| Crumple-Horned Snorkack
Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: SoCal *sighs*(GMT-8)
Posts: 111,193
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Giselle Barrington
Slytherin Sixth Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Teagan Kensington
Slytherin First Year  x5  x3
|  Shoe!Girl │ Rebel Ravie │ Confundus Queen │ RP Addict
Text Cut: Professor Hadley Quote:
Originally Posted by PhoenixRising  Hadley was listening to the student replies as she willed time to move faster ... wasn't there a way to make dough rise faster? She was pretty sure there was a spell for that. Of course it probably had side effects but you know. Uh what was the question she'd asked again? Ah right, about salt.
"Salt as you may or may not know is a mineral substance composed of sodium and chloride; now the chemical history behind the substance isn't so important for this class, at least," other classed they took it might be, but she wasn't interested in it. "Salt, like sugar, can be omitted from the dough recipe yet it often is utilized as its not much. The main role of salt is for flavor, as many of you said, though it also plays a role in the dough's elasticity and texture. It ultimately creates a stronger dough that feels less sticky so it is extremely helpful in the stretching of the dough when forming the crust."
"Just as sugar is food for the yeast, salt regulates the consumption rate, creating a more consistent fermentation. It allows for the gluten to become more fully hydrated and prevents the dough from over fermenting quickly." Yes, this probably seemed unimportant and boring, but it was quite the contrary, especially considering how many were interested in actually EATING decent pizza. "If the dough ferments too much or too quickly, then there will be less sugar left over to caramelize the dough when baking, thus lacking that golden brown crust we all love. So in essence, salt is critical to the end result of a tasty crust."
"A crust without salt will seem bland and takes away from the overall experience of the toppings. Not to mention that one of salts principles is that it holds water. Holding water is critical to keeping a moist and fresh dough. Without salt, the bread becomes dry and stale within a few hours of baking; effects that cannot be slowed or reversed."
Glancing around at their dough, she nodded in approval. "It seems, we're just about there for the next part - the rolling of the dough." She paused, waiting... "There's two options for this; if you like thinner crusts, then you should use the rolling pin to roll out your dough onto the round pizza stone. However, if you prefer a thicker crust, then kneading it with your hands is best. Yes, if you're daring, you may try tossing it into the air. But if you drop it on the floor, then we're not trying yours..." That was a joke. Maybe. "The ovens are preheating now to 425, while we knead our dough. Once your dough is kneaded or hand-tossed into a round circle, prick it with a fork in various locations a few times throughout the dough. This process will help to oxidize the dough and keep it fresh. Drizzle your dough with olive oil and garlic salt. Why do we do that?" She had stayed quiet during the discussion, not because she hadn’t had answers. Lily had ideas as to why they had needed to add all the ingredients in question, yet they had been said. There wasn’t any reason to repeat things just so Professor Hadley knew she was paying attention. There were other ways of doing that, and she had been grateful that nobody had questioned her dough-making skills. As if she had any that she knew of, since this would be the first pizza she had made from scratch. She had felt sympathy for Alexa, though, yet stayed quiet. Staying quiet had also kept her from wanting to keep checking on her dough to make sure it had been rising. The focus was important, even if she didn’t think anything was likely to explode like might have happened in Potions. Focus was important in everything, especially baking. Otherwise, she could end up with a failed pizza, and she wasn’t about to depend on anyone else to offer to let her share theirs.
She was determined to make the best pizza she could. As such, she’d been grateful for the discussion turning back toward things like how to actually deal with the dough, along with the knowledge she had been right in her thoughts earlier. People didn’t always use rolling pins with the dough, and she had the chance to see if she could toss it. Going the easy way out didn’t seem fun to her, anyway. She’d started by kneading, anyway, using the heels of her hands to work the dough so it was more pliable before even contemplating what she’d do next. She wasn’t about to get her dough stuck to the ceiling, like had happened to a Gryffindor boy working not that far away from her. She’d just toss it up a little, adding a bit of a spin. It was supposed to stretch, so that meant she couldn’t toss it like a ball. After a few throws, though, she started feeling more unsure of her ability to catch it. It seemed pretty good, anyway. She placed it onto her pizza stone and used her hands to press it out just bit more, to make it more even and looking like pizza. Once that was done, she picked up a fork and pricked it several times, making sure to get the pricks close to evenly spaced through the circle of dough, before drizzling olive oil on the surface followed by a sprinkling of garlic salt. She’d lightly brushed the dough to spread the oil evenly as well, just to cover her bases. She didn’t want one spot to brown while another burned.
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