Have you been wondering how to make the perfect thin crust pizza? The secret you need to unlock is that of Poolish for Pizza dough!
When it comes to pizza, the crust is the foundation upon which your delightful toppings reside. But creating a perfect pizza crust isn’t just a matter of mixing flour, water, and yeast. To elevate your pizza game to artisanal levels, you need to be familiar with the magic of starters (also called pre-ferments).
Today, we focus on one of the most important starters: Poolish for pizza. Pizzaiolos, get ready!
What is Poolish for Pizza?
Originally conceived by Polish bakers, it was later popularized by Frenchbakers and is an essential component in making French bread, particularly the world-renowned Baguette. The term ‘poolish’ is a nod to its Polish origins.
Poolish is a type of sponge starter. This starter has a very high hydration level: it is a mixture of equal parts flour and water by weight, with a small amount of yeast resulting in a batter-like consistency. The 100% hydration facilitates quicker fermentation, usually taking around 3-5 hours. This expedited process results in a sweet, nutty flavor and contributes to a lighter, more open crumb structure in the finished crust.
A typical Poolish consists of:
- 100% flour
- 100% water
- 0.25% fresh yeast
The mixture is left to ferment for several hours, which allows it to develop complex flavors and improve the texture of the dough.
Why Use Poolish for Pizza?
Well, look for yourself!
Here are a few reasons why Poolish is a beloved choice in pizza dough:
Flavor
The fermentation period introduces a range of complex flavors to the dough, including a slight sweetness and subtle yeasty notes, which simply can’t be achieved through direct dough methods (mixing all ingredients at once).
Texture
Poolish contributes to an open crumb structure, giving the crust a light, airy texture. The result is a dough that strikes a balance between crispiness and chewiness—just what many people seek in a perfect pizza crust.
Dough Handling
The additional hydration makes the dough softer and more extensible, which is often a major advantage when you’re looking to stretch and shape your dough into a very thin pizza, such as a Neapolitan.
How to Make Poolish For Pizza Dough
This Poolish recipe will make 4 ounces of Poolish for your 19-20 ounces of AVPN Neapolitan dough, which is ~20% starter. You can reduce the amount used and still be playing by AVPN rules. Or you can go higher (we won’t tell them!) and maybe you’ll stumble on something you like even better!
Tip: Water For Pizza
Per King Arthur Baking, the ideal water for bread (and therefore pizza) is of medium hardness and with little or no chlorine. Why? The mineral content of the water affects the activity of the yeast and the production of gluten. The sweet spot is between 100 to 150 parts per million.
Most times, tap water is going to be fine. Conventionally filtered water (like using a Brita or Pur) is a step up because it should remove particulates and should allow the chlorine to dissipate.
However, reverse osmosis filtration will soften your water, so if you already have soft water, using RO filtered water is going to work against you. If your tap water is generally hard, then RO filtered water is going to be a good choice.
Bottled drinking water generally has minerals added for improved taste (such as Dasani) and therefore will also work well. The trace amounts of salt added in most US brands should not affect the fermentation.
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces (1/4 cup) warm tap water (no higher than 110°F)
- 2 ounces by weight (about 1/2 cup) Type 00-Pizza flour
- 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
Procedure:
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until frothy. This activates the yeast and ensures it’s alive and active.
- After the yeast is activated, add the flour to the mixture and stir with a butter knife well until all the flour is wet and the mixture forms a thick, sticky batter.
- Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let the poolish ferment at room temperature for at least 3 and up to 24 hours. The longer fermentation period will produce a more complex flavor but keep in mind that the longer fermentation time will affect the workability of the dough.
After the fermentation process, your Poolish starter is ready to be used in your pizza dough recipe.
Pizza Dough with Poolish: The Right Ratio
Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) Neapolitan dough allows for up to 20% of the dough recipe to be made with a “mother dough” – and Poolish is just such an example because of how it helps with extensibility.
Beyond the “rules of the AVPN”, you will probably find it easier to work with a lower ratio of starter (like 1 part in 5 or 20%) because it won’t significantly change the flour/water ratio of the overall recipe (but even then you still will likely need to add a bit of extra flour).
You can certainly use higher ratios (as high as 50%, especially if you’re trying to get a little sourdough flavor to come through) but you’ll almost certainly be changing the pizza dough‘s hydration level – that will likely mean you’re going to add more flour than the recipe calls for.
If you have leftovers of your Poolish, you can use the remainder to start your next batch of starter, much like a sourdough starter.
Practical Tips for Pizzaiolos Using Poolish for Pizza
- Time Management: Poolish can be ready in as little as 3 hours, but is generally best closer to 8 (and even up to 24). However if you over-ferment, the dough can become acidic and/or difficult to work with. I’ve found Neapolitan dough especially unforgiving of over-fermenting.
- Temperature: The temperature that you pre-ferment your starter (and later your pizza) has a significant impact on how long until your starter has done its work. Cooler temperatures slow the fermentation, which (with time) can result in more nuanced flavors.
- Experiment: Start with a small ratio of Poolish and, as you gain confidence, increase the ratio. Also, experiment with the time you ferment your Poolish and note how it changes. If you have left over Poolish, leave it ferment an extra day and see how it changes in smell and how sticky it has become.
Conclusion
If you’re a pizza aficionado who’s serious about your crust, then mastering the art of Poolish is a must. This simple, yet effective pre-fermenting starter offers the addition of an extra level of complexity of flavor and an improved texture that will transform your homemade pizzas from good to great. So go ahead, experiment with Poolish, and discover the delicious difference it makes. Happy pizza making!
