I just wanted to thank you for this video! I've been searching for the right recipe and process for the past year and a half. This is the one! Easy to follow your directions and the taste and texture was exactly what I was looking for. Cheers!
Finally, a video that really explains how to make pizza dough! I’ve watched so many I can’t tell you how many, but none of them was as comprehensive and instructive as this one. Really well planned out and edited…I never felt like I had to fast forward in order to get through superfluous bs. Thank you Natalina! My poolish is sitting in a bowl on the counter…I can’t wait to complete the pizza making process tomorrow!
So kind, thank you very much! Let me know how it turns out... remember practice makes perfect. Keep notes and perfect it based on what ingredients you have available and the temperature and humidity of your environment! Good luck!
It came out very well! My husband, who has been sharing my pizza journey, said it’s the best crust I’ve made yet. Definitely taking notes and striving for perfection. So glad I found your video.
This is a wonderful video for the novice. I wish I had watched it when I started. I had never kneaded dough before when I started. Most YT videos make it look a breeze, and I feel this is a part that gets overlooked. I guess it is assumed everyone intuitively knows how the finished pizza dough is supposed to look like. With scales, the recipe is easy. I understand that editing this part is essential, but to me kneading is the key. I did basic stretching and rotation on the board, stretch and fold in the bowl, and slap and fold...but unfortunately never long enough. This leads to sticky fragile dough that can be tricky to stretch and a challenge to get on and off the peel. I finally just started to do more and more kneading each time (I agree, stretch and fold is easiest) until I finally had success. Thank you for emphasizing this part and what the final dough should look like. Nice tutorial.
Just found your video by accident and am glad I did. Not any verbal diarrhea, just good information. You make it simple and educational and easy to follow. Just one question, what is a good percentage of poolish to dough? I've used poolish years ago, then went to storebought dough, but I will try your method. Your video is a keeper, thank you.
So kind thank you... I am an Italian cooking instructor not a professional pizza maker so this is just a recipe I use successfully. I don't have a tried and true poolish percentage I use .. follow Vito pizza maker, maybe he has one?
Fabulous presentation here. You did a great job in explaining the how's and why's of each step which makes it easy to follow. Loved the background info about the Napolitan pizza requirements. My first attempt at pizza dough was a textbook disaster, having followed one of Vito's recipes, but I missed enough info about the process that led to massive mistakes. The pizza's were okay, but the dough was unmanageable, with the consistency of a thick slime. Not giving up though, we're going to try it again! ps this is the first tutorial I've seen where yeast is added a second time together with the poolish.
Great video very probably one of the best dough tutorials I've seen, I was about to buy some pre made dough but now I'll give your method a go. Thank you 👌👍
Awesome...thanks so much..., let me know how you do! It takes practice though.and eventually your instincts will.guide you . It will just feel.right...make notes as you go ! Best of luck!!
I've just proved my first batch read to cook later, I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the results. One thing comes to mind, once proved for the last time can the dough then be frozen. Many thanks.
Yes, I place individual balls in freezer bags , remove air and freeze. Place inside another bag to prevent freezer burn...thaw in fridge,then bring to room temperature..
You are correct this one is 63%... easier to manage the dough for beginners...you could increase water to 70% or more once you get experience...the dough will be sticky at first but use the lift and fold method for sticky dough until the gluten develops...
Thank you so much for the quick reply. I'm a newbie at the pizza dough. I have made quite a bit of Ciabatta and Focaccia, so I'm not a total newbie at bread making or high hydration doughs. I did try pizza dough once before but didn't have much success at shaping and stretching. So, this batch of dough is for practicing those skills. Thank you again.
Ciao Natalina, thank you for sharing, very informative video. When you make more or less pizzas - do you adjust the poolish accordingly or you can always keep same amount of flour/water? If I make 4-5 pizzas only, do I need to make less poolish or I can keep the same amount of 300/300? Also, to add all the yeast into Poolish and have levening and fermentation before you make the dough - what is the reason behind adding yeast twice? What type of bread flour was used? I always used Caputo, but now no one sells it 😡. Please keep posting your videos, it inspires many people 👍
I used a local, high gluten bread flour ...it is not a well known brand. If you can get Manitoba flour you could use that as well...watch my Manitoba Flour video for information...every country has different flours available.
