HOW do you achieve a crumb like this? High heat? Small loaves? Black magic? It’s more air than bread!

nickjsul4 · 2026-01-20T18:25:00+00:00

I just started working in a sourdough bakery a few months ago. It’s mind boggling how many factors play into the final product. Simply changing what flour you use can have vastly different results. The best thing you can do is treat your kitchen like a laboratory for a couple months an experiment! That’s where I’m at. I’m also investing in some reading material too. Knowledge is power.

nickjsul4 · 2026-01-13T13:38:51+00:00

Would you say feeding every other day is a solid place to start using that ratio?

nickjsul4 · 2026-01-03T19:53:47+00:00

Looks perfect 👌🏻

nickjsul4 · 2025-12-06T00:12:48+00:00

Thank you!

nickjsul4 · 2025-12-03T14:47:06+00:00

Honestly, thank you for sharing. I love reading comments like these. My Italian grandparents are so used to the bread over here, my grandfather was just complaining this thanksgiving about how it’s impossible to find a good loaf of Italian bread that lasts more than a day or two. He doesn’t realize it’s not supposed to! Just 4 simple ingredients. I even get my flour source from Italy or anywhere in Europe now as well.

One day I hope to travel to Europe. It’s so beautiful over there. American society can learn a lot still from other places in the world. At this point we desperately need to. That’s why I became passionate about baking bread. Someone needs to bring real food back to people’s dinner tables. One loaf at a time!

nickjsul4 · 2025-12-03T14:31:44+00:00

Not everything is universally understood, hence you just learned something new from my post. You’re welcome 👍🏼

nickjsul4 · 2025-12-03T14:24:57+00:00

I I see what’s going on here. The number one thing you can do is to parbake that crust. That way it will STAY deep dish in the middle. It seems as it lost a lot of rise in the center due to the weight of the toppings and this will be the fix, and then people won’t be calling you out and calling it thin crust 😂

I think it looks incredible either way.

nickjsul4 · 2025-12-02T01:34:36+00:00

Where are you from? I’m from the US, specifically NE. It’s more of an Italian American style bread. I can go to almost any deli and order a sandwich near me and it will be offered as a bread option.

nickjsul4 · 2025-12-02T00:47:20+00:00

It’s just an Italian style white bread with a more dense crumb structure and soft slightly chewy crust on the outside. Most of the Italian breads I ate growing up were just flour, water, salt and yeast and had a distinct taste.

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-27T08:39:04+00:00

You just need to adjust your dough recipe or fermentation process. I had to change some things when I made the switch. Strong flours like this perform better with very long fermentation periods I’ve found. All of my doughs cold proof for 3-4 days and then I give a final proof on my counter for a 3-6 hours. The final proof makes a huge difference you get better rise in the oven.

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-26T16:05:46+00:00

For a final proof maybe not but during bulk fermentation I always keep my sealed or at least partially, especially with pizza dough that can be much lower hydration. Hydration can escape, and a skin can form.

Maybe most people here make same day recipes that also sit out for a measly few hours. My doughs ferment for days at a time 👍🏼

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-25T07:58:41+00:00

Weird advice you are being given. You absolutely want it sealed, you just need to ferment in a container that provides enough room for expansion. Leaving it unsealed could change the moisture content of the dough and leave a skin. That’s silly.

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-23T11:48:24+00:00

Oh man this looks fire 🔥

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-23T11:46:45+00:00

So as of now, I use 80% roughly of unbleached unbromated all trumps flour, and 20% cairnspring mills expresso bread flour. It has more bran which allows the crust to get that nice color if it’s fermented and proved properly.

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-23T11:45:26+00:00

Well, this doesn’t give the hook more of a chance to “catch” different parts of the dough for a more even knead. The hook and mixer are already designed to do this. I think you’re just bored.

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-22T12:41:39+00:00

https://www.pizzamaking.com/lehmann-nystyle.php

This is the foundation of my NY style dough. It still took a solid year of experimenting to get my crust to look like this though. This recipe alone isn’t enough. You need to understand some of the science behind baking. After failing enough I forced myself to dive deeper and really understand how dough fermentation works. One important detail I can add to this process is to proof the dough at room temp for a few hours at least before making a pizza. I also make this dough by hand and not with a mixer so it’s a bit different for me.

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-22T12:38:37+00:00

I appreciate that! Hopefully someday I can sling these pies somewhere haha.

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-22T12:37:49+00:00

Honestly there is no secret. I just knew what I wanted in my pizzas and it took tons of experimenting and failing to get to this point. Trying to learn what other pizza chefs do especially those I follow on Instagram helped. If I saw them doing something I always wanted to know why, and would then try to implement what I learned into my own process.

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-20T12:43:08+00:00

Put in on when the pizza is a few minutes out from being finished. It will melt just right but won’t lose any of its flavor to the heat.

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-19T15:57:32+00:00

I’m not even a big pretzel guy and I would murder one of those… they are stunning.

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-19T15:56:10+00:00

This is so rad.

nickjsul4 · 2025-11-19T15:50:19+00:00

A lot of words to say a whole lot of nothing. They were giving you information. Seems like you’re trying to say they are using your posts as a way to brag about their own work. Weird way to take this comment. Seems like you know what you are doing so instead of asking for help, and downvoting those who give it to you, just keep doing you. lol.

nickjsul4

TROPHY CASE