The process of making the perfect pizza dough has many meticulous steps—some of which take days to complete. Homemade dough is often deemed too difficult to even attempt, because the highest quality crusts have the most tedious processes.
Crafting pizza dough from scratch requires a mixture of culinary artistry and scientific chemistry. You must have a knack for both if you want to create a crust that is light, airy, and distinctively delicious.
Join us as we explore the methodical process of cold fermentation: the key to the most aromatic and artisanal pizza dishes. Is it really worth the hassle?
What is Cold Fermentation?
Cold fermentation is a process used in yeasted dough recipes, such as bread loaves and pizza crusts. Cold fermentation comes into play once the dough is mixed and kneaded to satisfaction. During this stage, the yeast consumes the sugars that live in the dough, producing carbon dioxide and allowing the dough to rise and flavors to build.
Yeast that is left out at room temperature consumes the sugars at a rapid rate. When this happens, the dough stops producing both gas and flavor. Colder fermentation temperatures produce carbon dioxide at a slower pace, allowing optimal time to produce complex flavor profiles.
Coldness is key. The optimal temperature for cold fermentation is between 60 to 65 degrees fahrenheit. Most importantly, you must allow the dough to ferment for at least 24 hours, and up to five days, so don’t forget to plan ahead!
Benefits of Cold Fermentation
While time-consuming, the benefits of cold fermentation outweigh any inconvenience. We’ll prove it!
- Exquisite Flavor Profile
Arguably, the most important aspect of a pizza crust is its flavor. Cold fermentation’s carbon dioxide creates aroma molecules, giving the yeast more time to develop complex flavors. The aroma alone can tell you the quality of the crust. While baking in the oven, the dough should leave an irresistibly savory scent lingering in the air, tempting you to take it out before it’s even cooked through. Thanks to cold fermentation, that rich flavor profile is easily noticed—you’ll fall in love at first bite! - Top-Notch Texture
Slow fermentation in cold temperatures significantly improves the texture of the pizza crust. The process allows the yeast more time to digest carbohydrates and release flavors, resulting in a light, airy crust—the perfect base for any and all toppings. - Cloud-Like Structure
Cold fermentation traps air bubbles in the dough, forming a lovely bubbly structure. Each bite is crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and simply irresistible.
Cold Fermentation: Is It Worth The Hassle?
Among the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, waiting five days for fermentation seems quite inconvenient to most people. But, a dough that goes through cold fermentation has a crispy crunch, a rich texture, and a unique taste unlike any other crust. It’s hard to resist.
For those who value high-quality crust and complex flavor profiles, cold fermentation is absolutely worth the hassle.
Pinsa: The Cold Fermentated Crust
Pinsa is a Roman-style pizza crust that is designed to be healthier, tastier, and simply better than traditional pizza. There are several elements that make pinsa so divine, first of which is its clean ingredients. Pinsa is made with a revolutionary blend of non-GMO soy, rice, sourdough, and wheat flours, 80% hydration for easy digestibility, and no added sugars or fats.
Packed with clean ingredients, pinsa’s supple, cloud-like structure is practically weightless, yet full of flavor. How? The answer is simple: cold fermentation.
Pinsa is engineered to brace the cold. Culinary artists hand-stretch and hand-press the dough to perfection, ensuring that the gas created during fermentation is preserved. Pinsa dough endures a 48-72 hour cold fermentation process, integral to its dynamic flavor profile and one-of-a-kind texture.
True, authentic pinsa crust is made with love. Crafted with care and rooted in tradition, pinsa’s recipe has stood the test of time for centuries. Why? Because no one can make a hand-pressed, cold fermented dish without a whole lot of passion. And when it’s made with care, patience, and love, you can truly taste the difference.
Serve Better. Serve Pinsa Romana America!
No one said making authentic Italian pinsa was easy. Luckily, we have a lot of practice.
Pinsa Romana America, the exclusive commercial baker of pinsa in the U.S., offers par-baked pinsa crusts perfect for every kitchen—big or small. These crusts are hand-pressed and cold fermented in our SQF-certified kitchen, ready to ship to your door. Enjoy complex flavor and cloud-like texture without enduring the 5-day-long cold fermentation process yourself!
Simply top with fresh ingredients, pop in the oven for just a few minutes, and presto! you’re serving up a Roman-style pinsa without the hassle.
Join the Pinsa Romana America today! For more information on our par-baked pinsa crusts, visit our website.