Sourdough is awesome, but I need to say dried store bought yeast works really good too. About a year after my sourdough starter died, I craved fresh bread, so I tried my sourdough bread recipe but substituted store bought yeast. Yes it wasn't exactly the same, but it was really close. Giving dough time to ferment, or cooking it dark can really affect (improve) the flavor.
- bread1.jpg (133.34 KiB) Viewed 16138 times
On the subject of bread, fermentation, and sourdough, I highly recommend you familiarize yourself with autolyzation, AKA "no knead" dough.
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/guides/how-to-autolyse/
i.e. letting time and chemistry do most of the work for you.
Despite the nickname (no knead), I do recommend some folding (kneading) of your dough, but no more than a few minutes. If you skip it it still works, but a couple minutes of folding gives you a much smoother product.
My pizza dough takes very little effort. At best, 20-25 minutes of actual work, and to prepare I only dirty 2 dishes: a glass bowl and silicone spatula.
I measure and mix my ingredients in a large glass bowl using a silicone spatula, until I see no more blobs of dry flour (Recipe: 500g flour, 15g salt, teaspoon of yeast, mix those, then add 350g warm water). Then I cover and let it sit for 15-30 minutes. It's amazing how much easier dough is to handle when you ignore it for a few minutes. That's the magic of autolyzation.
- dough6.jpg (229.81 KiB) Viewed 16138 times
After the wait, I'll get some flour on my hands, and start folding the dough inside the bowl, adding more flour if it's too sticky. After 3-5 minutes of playing, it'll come together as a ball. That's it. Stick it back in the bowl, cover the bowl, and leave it overnight to rise.
- bread2.jpg (168.79 KiB) Viewed 16138 times
The next day (12 or so hours later), any graininess should be gone as the flour hydrated, and you should have a puffy airy mass thanks to the yeast. I'll throw a little more flour on it and my hands, fold it a bit more, and make a new ball.
- dough7.jpg (116.52 KiB) Viewed 16138 times
I'll then divide the dough into 3 balls of similar weight. I do this easily by grabbing the blob out of the bowl, placing the bowl on the scale, zeroing the scale, then dropping the blob back in the bowl. In my recipe I use nearly 900g of ingredients, so I make each ball around 300g (little less). The balls are small, and fit comfortably in my hands. I'll add flour if they're sticky, and continue folding it in my hands until I'm happy with how smooth they are: about 2-3 minutes, or a couple dozen folds. Each ball goes in an individual glass contaner will a small glug of olive oil. I'll pour the oil in first, then roll the ball around in the oil trying to cover it and the walls of the glass container. Do that 2 more times, and I have 3 portions, each good for a small pizza.
- dough4.jpg (165.16 KiB) Viewed 16138 times
If I want pizza today, I'll leave a covered container out to rise for 2-3 hours. If not, I'll refrigerate. Pizza doughs in the fridge are good for about 10 days, in fact, the longer you wait the better they taste (i.e. fermentation, exactly why sourdough is great). 3-7 days is the sweet spot, when they're at their best. After 10 days the yeast is starting to die off, the gluten bonds are starting to loosen, and you wont get a very puffy product. It's still totally edible and fresh tasting after baking, it's just a little flat.