@@natalinasflavoursofItaly Thank you, I'm actually your neighbor living in Richmond Hill :-) Can you please share the brand? Where do you buy it? Also for 00 flour - specialty stores or Fortinos/Coppa’s?
@@igoreren6149 local to Guelph...I no longer have the package, it was a 20 kg bag now in a plastic bin. I used to sell Caputo "00" through my cooking school so a restaurant supplier to businesses...try a local Italian bakery or store
Glad I found this!🙂 How much protein does your bread flour for the poolish have? How much grams of dried yeast are you using. Half a teaspoon or 1/8th is way too vague. Thanks
I'm not here to hate, but isn't 24 hours a lot of time for the poolish to rest?? I've tried it before, and my poolish became sour and had no yeast activity. Also, 70-80% hydration is a lot!!! XD I believe the recommended amount of hydration for neapolitan pizza is 55 - 62%. Otherwise, everything you do is amazing👏
Your room temperature is likely too warm. My room temperature is around 20-21 degrees Celsius... there are a lot of variables here. I am not a pizzaiolo ...I am an Italian cooking instructor that was not working during the Pandemic and produced this course for beginners. If you calculate the hydration on this recipe it's actually not that high. What everyone forgets here is everyone's flour, temperature, oven etc are different so you have to make a pizza dough tons of times to see what works best with what YOU have available. It's not a 1 recipe works well for everyone. It takes a very long time to perfect a good pizza dough with what YOUhave. So it's not for lazy cooks... it's hours and hours of work... failed attempts and then awesome results. There are lots of professional pizzaiolo videos out there...happy pizza making!
@@natalinasflavoursofItaly In your video you said that it is a high hydration dough, just under 70%. & that makes a better Neapolitan Pizza dough. Being a novice I am now a bit confused.
@@Dj-zz it's a beginner, dough with poolish... higher hydration is much harder for a beginner...good starting place! As I have stated many times I am not a pizziola...but rather an Italian cooking instructor. It's a great recipe for novices...
@@natalinasflavoursofItaly I wasn’t being critical. I’m a home novice at making pizza. Just wanting to understand, as I believe you referred to a just under 70% hydration. Wonder if your written recipe was an error as it is 63%. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
@@Dj-zz no worries, all good... I get a lot of criticism from die hard pizzaiolo's or pizzaiolo wanna be's that's all. It's a very good recipe for beginners and novices It's at the lower end of high hydration but it's good and very predictable! Happy pizza making! 🍕
Wonderful!!! A Utube Tip: it's difficult to hear all of your commentary when you drop to a whisper. Being older, i need all the audio help i can get. 😁
You only need a pinch of yeast for poolish ... for this large a recipe it is not enough leavening so you add more in the final dough. Most poolish recipes are like this.
Thanks for the wonderful tutorial. Reading the comments, I saw that you in Guelph. But then saw your recent video announcing your move to Southampton. I’m in Kitchener, so I consider both fairly local. We spend our summer vacations in Southampton. I have a question about the recipe. I followed the instructions exactly, but my dough has not become very stretchy- it’s still very hard to pull and a bit raggedy. Wonder what I’ve done wrong? My kitchen is on the cool side. Plus, I have a chronic shoulder injury so can’t pull very hard. Could either of those things affect the outcome? Thanks again. So glad I found your channel.😊
The cool temperature may affect the dough as would the ambient humidity. February in Kitchener is most likely dry due to the furnace running. What kind of flours did you use?
I used bread flower for the poolish, and a 00 for the rest. The bread flour was robinhood, and the bread flour was the loblaws black label brand. The dough is bulk fermenting now (half hour in). My oven has a proofing setting. Would it help to pop it in there?
Yes, if your kitchen is cool use the proofsetting. . I tend to make these doughs when it is warmer weather as I am using the Woodfired oven outdoors. The 2 flours are fine but if you want better results use an organic bread flour , Flour Barrel in Guelph and they have an in-house 00 ... you will find the prices there way better than the grocery store with larger bags.
