Tested
Our tests of dough, flour and ovens. Each plan is published first, the results once the tests are done and repeated. One variable at a time, no guesswork.
This is where we put the common pizza claims to the test, one variable at a time. Each test is published as a plan first: what is being compared, what stays the same and what will be measured. The results are added once the test has been run and repeated.
No tests are finished yet, so every page below is still a plan. Among them are 62 vs 70 % hydration, baking steel vs pizza stone and 24, 48 or 72 hours in the fridge. The principles behind them are described in how we test.
24, 48 or 72 hours in the fridge – test plan
How long should a cold ferment be, and when does the dough start to fade? The plan for testing one dough after 24, 48 and 72 hours in a fridge at 4 °C.
Baking steel vs pizza stone – how the difference will be measured
Steel conducts heat better than stone – but how much does it show in a home oven? Test plan: surface temperature, recovery and base colour over four pizzas.
Biga or poolish – a test plan using the same dough
Same flour, same final hydration, two different preferments. The plan for comparing biga and poolish on rim height, chew and aroma, and what we expect.
Frozen dough balls vs fresh – test plan
Can you freeze Neapolitan pizza dough without losing the rim? The plan for comparing frozen and fresh dough balls, and how they will be thawed.
Hydration 62% vs 70% in a home oven – test plan
Is a drier dough better in an oven that tops out at 250–275 °C? The plan for our test of 62, 66 and 70 % hydration, and what it is set up to measure.
Mozzarella water content – a test plan for five cheeses
Which mozzarella makes a pizza wet? The test plan: five cheeses weighed before and after draining and baking, on the same dough and in the same oven.
The grill setting in a home oven – does it help? Test plan
Switching on the grill for the last minute is common advice for pizza in a home oven. Our test plan: does it give a better top, and what happens to the base?