Typical dish of the Italian gastronomic tradition, pizza has always been one of the most popular homemade preparations for its simplicity and its great taste.
It is easy to prepare but you should avoid making some mistakes in order to obtain a result similar to that of a pizzeria. In the following lines you will find the 5 most common mistakes that you make when you put “your hands in the dough”.
USING THE WRONG FLOUR
The choice of the right flour is crucial. In order to prepare a high and well leavened pizza you need to use flour with the right protein content that is able to make the dough elastic. You can verify the protein content directly on the flour bag as it is included in the table of nutritional values. For thin and crispy pizza dough the right protein content is between 10% and 11.5% while for a higher and more voluminous pizza, you should choose flour with protein value between 11.5% and 14%. White flours (0 and 00 flour) are the easiest to knead while darker ones (type 1, 2 and whole wheat flour) require more attention because when you use them, dough tend to develop less while baking.
WRONG LEAVENING TEMPERATURES
To obtain a good pizza it is not enough to mix ingredients together, but it is necessary to pay attention to quantities, to the order of addition and especially to temperatures.
In fact, yeast efficacy depends on the temperature of the dough. If the dough rises in a cold environment it is better to use more yeast; on the contrary, if the environment is very hot you must reduce yeast quantity and maybe "watch" the loaves during their rising, putting them well covered inside a refrigerator, if necessary.
ADD FILLING DIRECTLY ON THE PIZZA
To achieve a good result you have to avoid adding tomato and mozzarella immediately after stretching the pizza. In fact, all the topping ingredients have their weight on the dough, which needs some time to rise properly. Before filling the pizza it is therefore recommended to let the dough rest for the necessary time. A good rule is to first bake pizza with tomato and only after a few minutes add mozzarella, which in this way will not risk to burn.
USING GREASY OR EXCESSIVELY |WATERED-DOWN| INGREDIENTS
A mistake you often make when preparing pizza toppings is to use ingredients that are too rich in water or oil. In fact, all ingredients must be properly dried in advance. A good mozzarella is normally rich in milk, so it is a good rule to cut it in advance and add it on the pizza only after it released the excess water.
BAKING IN A NOT PROPERLY HEATED OVEN
Pizza baking is a fundamental step that is often underestimated. For a good result, it is essential to preheat the oven at maximum temperature at least 20-30 minutes in advance. You need to put pizza in the oven as quickly as possible because every time you open the oven door, its temperature drops abruptly. Pizza requires baking at a constant temperature of over 230/250 degrees. For a better result it is good practice to put a refractory stone tile on the base of the oven, which keeps temperature stable. By placing the pizza pan about 3-5 cm from the refractory base you will get a faster and smoother baking.
By avoiding these 5 mistakes you can get the most out of your kitchen.
Enjoy your pizza!
