It had been some time since I would gotten myself into bother with baking, my long-awaited mixer was washed and ready for its inaugural batch, and I had 15.4 kilos of pears readily available. So, naturally, I made pear pizza with a spiced butternut caramel sauce.

THE MIXER
I have been enduring kneading dough with a meals processor since 2024. Whereas mine does an exceptional job creating gluten, it is solely keen to take action inside a slender hydration vary and for not more than 280g of dough at a time. To get the sandwich bread I would like takes about 90 minutes of *lively time*, from pulling the autolyze out of the fridge to beginning bulk fermentation, at which level it nonetheless wants 3-4 folds at 10 minute intervals to right a difficulty from my workaround to the hydration limitation. And it nonetheless requires an exceptionally messy quarter-hour of hand kneading.

After a yr and a half of that, I would had sufficient. It was time to buy an acceptable equipment for 100% freshly milled wheat doughs.

For a very long time, I used to be torn between the BUP and the Nutrimill Artiste. As a lot as I would really like the fancier toy, I in the end went with the Artiste for the smaller footprint (it barely suits in its dwelling as-is) and since I suspected I would find yourself ordering a backside drive bowl in both case, which might make the BUP extra of an funding than I wish to signal myself up for at this level.

With only one use, I can safely say that the Artiste is a far superior instrument for the job than a meals processor. Determining find out how to re-work my strategies to suit it might take a while, however up to now I am completely delighted. If not for all my pointless futzing round with the brand new machine, the dough would in all probability have taken beneath half an hour from time of measuring elements to the beginning of bulk fermentation — and my fingers had been clear sufficient all through that I may truly *do different issues!* Comparatively talking, it was a dream.

For the primary time in lots of months, I am wanting ahead to baking once more.

THE DOUGH
Often I add VWG and an in a single day, refrigerated autolyze, however since I’ve by no means used this form of machine for dough earlier than I made a decision to observe together with a extra examined course of.

Utilizing this pizza recipe from Grains in Small Locations as a reference:

460g RHW (spring Yecora Rojo)
354g water, of which 50g reserved for bassinage
28g toasted walnut oil
6.5g IDY
>7g salt (I used to be aiming for 1.5%, overpoured, then could not be bothered to right it or be aware the place I ended up)

Combined all however reserved water and kneaded about 8-10 minutes. 10 minute relaxation, extra out of curiosity than for any function. Then ~8 minutes extra kneading with bassinage.

The bowl grew to become very messy with every addition of water, however just for 40 seconds or so earlier than the dough collected itself once more. Which is about what I anticipated.

I think that the in a single day autolyze can be extra useful to gluten growth than an in a single day BF. However that is one thing I will must attempt one other time.

I did the windowpane check at a number of factors all through this course of. I want I may say what the outcomes had been, however the gluten in Yecora Rojo (or at the very least my present batch of it) behaves in methods I haven’t got the expertise to interpret. Early on, it didn’t cross the WP check, so I stored kneading. Then it did, however not in addition to I would like, so I stored going. Then it made an important windowpane and turning it out into one other bowl left lengthy, ropey strands of gluten stretching near a meter as I attempted to get it to launch from the Artiste’s bowl. Then after just a few rounds of 10 minute rests within the fridge with folds in between (to equalize dough temperature), there was no windowpane.

That is solely my third time working with Yecora Rojo sans VWG. I am certain if I did not use that a lot, I would be higher capable of interpret what was happening. What I can say is that industrially produced flours which combine wheats from varied harvests certain do so much for consistency (consequently, so does VWG), and my batch of Yecora Rojo may be very extensible however low in elasticity, behaving equally however not identically to the spelt I’ve dealt with.

It slackened notably however not egregiously throughout proof, which is constant to my prior experiences with Yecora Rojo. Freestanding bakes might warrant some consideration and deliberate changes or strategies.

Whereas I would like lots of apply with pizza shaping — to not point out time spent wanting up how one ought to take action within the first place — the dough was considerably regarding whereas being stretched. It was inclined to ripping on the floor and didn’t have almost the extensibility I used to be anticipating from prior experiences with YR; probably this dough is a decrease hydration and/or there was an ambient temperature distinction (earlier bakes had been in the summertime, and today it is typically single digits F exterior.) Or, the doughs I am evaluating this one to didn’t have oil; I do not recall.

For now, this bake leaves me with some mysteries to discover additional down the street.

THE TOPPINGS
I sliced the pears ~2mm thick and dehydrated them at 150F whereas the dough proofed, round 2 hours. They ended up cheesy on one aspect and nonetheless moist on the opposite. I organized them cheesy aspect up on the pizzas, however between the scorching and the marginally too-wet consistency of the dough beneath the sauce, I feel they’d be higher flipped the opposite manner.

