A Bit of History
Do you need to know where pizza came from to enjoy it or cook it well. Probably not, but it’s interesting and this is how you will win at trivia night What Are The Different Types of Baker’s Yeast?
There are three main types of commercially produced baker’s yeast: active dry, instant, and fresh What Is fermentation?
Scientifically, fermentation refers to the chemical decomposition of complex organic compounds into simpler substances. In baking What Happens When You Add Water to Flour?
Gluten does not exist in flour. Surprised? I bet you are. The endosperm of certain grains—namely wheat, barley Why Is Gluten So Important to Great Pizza crust?
When gluten is kneaded, the network of tiny strands of protein are strengthened as they come into alignment. Under a microscope What Is Dough Hydration and How Does It Affect The Final Pizza?
In bread baking ‘hydration’ refers to the amount of water relative to the amount of flour in the dough What Is The Autolyse Stage?
In addition to the two proteins which create gluten What Does Salt Do to Pizza Dough and Why Should You Wait to Add It?
Saltgreatly reduces the effects of the enzymes at work during the autolyse stage so it is important it is NOT added early What Is “Oven Spring?”
When bread is introduced to the oven, two things happen, the yeast gets a final “kick in the pants” and goes crazy producing CO2 gas What Is A Cold Fermentaiton?
Cold fermenting your dough—that is, storing it in the refrigerator after forming it—improves both its flavor, texture 