Hi everyone. I am a beginner to making pizza dough and I’ve currently tried [Vitos Next Level Pizza Dough (Double Fermented)](https://youtu.be/u7Hd6ZzKgBM).
My dough is currently getting to the end of the 16-24 hour double fermentation period but it’s barely risen when his increased by at least 100%.
I’ve read the FAQs and had a fun-packed evening researching yeast, much to my girlfriend’s amusement, and it feels like there’s so much to consider it’s hard to understand exactly why my yeast didn’t activate as much and cause my dough to rise?
The first thing I wondered is that when I added the water to the poolish that my water was cold when sometimes it can be warm. Does that matter? It didn’t specify temperature on the video. From what I gathered after research, the yeast will be active (due to having moisture and a food source), it will just be activated slowly as it activates more at higher temperatures.
When I added the rest of the flour to the poolish to make my dough, I added water at room temperature. Could this have effected it?
Other than that I’d be concerned that my fridge temperature may be too low but I don’t think it is. I also ensured I added honey which is the food source for the yeast?
What do you guys think?
by badabinglad
6 Comments
Hello /u/badabinglad!
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Have you cooked it and seen if it rises? Is there absolutely no rise or were you just expecting more? There’s lots and lots of things that can come into consideration here. Sometimes I use balls that look lifeless and flat but come out soft and fluffy. If there is absolutely no yeast activation and zero rise then something is very wrong
Did your poolish look really bubbly?
Whenever something doesn’t rise, if it’s pizza dough or bread etc…, my first question is the yeast. What kind of yeast are you using? Water temperature does matter for timing with active dry yeast, but it will still work. What was your process for fermentation? Did you leave it on the counter for a couple of hours then put it in the fridge or was it direct in the fridge? If direct to the fridge you may see some fermentation after you remove it and it warms up, but it is odd that it doesn’t ferment in the fridge.
I would get some warm water and a packet of your active dry yeast and see if it activates. When you put it in the warm water with sugar it should bubble. Do this: 1 envelope Active dry yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, 1 tsp sugar in a bowl. If it bubbles it works. It should take 10 minutes or so.
Yeast is usually the culprit for things that don’t rise. Other mistakes will cause other problems, but the dough will usually still rise, just not how we want it necessarily.
I don’t use active dry yeast anymore. I switched to instant yeast years ago because you don’t need to proof or activate it. You put it right in the flour and mix it in. It also works more consistently in my opinion. SAF makes some as do others. You could also use sourdough but that’s a whole other thing! Get some instant yeast and you’ll be happy. Instant yeast is 1:1 by weight and volume with active dry yeast. An envelope of of active dry yeast weighs 7g or by volume is 2 tsp.
When I combine all the ingredients to make the dough, I knead until the dough is 23c. Then I let it ferment. But even if I didn’t do that it should still show some activity. Try doing a simple direct dough, poolish seems cool n all but mastering a direct dough first is important
Did you try waiting till the third day?