not proving the dough, it won't rise, so that's probably why you're not getting the volume you expect.

bbbbb

I use this recipe
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/recipe/pizza-dough
1kg flour = 8 pizzas
where as your recipe says
700g flour = 12 pizzas
doesn't seem to add up alright.

Faith

bbbbb wrote: »

I use this recipe
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/recipe/pizza-dough
1kg flour = 8 pizzas
where as your recipe says
700g flour = 12 pizzas
doesn't seem to add up alright.

That's another good point! I'd use 150-200g flour per pizza. I swear by this recipe: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056955985

Minder

Faith wrote: »

That's another good point! I'd use 150-200g flour per pizza. I swear by this recipe: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056955985

Agreed, this Dan Lepard recipe with 600g of flour gave me 4 good pizzas.

hargo

I make my pizza dough for a wood fired oven and use 00 flour. Not sure if 00 is good for a standard oven as you don't have the intense heat. Also you can use some olive oil in the dough for standard oven without it burning. Its well worth making your dough the day before you are using it and use cold water, let it prove in the fridge. This slower proving will improve the flavour of the dough. I use 600mg flour 400mg water 15mg salt and 4mg fresh yeast. This gives 4 250mg pizza balls suitable for 12 inch pizzas. I think it is well worth using fresh yeast which can be bought for about 30 cents in any of the polish shops. Leave the dough for about 20 minutes once mixed before kneeding it.

Minder

hargo wrote: »

I make my pizza dough for a wood fired oven and use 00 flour. Not sure if 00 is good for a standard oven as you don't have the intense heat. Also you can use some olive oil in the dough for standard oven without it burning. Its well worth making your dough the day before you are using it and use cold water, let it prove in the fridge. This slower proving will improve the flavour of the dough. I use 600mg flour 400mg water 15mg salt and 4mg fresh yeast. This gives 4 250mg pizza balls suitable for 12 inch pizzas. I think it is well worth using fresh yeast which can be bought for about 30 cents in any of the polish shops. Leave the dough for about 20 minutes once mixed before kneeding it.

mg? Thats some thin pizza base you got there.

RainyDay

Thanks for the feedback, folks. I should have said that I do rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes after kneading. Now that I think of it, I didn't notice the usual bulging cling film in the fridge, so maybe I didn't give it enough time there?

confusticated

I'd leave dough prove in a warm place, not the fridge...I think the yeast needs the warmth.

Faith

confusticated wrote: »

I'd leave dough prove in a warm place, not the fridge...I think the yeast needs the warmth.

Can do either way. Warm water + a warm proving place will get the yeast acting quickly. Cold water + a cold proving place will take much longer, but it develops the flavour better.

Mellor

RainyDay wrote: »

The book suggests that you'll end up with enough to make 6 x 12" diameter pizzas, and I'm getting nothing near this. I divide the dough into six and roll it out. If I roll it thin enough to get anywhere near to 12", it is impossible to handle. Once I try to pick it up to put it on a baking tray, it just falls apart. When I roll it to a thickness that is manageable, it is more like a 6" diameter than 12".

The recipe you linked to suggests 10" not 12". 2" might not seam like much, but its almost 50% greater in area.

Faith wrote: »

That recipe makes no mention of letting the dough prove

Id says to put it into the fridge for 30mins. Is that long enough to prove?
I'

Faith

Mellor wrote: »

The recipe you linked to suggests 10" not 12". 2" might not seam like much, but its almost 50% greater in area.

Id says to put it into the fridge for 30mins. Is that long enough to prove?
I'

I'm no yeast expert but I'd say no. Maybe 30 mins in a warm place with well kneaded dough, but it would take a lot longer in the fridge I'd imagine.

huskerdu

Faith wrote: »

I'm no yeast expert but I'd say no. Maybe 30 mins in a warm place with well kneaded dough, but it would take a lot longer in the fridge I'd imagine.

I agree.
30 minutes in a fridge is nowhere near long enough to prove.
I never prove anything in the fridge.

If you have a few hours, or over night, room temp is good. A longer slower prove does develop the flavour more.

But, if you only have 30 minutes, you need a warm place. I put the oven on the defrost setting for 10 minutes, when turn it off and put the dough in to prove.

rubadub

bbbbb wrote: »

I use this recipe
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/recipe/pizza-dough
1kg flour = 8 pizzas
where as your recipe says
700g flour = 12 pizzas
doesn't seem to add up alright.

His 12 are 100g each

Shape and measure into 12 equal balls of dough, each weighing about 100g (4oz). Lightly brush the balls of dough with olive oil.

for the pizza dough
700 g strong white flour
1 rounded tsp salt
1 tblsp sugar
50 g butter
15 g packet (2 x 71/2g sachets) fast-acting yeast
3 tblsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing
350 ml (to 400) lukewarm water

If you tot up the grams and 400ml/g of water it is 1165g, so with the other small amounts it would be ~1200g.

These are small though, you can compare to commercial products.

http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=265869171
half a 8" base is 115g

these are 200g http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=266534560

A slice of brennans bread in the regular yellow pack is ~40g.

Some moisture will be lost during baking too, so they end up under 100g.

Mellor wrote: »

The recipe you linked to suggests 10" not 12". 2" might not seam like much, but its almost 50% greater in area.

+1, its strange how no/few pizza companies seem to show area units or weights as well as diameters.

hargo

Minder wrote: »

mg? Thats some thin pizza base you got there.

Yea sorry about that should be grams of course.
If you want to prove the dough quickly it will take about an hour at room temp to double in size and about 15 grams of fresh yeast but trust me the fridge is the way to go if you plan ahead.

RainyDay

OK, looks like the proving time was my issue. I'll give it a longer shot next time round and see what happens.

Thanks for all the suggestions.