The 80% hydration dough in the Bread Formulas section of this site is probably the most viewed of the bread recipes. I’m never sure why because generally my formulas have unfashionably low hydration levels and it’s not even a genuine 80%, a mere 78 point something. Thought everyone else was doing 90-100%+.
Never mind. Its a very useful dough – I still mix by using a spatula rather than kneading by hand and, although I’ve experimented with all sorts of pizza doughs, I still find myself coming back to this one.
But this is mostly about buns – instant buns.
Usually this dough gets made in advance, or, more correctly, it is mixed and fermented in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours. It can survive in the fridge for about 4 days before the gluten starts breaking down.
I probably make pizza twice in three weeks and my routine has become, mix enough dough for four pizzas – 200g per person per pizza (deep pan pizza = 400g). There being two people to cater for this leaves 400g surplus dough which equals 4 x 100g buns.
Now then, I have discovered that when the dough has been matured overnight in the fridge, it doesn’t need to prove before it’s baked. Example, yesterday morning, get up have bath, run bath for Sue.
In the time it takes her to have her bath, I take 400g dough from the fridge, set the oven to 300C top and bottom, scale and roughly shape 4 x 100g buns, and when the oven is up to speed (15 minutes?), bake the buns (13 mins). They are out of the oven before she comes down for breakfast.
Instant buns in my book.
The other 400g dough became the base for a fabulous Peter Reinhart deep pan pork and brocolli pizza but this is about buns …
The PArtisan Baker 