Crisp pizza without baking stone

The career of a home-made pizzaiolo is, in many cases, determined up to the point of getting a baking stone that would provide the bottom heat a good pizza needs. There was an interesting posting on the chefkoch.de forum (hosted by excellent chef Carsten Dorhs) by user Alberto using a yeast-free dough with a hydration of 233% – a liquid batter that looked very promising, so I tried to have a go at very wet pizza doughs. The result is a thin, crisp and flexible pizza. Very good.

Pizza dough

• 250g flour, Italian ’00′ or German Type 405 (100%)
• 300g cold mineral water (120%)
• 5g salt (2%)
• 2g fresh yeast (0.8%)

Quickly mix the ingredients for the dough together (I use a fork), then let stand covered for one hour at room temperature. Line a baking sheet with non-stick paper, rub a little olive oil onto it and pour the dough onto the sheet. Let stand for 10 minutes. The dough probably has spread by itself fitting the sheet. If not, use a spatula or a spoon to distribute the dough evenly.

For making the pizza, add your toppings like tomato sauce, mozzarella and herbs and bake the pizza at 250°C for 35-40 minutes on lowest rack of oven. Don’t leave it alone as the pizza might begin to char early (depending on the flour and the toppings, the heavier of which will sink into the dough).

Früchtebrot

Usually eaten around Christmas time, which passed too quickly – fruitbread, every bread baker’s secret and true love. The excellent “Stone oven bakery” sells a memorable version, which is flour free. Indeed, there is only little room for gluten in this fruit loaf and you could omit the flour completely. The bread’s moist, soft and compact crumb is loaded with dark and sweet flavors. The addition of spices like cinnamon, cloves and mace or even freshly ground pepper and chopped ginger is possible. I’ve added some “Birnenschmaus” – a thick puree made from pears. Or use black tea as the soaking liquid. The flavor of this loaf matures over a couple of days.

It is almost impossible to give exact quantities for the water, since every dried fruit mixture is different. They might be soft, then less water is needed, or rather dry, then more water is needed. Either way, the fruit dough should not be loose but firm and sticky. Like the resulting loaf.

• 500g of mixed dried fruit, chopped coarsly (sultanas, dates, figs, pineapple, banana chips, apricots, …)
• 100g of mixed whole nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, pecan nuts, ….)
• 50g soft seeds (sunflower seeds, linseed, …)
• 100g Grafschafter Birnenschmaus, apricot jam or honey (or a thick fruit puree)
• 50g plain flour
• 50g rolled oats
• 3 tbsp brown rum
• approx 150g hot water for soaking
• additional water to make a thick and moist fruit dough, approx 100-200g

The day before fruitbread day, pout the fruits, nuts and seeds into a bowl and pour the hot water over it until less dry but still crumbly. Add the rum, stir and let stand covered overnight.

The next day add all other ingredients and mix briefly. The mass should feel thick and heavy, it will barely come together at all. Line a small baking tin with baking paper, put the fruibread mass into it and cover with foil.

Bake at 190°C for 60-90 minutes. The last 20 minutes remove the foil to dry out the top surface, which will be the bottom of the loaf. Let cool, preferably let sit overnight and slice wih a serrated knife. Serve with a cup of tea.

Mein Saftkorn

The color of this bread’s crumb is not a photoshop lie (and I hope none of my pictures are). I added about 2% of “Quellmehl” – a special kind of rye flour used for coloring breads available through a few mills. My bag of it seems to last forever and indeed, the need for color is not really given for a home-baker. Adding more than 2% makes the bread taste flat and musty.

I like the soft and moist crumb and the sharp bite of the crust, helped by rolling the dough in Hafergrütze before putting it into my wooden frame. Hafergrütze consists of coarsly cut hulless oats. Before the opening of “Netto” markets in my vicinity, AFAIK it was available only in Northern Germany. I’ve used it in this bread and was only able to get it through Ulrike from Küchenlatein.

Quite delicious. Almost as good as pancakes. And this concludes the small series of rectangular breads.

Slices, two of them

rye sourdough

• 100g rye flour, Type 1150
• 80g water, 20°C
• 5g mature rye sourdough, hydration: 100%

Let stand covered at room temperature for 16 hours or until it looks inflated and smells like sourdough (a sort of pleasant sweet’n'sour smell of ripe apples and slightly yeasty)

soaker

• 25 sunflower seeds
• 50g linseeds
• 100g water
• 7g Roggenröstmehl (a darkly coloured roasted rye flour)
• 7g salt

Let stand for at least 5 hours, covered.

dough

• 75g rye flour, Type 1150
• 175g whole-wheat flour
• 75-100g handwarm water to make a soft and sticky dough
• a handful of toasted hazelnuts (approx. 30g)
• 4g fresh yeast
• soaker
• rye sourdough
• Additional rye flour and Hafergrütze or oatmeal for dusting

Mix to a smooth dough, let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Shape and proof for 45-60 minutes at 24°C in a loaf pan or wooden baking frame. Bake at 230°C for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 190°C and bake for further 40 minutes.

So you think you bake a lot

Check out the video on the site of bakery “Forno Camp De’Fiori” in Rome.

60% rye with a Guinness/old-bread – soaker

And another test loaf for my wooden baking frame. I’ve added a Guinness beer soaker for flavor and to make this a very moist loaf that keeps well. Will cut into it later.

Wet dough

Loaf baked in a wooden frame

From the front

Soaker

• 30g stale bread, preferably rye, including crust, cut into 1cm cubes
• 100g Guinness beer or a dark ale

Add the bread crumbs and the beer to a pot and bring to the boil. Simmer for 7-10 minutes until the bread gets soft and the mixture thickens. Let cool.

Dough

• 160g strong white flour, Type 1050
• 180g rye flour
• 200g rye sourdough made from 80g medium rye meal and 120g water
• Approx. 100g warm water to make a moderately loose dough
• 8g sea salt
• 4g fresh yeast
• A pinch of cardamom (optional)
• Soaker
• 1 tsp caraway seeds for the crust

Mix to a moderately loose dough. Do not add the caraway seeds, which will be sprinkled onto the crust. The first picture shows its state after the first rise. Desired dough temperature: 26°C.
First rise: 45 minutes.
Shape round and put into a baking tin or a baking frame. Brush the surface with water and sprinkle with caraway seeds.
Second rise: 1 hours at 25°C.
Baking: With steam, bake at 230°C for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 190°C and bake for further 45 minutes. Take the bread out of the oven, brush with water again. The caraway seeds probably be gone by too by now, but that is ok, since they have given off their flavors during the bake.