Perfect pizza dough for those that plan ahead. Airy crumb combined with a crust that sits somewhere between chewy and crispy makes for a really great pizza.
One of the things that I really like about some more traditional American crusts is the malty sweet flavor that’s missing from the Neapolitan styles. I like NY Style pizza, but if I have my choice, I’m leaning towards Naples before NYC. I love the airy, soft crumb that just has a slight external crip that you just don’t usually get with NY Style. But what if… What if you combined them to create a frankenstein ‘Za?
Handling the dough the same way as a Neapolitan style, but combining malt and a sweet copper beer instead of water to deliver the flavor we are looking for. It works, I love it, and I’m sharing it with you. And I’m calling it Drunken Style, and you heard it here first folks.
Note:
When making any sort of dough, I will list everything in weight. This is because not everyone packs one cup of flour exactly the same as the next, and this will allow for a more precise recipe, which is important in baking.
Carolina Style Beer Pizza Dough
Makes ~8-10 12" pizzas
Ingredients
1 Kg of 00 Flour
5g Active Dry Yeast
5g Diastatic Malt Powder
17g Kosher Salt
20 G Olive Oil
300 G Slightly Warm Water
400 G Room Temperature Copper or Amber Beer
Day 1 - The Poolish & Fermentation #1:
Ingredients:
300g 00 Flour
300g Slightly Warm Water
5g Diastatic Malt Powder
5g Active Dry Yeast
Technique:
In a stainless steel or glass mixing bowl, add the slightly warm water, and yeast. Mix to incorporate.
Within 10 minutes you should see the yeast starting to foam. This is a sign that the yeast is alive. If the yeast does not foam, check the expiration date on the yeast and try again.
Add the flour, stirring vigorously with a fork until all ingredients are well incorporated.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 90 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to cold ferment overnight.
Day 2 - Kneading & Bulk Fermentation
Ingredients:
700g 00 Flour
400 G Room Temperature Copper or Amber Beer
17g Kosher Salt
20g Olive Oil
Technique:
Remove the poolish from the fridge and allow for it to come up to room temperature for about 30-45 minutes.
In a new, larger mixing bowl, add 400g of the beer, and 17g Kosher salt.
Using your fingers, dissolve the kosher salt in the water.
Add the poolish to the beer in the new mixing bowl. Continue using your fingers to dissolve the poolish into the beer. This will likely take 2-3 minutes. It does not need to be 100% incorporated, just as much as possible.
Add 700g 00 Flour to the dissolved poolish
Bring together with a large spoon or dough hook. Once the dough has formed a shaggy ball, remove onto dry granite or smooth work surface and begin kneading. Alternatively you can use a stand mixer, but I prefer to do this part by hand.
Knead for 3 minutes, or just long enough to pull it together into a ball. Cover on the counter with your mixing bowl upside down for 20 minutes to autolyse your dough. This process allows for the water to be fully absorbed by the flour, and allows for the gluten to relax prior to further developing it..
After the autolyse is complete, pour the olive oil over the external surface of the doubt and continue kneading until the ball is no longer sticky and is very smooth. This will take between 15-20 minutes depending on your kneading pace. It is normal for the doubt to become quite sticky early on in this process. Avoid the temptation to add additional flour as that will lower the hydration of the dough and create a more dense texture.
After kneading for about 20 minutes, form into a dough ball as seen in the photos to the right. From this point on, ensure that the exterior skin of the dough ball always remains up, including when stretching and doing the final preparation of the pizza.
Cover and return to the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
6 Hours Before Serving
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
LIghtly flour a hard, smooth, work surface such as a granite countertop.
Turn the container with the dough over and allow for it to fall onto the work surface.
Divide dough into six even strips, about 290g each.
Flip over the dough and roll it onto itself. Using one hand hold the outer edges of the dough and use your fingers on the opposite hand to tuck the dough into the bottom middle forming a together ball, increasing the tension of the outermost surface layer of the dough ball. When you are done it should look like you formed a dough balloon.
Pinch or twist the bottom of the dough ball to allow it to raise properly.
Place in a large pan or proofing box, about 6 inches apart and allow to proof at room temperature for at least 4 hours.
To serve
Using a spatula or dough scraper, carefully remove one dough ball from the proofing box and place it facing down in flour. Flip it over and flour the bottom of the dough then place on a lightly floured work surface. Starting in the center, use the middle three fingers of each side to push the air towards the crust, working in outward circles.
Once you have created the crust boundary, slowly work around the dough and stretch it to about 12 inchs with a crust thickness that is about three times thicker than the center.
Place on a pizza peel, top with the ingredients of your choice, and transfer to a preheated baking steel in a 550OF oven for about 6 minutes, or until dark leopard-like spots appear on the crust. If using a wood-fired oven, this dough likes a slightly lower temperature than Neapolitan-style dough due to the added sugar and oil. I aim for about 675-700F and target a 2:15 second cook.