Regardless of what I “named” it, the sauce just isn’t refined. After cooking butternut squash in my On the spot Pot, I diminished the cooking liquid to the purpose that it caramelized barely. This form of discount, caramelized or not, is a pleasant and attention-grabbing sweetener that I’ve loved making from candy potatoes and varied fall squashes. Mainly, if the liquid left over after cooking tastes good, I’ve discovered that it is price decreasing and utilizing in some way if I will be hanging round within the kitchen anyway. And whereas I usually attempt to keep away from added sugars (and this totally qualifies), I am not too bothered by this sort since I would be consuming these energy anyway if I as a substitute baked the supply meals. Additionally, there’s in all probability a nonzero quantity of soluble fiber and/or minerals in there.

Notice that counterintuitively, I discover such reductions to not be all that good when used to high the meals they initially got here from. The flavors mix collectively and the discount finally ends up being invisible flavor-wise. Although for functions like barely sweetening cranberry jam or vinaigrettes, it supplies a pleasant twist.

To make such a discount right into a caramel sauce, cut back and caramelize the cooking liquid, add no matter milk-type liquid you like together with any spices, then cut back once more to desired consistency. It is going to develop into significantly extra viscous after cooling.

I added cinnamon (Ceylon), cardamom, nutmeg, and floor ginger. If I had been doing this once more, I would in all probability skip the cardamom and perhaps the cinnamon, since they didn’t come by way of. The ginger was positively essential for balancing the harshness from the actual butternut squashes I had this time.

THE PIZZA
The outcomes:

In relation to pizza, all I really need is a giant, fluffy flatbread, a bready aroma, and that specific texture that the dough will get beneath the sauce and toppings. On the primary two counts, this was unbelievable. The dough remained a tiny bit too moist beneath the sauce for me, although. Most individuals would not assume something of it, however I am after one thing very particular and this did not get there.

Subsequent time I attempt one thing related, I will see if additional limiting the moisture content material of the toppings helps; I am unsure that the sauce was accountable, since uncooked tomatoes work simply tremendous with a a lot greater water content material.

Whereas heat, the bread is splendidly tender and supple. The crumb turned out a lot airier than I used to be anticipating, provided that the gluten growth appeared comparatively poor late within the course of.

I uncared for to take footage of the underside crust, but it surely wasn’t something outstanding, simply an excellent mild browning. I assumed I would have a further 90 minutes of proofing time at the very least, however I ended up having to activate the oven when the dough was almost prepared. My forged iron pan obtained just about no preheating time.

General, for an entire shot in the dead of night with a kind of mixer I’ve by no means used earlier than, a dough I’ve by no means made, plus a sauce and topping combo that I completely winged with out even wanting up different recipes to reference, I am fairly happy. My harshest critic “cherished” it (direct quote, recorded for posterity) and for as soon as was much more enthusiastic and had fewer notes for enchancment than I did.

FURTHER EXPLORATIONS
I am unsure precisely the place I will go together with what I’ve discovered from this bake, however a number of issues stand out to me as worthy of noting for future reference.

Firstly, Yecora Rojo (at the very least my present batch) could make a properly ethereal flatbread. Its gluten “profile,” so to talk, will not be suited to freestanding loaves at this hydration, or which will have been right down to points with my strategies.

General that is barely candy and sadly the pear taste may be very delicate. With some walnut butter on high (as seen on this shot beneath a lot poorer lighting with my outdated cellphone’s digicam), the fruit is totally misplaced, even the slices I dressed extra modestly than this one. Subsequent time I will use a well-cooked spiced pear butter for the sauce; or, apple butter, as I think I would do this with apples earlier than pears. If I do attempt pear once more, I will wish to check out toasted fennel seeds with it, as I feel these would go well with properly.

For apples, I think a McIntosh apple butter, probably with a smaller portion of Fuji for sweetness, and maybe Golden Scrumptious to high. I might peel any apples used for the butter, then purée the peels and add them to the dough, as I discover apple peel purée texturally disappears when inside bread however is grainy in any other case, even when effectively cooked. Apples would additionally get cassia cinnamon and extra pumpkin pie kind spices. (Now, pumpkin pizza, there’s one thing I will must attempt!)

In relation to shaping, I feel I tucked every ball of dough in on itself an excessive amount of going into last proof, given how skinny a few of them had been within the heart. One thing I will take note of sooner or later.

Additionally: I’ve so much to (re-)find out about pictures, too.

– Regis