How do I get a crispy crust for wood fire oven pizza? Do I knead the dough enough for a windowpane test? Do I add oil while kneading?
By crispy I mean real crisp on the base yet smooth as you bite further into it. Not crispy crunchy like short crust pastry.
This may be more of a function of cooking surface and temperature, but there are a couple of other issues too. Traditional Neapolitan pizza is fermented at least overnight (which reduces the the need to knead intensely because gluten develops over that time). This type of pizza dough has a fairly high hydration and no oil. We are talking 70% hydration. You will also want to use 00 flour, which is milled powdery soft. It's cooked on a stone surface at a very high temperature (600 - 700F), for a short time (2 -3 minutes). Thus achieving a crisp exterior. If you have a wood fired oven, I would recommend your first experiment be a high-hydration dough with 00 flour, and an overnight ferment. There is also a technique to stretching this dough. I am sure you can find some videos on the net, but it does result in a center that is thinner than the edges, as another poster suggested. Do not use a rolling pin to stretch your dough as you will ruin the effect.
Crispy crust is mostly achieved (from my experience) by making the dough slightly thinner than the rest of the pizza around the edges. I've personally only used the window pane test a couple of times with mostly positive results. It's certainly a good judgment tool and you should be fine using it, but remember to not make the edges too thin. We want crispy, not burnt and crumbling to pieces after all!
As for the olive oil, I would strongly suggest coating the dough in it before kneading. I would use just enough to coat it though, it will make the dough easier to handle and locks in much needed moisture.
Good luck!
