Forget overnight rest - I tried a 4 hour cold proof on my pizza dough and it changed everything

I was always the guy who did a 24 hour cold ferment for Neapolitan style pizza. Thought that was the only way to get that airy cornicione. But I got a last minute invite to cook for a few friends last Saturday and only had 4 hours. So I threw the dough in the fridge for a quick cold proof instead of leaving it on the counter. I figured it'd be dense and lame. But the crust actually came out with those big irregular bubbles and a chewy texture I usually only get from the long ferment. The flavor was a little milder, sure, but the structure was spot on. Makes me wonder how short I can really go on cold proofs before it falls apart. Any of you guys ever played around with super short cold ferments for same day pizza?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela19117d ago

Wait, did you use the same hydration and flour blend you normally do for the long ferment? Because I tried something similar a few months back when I was in a rush and it came out way better than I expected too. I went with a 3 hour cold proof instead of my usual 24 and the dough was still super manageable to stretch out, plus it got those nice big bubbles on the edge. The flavor was definitely a little flatter, like you said, but the texture was almost identical to my long fermentation batches. I think if you crank up the hydration a bit and use a strong bread flour, you could probably get away with a 2 hour cold proof without it falling apart on you.

patricia_rodriguez17d ago

Yeah my 2 hour cold proof turned into a 5 minute warm one after I forgot about it and ran to Home Depot, still got bubbles somehow. Guess the pizza gods were feeling generous that day.