I started the day wanting to make a pizza dough with 100 percent hydration. I whisked flour, salt, and instant yeast in a bowl. I added the water and used a spatula to mix the dough together. It resembled a thick batter. After one hour, I used a spatula to fold the dough over itself. I let the dough rise for 2 more hours, folded the dough, and put it into an oiled Detroit-style pan. I covered the pan and let the dough rise and spread in the pan. After 3 more hours, I looked to stretch the dough in the pan. I did a below-average job stretching the dough. To repair my work, I folded the dough over itself and into a rectangle and put it back in the pan. I covered the pan and let it rise for another 4 hours to fill the pan once again. This time, I let it do its own stretching. I topped the dough with cheese, sauce, and more cheese. I baked the pizza for 20 minutes at 500°F. I cooked the pizza for the first 5 minutes on a baking steel, then raised the pan onto a rack to finish cooking. When the pizza was done, I used an offset spatula to release the caramelized cheese from the pan’s edges and put the pizza onto a wire rack to rest for a few minutes before carving. The pizza was crisp, tender, light, and totally crush-worthy.
100 Percent Hydrated Pizza
Makes one 10″-by-14″ pizza
– 300 grams flour
– 6 grams salt
– 3 grams instant yeast
– 300 grams room temperature water
Whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast in a medium bowl. Add the water and mix with a spatula to form a wet dough, resembling a thick batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, use a rubber spatula to fold the dough. Pull one corner to the center and then give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the process. Do this for a total of four folds, then flip the dough over, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, repeat the folding process and then, instead of flipping the dough in the bowl, flip it out into an oiled Detroit-style pizza pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 3 hours.
After 3 hours, gently stretch the dough to fill the pan. Cover the pan and let it rest at room temperature for at least 1 and up to 4 hours before adding toppings and baking the pizza.
To Bake: Preheat the oven to 500°F. Add toppings to your pizza and bake for 20 minutes, turning the pan at least once during the process. If using a baking steel, bake on the steel for the first 5 minutes, then rotate the pan and move it to a rack so the bottom of the pizza doesn’t burn. Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before removing it from the pan to cut.
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