Hydration Explained

Hydration is the water weight as a percentage of flour weight. 60% hydration = 60g water per 100g flour. Higher hydration creates larger air pockets, chewier texture, and better oven spring — but is harder to handle. Lower hydration gives crispier, easier-to-shape dough.

Yeast Quantities

For same-day dough: 0.3–0.5% dry yeast relative to flour. Cold ferment (24–72hr in fridge): 0.05–0.1% dry yeast — slow fermentation develops flavour dramatically. Fresh yeast: use 3× the amount of dry yeast. Instant yeast: slightly less than active dry.

Baker's Percentages

Pizza recipes use baker's percentages — all ingredients expressed as a percentage of flour weight. This makes scaling to any number of pizzas trivial: keep percentages constant and multiply flour by however many dough balls you need.

Food Safety Fundamentals

Food safety rules apply regardless of cooking method or time. The danger zone for bacterial growth is 4-60 degrees C — food should not remain in this range for more than 2 hours. Core temperature targets: poultry 74 degrees C throughout (no pink allowed), pork 71 degrees C, beef/lamb can be pink when above 63 degrees C (due to surface-only bacteria on whole cuts). Never use the same equipment for raw and cooked food without washing. Leftovers should be cooled rapidly (within 2 hours), refrigerat

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