In bread making, you're supposed to proof the dough for awhile before cooking it. With pizza dough, you're technically supposed to proof BETWEEN 24 - 48 hours. Some places proof their dough for a minimum of 48 hours. I've caught people pressing into the proofed dough for fun, not realizing this causes the gases inside the bread to rush out. Basically by precompressing the dough, it becomes hard to work with later on, and the dough is less poofy. This is why in bread making, it is important to keep the risen bread risen and not compressed again. Some breads require you to knead again into proofed dough, but it is always risen before baking.
I'm just saying this because I feel like it should have been common sense, not to hasten the dough process. The dough can be literally the deal breaker for most pizza out there.
In my opinion, the dough tastes as if it is not done proofing, and/or they killed the yeast when preparing the dough. You can do this by heating the water past 110F and then mixing with the dough mix. I know for a fact Casey's tells employees to temp it to 105F, and yeast actually is a very hardy organism that can remain dormant in cold temperatures whilst also being able to become active between temperatures of 40F degrees to 115F degrees.
If the dough has an estery taste, it means it was mixed too hot. If it has a sweet taste, then it is not done proofing. If it has an alcoholic taste, then it's too cold.
Yes I used to work there, yes I used to tell them these same things, No, they did not care to listen to me, in fact I am pretty sure I was seen as a nerd. I just really like making bread, and I was just doing my job. read more
