Greg's Lab
Pizza & Bagel Glossary
Plain-language definitions for the terms you'll run into when making pizza and bagels.
- Autolyse
- A rest period after mixing flour and water, before adding salt and yeast. Improves gluten development with less kneading.
- Biga
- An Italian pre-ferment made with flour, water, and a small amount of yeast. Adds flavor and improves texture.
- Cornicione
- The outer crust or rim of a Neapolitan pizza. Should be airy, charred, and slightly chewy.
- Diastatic Malt
- A malt powder with active enzymes that feed yeast and improve browning. Used in small amounts in dough.
- Fior di Latte
- Fresh mozzarella made from cow's milk. Wetter than low-moisture mozzarella; used on Neapolitan pies.
- Hydration
- The ratio of water to flour in a dough, expressed as a percentage. Higher hydration means a wetter, more open crumb.
- Kettle Boil
- The step in bagel-making where shaped bagels are boiled before baking. Creates the chewy crust.
- Lye Bath
- A food-grade sodium hydroxide solution used to boil bagels or pretzels. Produces a deep brown, shiny crust.
- Poolish
- A liquid pre-ferment (equal parts flour and water) that adds flavor and extensibility to dough.
- Proofing
- The final rise of shaped dough before baking. Also used loosely to mean any fermentation stage.