KITCHEN PRACTICE 1 — Mixing, Kneading & Dividing Pizza Dough
==================================================
Chapter: Italian Cookery 6 — Pizza Dough & Fermentation

TASK
----
Mix and knead a batch of pizza dough, using the autolyse rest before
adding salt, and divide it into individual dough balls once it's
finished its brief room-temperature rise.

WHAT TO DO
----------
1. Combine 500g of 00 flour, 325ml room-temperature water, and 1-2g
   of instant yeast in a large bowl, mixing until no dry flour
   remains.
2. Cover and let it rest for 20-30 minutes (the autolyse rest) —
   don't add salt yet.
3. Add 10-12g of fine salt and knead for 8-10 minutes, either by
   hand or with a stand mixer. Expect the dough to feel noticeably
   stickier and looser than Chapter 2's pasta dough — don't add extra
   flour to compensate.
4. Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature for about an
   hour, or until visibly puffed.
5. Divide the risen dough into individual balls of roughly 250g each,
   shaping each into a smooth, taut ball by tucking the edges under.
6. Place each ball into its own lightly oiled, covered container,
   ready for the fridge.

WHAT TO EXPECT
--------------
- The dough should feel noticeably wetter and tackier under your
  hands than Chapter 2's egg pasta dough — this is expected at
  roughly 65% hydration, not a sign something's gone wrong.
- After kneading, the dough should still be soft and a little sticky,
  but should hold together as a cohesive mass rather than sticking
  to every surface it touches.
- After the room-temperature rise, the dough should look visibly
  larger and slightly domed on top, with small bubbles sometimes
  visible just under the surface.

WHY THIS WORKS AS AN ANSWER
----------------------------
The autolyse rest — mixing flour and water together before the salt
goes in — gives the flour time to fully absorb the water and begin
developing gluten structure passively, before any kneading even
starts. This is what makes an otherwise wet, sticky dough manageable
to knead by the time you actually get to it, and it's a genuinely
different sequence from Chapter 2's pasta dough, where everything
goes in together from the start.