Thank you so much. I will use the oven proofer, and I will be making a trip to Flour Barrel for sure. I usually make pizza dough in the warmer months, too. I set up my little breville pizza oven under the gazebo and eat pizza all summer. But I got an ooni for Christmas, so I’m trying to up my dough game before the season arrives. Thanks for all your help! 😊
Minimum 1 hour ,maximum 8 hours in the fridge... 1-2 hours outside the fridge before stretching. It was a warm day when we taped this video and it was probably longer because of taping.
Yes... I would freeze them after the last fermentation in balls. Let them go the minimum fermentation the last time as as they thaw they will start fermenting again.
@@natalinasflavoursofItaly Thank you. My poolish is about 12 hours in and is gassing off quite a bit. I had to take the lid off or it would have exploded. Just have plastic wrap on and the lid on lightly.
@@natalinasflavoursofItaly should I put it in the fridge now? Or let it stay on the counter? My home is about 68 degrees Fahrenheit. I thought your video said to leave it on the counter for 24 hours
@@alanmahler277 your container must have been too small then...68 is not too warm... leave it on the counter but use a much bigger one with a lid next time!
Hi Natalina, you said these dough balls would last up to a max of one night in the fridge, is this a rough rule or will they over proof? I've just made these and realized I'm out for a work dinner tomorrow night :(
You could keep them in the fridge an extra 12-24 hours and they will probably be fine... you never want to leave them at room temperature for extended periods of time as they will most likely over proof.
How long can a poolish sit before it does not become effective I got busy with the great weather so it’s been at room temp for 46 hrs and wondering if I can use still?
Can I freeze the dough balls? At what step would this occur, after shaping into balls? Or shape into balls, let it proof for an hour or so and then freeze? Also, do you proof in room temperature or fridge?
Each recipe is different...the video shows all the steps and proofing . For freezing I freeze after balling and thaw in the fridge. Then bring to room temperature before baking.
I use semola but I recommend for complete beginners parchment paper, as it is more fool proof. If the dough sticks its a real mess and the dough and ingredients are wasted.
There are a number of resting times for the poolish and then the complete dough, in the fridge and at room temp... they are all in the video. This is not a direct dough ...
You say that a high hydration (70%) is ideal but you make a recipe with 63% only (630ml water for 1kg flour). Is it already enough for a Napolitan style pizza ? I tried several times 70% but the dough is way too sticky and so soft that handling the pizza is a nightmare. It would have been great that you make a video with 70% dough, so we can progress. 😊
70% is a lighter dough but high hydration is tougher to work with... I was making these videos during Covid-19 as my cooking school was closed and I was unable to host tours to Italy...unfortunately now that tours have resumed I don't have time to do more videos. As I state I am an Italian cooking instructor not a pizzialo. I suggest you follow a professional pizzialo for more advanced methods and recipes.
Exactly what I was thinking. I don't care for the carcinogenic, inedible char marks on my crust. I just started learning to make my own pizza's and bake them in my kamado bbq. Nice thing about that is you have really even heat distribution and very low risk of charring.
There are so many so-called poolish pizza makers on youtube who are always charring the crust,it's terrible and I bet it has that burnt taste, and they say "look at that, perfect pizza "
It's hard when you are new at woodfired cooking... but a seasoned pizziolo should get the perfect color without char marks... personally my first one, each time, is usually not my best as I need to adapt to the fire everytime. Too hot, too much flame... etc... definitely takes practice! 🍕 🍕 🍕
@@natalinasflavoursofItaly Yes I'm sure it's hard for someone starting out and its hard to not char the crust for newbies ,but many of these so called experts on youtube are from Naples Italy and they don't even follow the international rules {cheese/tomatoes} set by their own countries ruling board .
Probably just grabbing quickly under pressure on video... I am not a pizziolo ...I am an Italian cooking instructor who was doing videos while my school was closed during Covid-19 and selling pizza ovens to pay the bills. It was a tough 2.5 years ...
Instant yeast gets added directly to the flour and traditional yeast must be dissolved in water... see my yeast video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-u2AdrIui1PM.htmlsi=HQOk1VU89D7i562f Are you saying your cornicione is not airy at all or mine? As stated I am not a Pizziolo, I am an Italian cooking instructor.... these are good starter recipes but I am not a professional pizza maker.