Pizza Dough Poolish Recipe
We can’t leave you without a recipe, so let’s put our Poolish to use in an AVPN Poolish Pizza Dough Recipe! If you read the rule book, the Poolish is the “Mother Dough”. We’ve gone with 20% Poolish, which is at the upper end of allowable but that’s so we can really taste the effects of our Poolish!
Neapolitan Poolish Pizza Dough Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer (Optional)
- 1 Wood-burning pizza oven AVPN says this is required, but use what you've got!
- 1 Pizza Cutter
Ingredients
- ½ Tsp Yeast Active, dry yeast
- 2 Ounces Water (1/4 cup) Tap is fine unless it is very hard or very soft, in which case use bottled.
- 2 Ounces 00 Pizza Flour (Approximately 1/2 cup) This is for your Poolish.
- 6 Ounces Water Tap is fine unless it is very hard or very soft, in which case use bottled.
- 1 ½ Tsp Sea salt
- 2 Cups 00 Pizza Flour
- 2 Tbsp Semolina flour (if you don't have semolina, any flour will do, including 00 or all-purpose)
Instructions
Making the Poolish Starter
- In a Mason jar or small bowl, add your yeast to the water and whisk. Wait 5 minutes to ensure the yeast is bubbling slightly so that you know it is active.
- Add the flour and stir with a knife until it has a batter-like consistency. Scrape the knife clean on the side of the jar/bowl and cover. Leave at room temperature for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, the Poolish should have bubbles formed from the fermentation process. You can make your pizza now or within the next 3-5 hours. If you are going to wait longer (up to 24 hours), refrigerate the Poolish.
Making the Pizza Dough
- Pour the water into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Pour the salt into the water and whisk (or stir) until the salt is dissolved.Using a wet spatula, add your Poolish starter.Add about 1/2 cup of flour into the water.
- Start your stand mixer using the hook attachment on its slowest setting.
- Slowly add more flour. Not all flour hydrates the same, so it may be that you'll need a little less or a little more flour.
- If you don't have a stand mixer, you can do this all by hand. Just make a "volcano" of all of the flour and pour the water into the middle. Slowly move and mix the "volcano" walls into the water.
Checking the Dough
- The dough will form into a single compact ball.· When this happens, stop the mixer and check the texture. · Dust your hands with flour and pull the dough off of the hook. · Knead the dough in your hands. · The texture and moistness should be consistent throughout. If it is not, return it to the mixer and check again. · The dough should be slightly tacky and smooth but should not be leaving much sticking to your hands. If it is, return it to the mixer and continue adding flour – slowly. · The final dough ball should be "fat" in appearance and sticky, soft, elastic, and smooth to the touch.
First Fermentation
- Place the dough on a clean surface and cover with a damp cloth for one hour. The damp cloth is important to keep the outer surface from drying out.
Second Fermentation
- Remove the damp cloth and separate the dough into two balls of equal size (this recipe will make two dough balls approximately 9.5 to 9.9 ounces – which is right at the upper size limit).
- Work the two halves into balls (the traditional technique is to shape them the same way Italians prepare fresh mozzarella balls).
- Place the two balls into one or two sealed containers – the dough balls will double in size, so make sure they have enough room.
- Let the dough rest for 24 hours at room temperature.
Stretching the Dough
- After the second fermentation, the dough will have become extensible (meaning you can stretch it) but not very elastic.
- Put 1 tablespoon of semolina flour on your work surface
- Remove one dough ball from its container onto the floured work surface.
- Stretch the dough by hand from the center to the edge. Create a round shape but ensure that the edge of the crust is about 0.5" tall and 0.5" to 1" wide and the rest of the crust is very thin (less than two pennies, if you can).(If needed, add more flour to the work surface so the pizza does not stick, but do not use more than you need)
- With this recipe (which makes two ~9.5 ounce pizza dough balls), you should be able to make up to a 12" pizza.
- Put 1 tablespoon of semolina flour and a pinch of cornmeal on your pizza peel (so the dough will not stick when launched into the oven).
- Transfer your dough to the pizza peel.
- You will want to quickly apply your toppings and get the pizza into the oven before the dough sticks to the peel.
- Launch the pizza into the oven on the hottest part of the stone without being in the flames.
- Before rotating the pizza, make sure that Rotate the pizza one quarter turn every 45 seconds. Generally, the pizza will be done in 6 minutes or less. So watch it closely!
- Remove the pizza from the oven and let it rest for about 3 minutes.
- Cut and serve immediately.
Notes
- If you are going to cook this in a conventional oven, you’ll want the highest temperature you can get the oven to.Â
- If you have a pizza stone (or pizza steel), that’s going to help a lot in getting the most authentic crust. If not, a pizza pan (or cookie sheet) will still turn out a great pizza.
- You can either start the pizza on a pan (or cookie sheet) and transfer it to the stone after about 10 minutes (when the crust is firm enough to be safely transferred). At this point, turn off the oven and let the pizza cook on the stone for another 5 minutes. Remove and let rest on a cutting board for another 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
- Alternatively, you can start by launching the pizza directly to the pizza stone in your oven. This is more tricky and you might want to practice with some dough with no toppings!
Nutrition
Todd’s cooking skills have revolved around the grill since about age 12, when he developed a love for grilling and took over for Mom at the BBQ. He worked at Wendy’s and at Earl’s Tin Palace (a restaurant chain in Canada) but never really did any sort of baking…until he and Heather started making pizza together! Now he’s often making dough in the mornings and pizza in the evenings.