caraway-and-rye

L’Industrie-Style Pizza Dough

Ingredients

Percentages are baker’s percentages relative to total flour weight (Petra 9 + Petra 0102 + Semolina + Petra 5063 Special, all four combined). The Petra 5063 is split between the poolish and the final dough — the amounts below are the actual, ready-to-use quantities for each part.

Poolish (build first)

%	Ingredient	500g Flour	1000g Flour	2000g Flour	3000g Flour
11%	Petra 5063 Flour	55g	110g	220g	330g
11%	Water	55g	110g	220g	330g
—	Fresh Yeast	~0.3g	~0.6g	~1.2g	~1.8g

Final Dough (mixed with the poolish)

%	Ingredient	500g Flour	1000g Flour	2000g Flour	3000g Flour
6.25%	Petra 9 Flour	31g	63g	125g	188g
25%	Petra 0102 Flour	125g	250g	500g	750g
6.25%	Semolina Flour	31g	63g	125g	188g
51.5%	Petra 5063 Flour (remainder)	258g	515g	1030g	1545g
39%	Water (remainder)	195g	390g	780g	1170g
4.4%	Salt	22g	44g	88g	132g
3.75%	Sugar	19g	38g	75g	113g
3.1%	Olive Oil	16g	31g	63g	93g
5%	Sourdough Starter (Bread 41)	25g	50g	100g	150g

Note: total water across both sections still equals the overall 50% hydration figure (poolish water + final dough water).

How to Make

Build your poolish first: combine the Poolish Flour, Poolish Water, and fresh yeast (equal parts flour and water, 100% hydration). Let it ferment several hours at room temperature until active, bubbly, and just starting to fall in the middle.

Mix the poolish with the remaining flours, water, sourdough starter, sugar, oil, and salt in the stand mixer. Knead until smooth and the dough passes a windowpane test — this is a stronger, higher-hydration dough than a standard NY dough, so it will take longer to develop than you might expect.

Bulk ferment at room temperature for 5–6 hours, then divide and ball. Cold ferment the balls in the fridge for the remainder of the 1.5–2 day window. Pull balls out and let them come to room temperature before stretching and baking.

Timing

1.5–2 days total. Mix and build poolish day 1 morning, bulk ferment 5–6 hours, ball, then cold ferment the balls until day 2 (or into day 3) before baking.

Makes

Based on ~300g dough balls (sized for a 30cm/12” pizza — realistic for home stretching without a commercial sheeter):

• 500g flour batch (~869g total dough) → ~3 pizzas
• 1000g flour batch (~1,738g total dough) → ~6 pizzas
• 2000g flour batch (~3,476g total dough) → ~12 pizzas
• 3000g flour batch (~5,215g total dough) → ~17 pizzas

Adjust ball weight ±20g for a thinner or thicker crust to taste.

Notes

• This is a slow, multi-day dough. Don’t attempt it same-day — budget 1.5–2 days from mix to bake.
• Petra 5063 handling notes: built for room-temp fermentation windows of 8–12 hours, or refrigerated for longer holds; recommended hydration tops out around 70%. It absorbs less water than Caputo Nuvola (roughly 58.5% of its own weight). If the dough feels noticeably slacker/wetter than usual, dial back the poolish water first before touching the main water — small steps.
• Poolish: confirmed from source footage — the poolish is built at equal parts flour and water (4kg : 4kg in their commercial batch, ~11% of total flour), made with a small amount of fresh yeast, with no additional yeast added to the final dough.
• Sourdough starter: confirmed from source footage as ~5% of total flour, added purely for flavor/sourness, not leavening. Pull the starter out the night before and let it come fully active at room temp before using. No need to convert it off rye/wholemeal unless you want a milder flavor.
• Hydration: reported to run in the 70%+ range, notably higher than typical NY-style dough (mid-to-high 60s).
• Fermentation schedule: mixed early morning, 5–6 hours bulk ferment at room temp, then balled around midday, then cold ferment for the bulk of the 1.5–2 days before bake.

Buy

• Petra 9 / Petra 0102 / Petra 5063 Special — the full authentic blend, all sourced together. Order from YouDreamItaly (ships from Naples, EU-wide delivery), all available in 12.5kg bags. Store Petra 9 in particular in an airtight container — being whole grain, it has a shorter shelf life than refined flour.
• Fresh yeast (for the poolish) — Get from Polonez.

Freezing

Freeze after the dough balls have completed their full fermentation (bulk ferment + cold retard) — i.e., right when they’d otherwise be ready to stretch and bake. This locks in the fermentation at its peak, so thawing later doesn’t require any additional proofing time — pull from the freezer, thaw (even at room temperature, while still vacuum sealed), then stretch and bake directly.

1. Complete the full 1.5–2 day fermentation schedule as normal (bulk ferment, ball, cold retard).
2. Flatten each ball into a rectangle (~280×180mm works well).
3. Flash-freeze the flattened pieces uncovered on a tray for 30–60 minutes, until firm.
4. Bag two per 300×400mm vacuum bag, leaving a gap between them. Orient the 280mm side across the bag’s 300mm width.
5. Seal on the Henkelman Boxer 35 at ~50% vacuum — full vacuum isn’t needed once the dough is firm.
6. Freeze flat. Use within 4–8 weeks for best quality, up to ~3 months.
7. To use: thaw sealed in room-temperature water (fastest) or in the fridge overnight, then stretch and bake as normal — no additional proofing needed.

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