no better than what I've been doing....

Hi Tory,

It's always frustrating to not get the results you're hoping for. Personally, I've noticed a huge difference between longer cold fermentations and shorter fermentation periods at room temperature.

It sounds like you've been testing all the variables to see if anything will affect your outcome. That's a great approach and one that you should stick with. That said, I'd simplify by picking one recipe and one flour. Also, buy some new yeast just in case. Get Red Star or SAF if possible.

Next, making two recipes side by side. That is, time it so you can bake both side by side. This way you can actually taste the difference.

Raj

Tory, I totally get it because I've experienced similar results when using commercial yeast such as active dry or instant. In my experience, there isn't a very dramatic difference between different fermentation methods. Generally, longer fermentations such as cold ferment produce better results. Using starters also produces better results.

If you're looking for a dough that is dramatically better tasting, I would recommend experimenting with sourdough starters. For example, go with one of Tony's recipes, but instead of poolish, use a fully mature sourdough starter at 100% hydration. Sourdough involves a lot more work, but for me, this made the biggest difference in dough flavor.

Well, my last batch I can tell you my difference. The first pie I cooked was with a 8 hr room temp ferment. Good pizza but the dough was not so flexible to work with and the taste was a little cardboard like.

The next few pies were 24 hr, 48hr and 72hr cold ferment. I noticed a considerable difference with these. Much softer dough to work with and to eat. I couldn't tell any difference between 48 and 72hr though.

Hey Mark, I also had the experience that older dough is easier to work with. For a commercial yeast recipe, I prefer to cold ferment for 3 days as I found that to be the sweet spot where the dough develops a hint of tanginess.

One time, I used Master Dough with Tiga and left it in the fridge for 7 days and it was very tangy, almost like a sourdough but without the complexity of flavor.