Peeeetzaaaa

​Well, gosh, that wasn't good. I goofed up on my dough, forgetting the salt and oil and having to add it AFTER I thought I'd finished preparing the dough. So to make it more interesting, I let one of the dough balls rise for 7 hours (and then used on a test pizza) and the other was chucked in the fridge to chill for two more days. And those days ended yesterday. 

So while the last batch of vaccine was thawing before it could be injected into moi, my dough ball was thawing as well. While the oven heated. 

Once back home I assessed the dough, decided to let it continue warming and activating for a couple of more hours, sauteed a head of garlic, sliced up some fire roasted peppers, sliced some mozzarella and coarsely chopped a few anchovies. 

And then ... pizza time! With even more fun! I stretched the dough, spooned on some sauce and then slipped it into the oven for a 2 minute pre-bake. Tried to remove it and SURPRISE!. I didn't get the peel fully under it (I guess - or maybe I moved too quickly and it shifted) but anyway, a third flopped over the edge. Ninety degree bend and WAY too much to just flip back. Much cursing ensued. Ultimately, in spite of hot oven plus hot dough I got it back on board. Whew! (This is why my parakeet had such a problem with bad language, btw.)

My wife, accustomed to my verbal behavior and aware that generally it all works out, didn't even ask what the issue was. She's so wise. 

As far as the ultimate conclusion. Without a single doubt, it was better in every way than the earlier pizza. If you want a great dough you HAVE to give it time. Sad but true. There are no shortcuts. 

Well .... I guess there is one shortcut. Kinda. You can bulk ferment for a day and then freeze the balls. When you're ready it'll still take hours for the dough to be ready to go but rather than saying "I want pizza" and having to wait at least 2 days, this way you can say "I want pizza" and have it by the evening. Anyway, here's the result:

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