What Do Most Pizzerias that use Commercial Yeast Do?

The process is simple; it begins by dissolving yeast in water. Some add sugar to activate the yeast, which isn’t necessary. And some use warm water, also unnecessary.

In New York City and many commercial-style pizzerias, they keep the process warm. They add half a percent or less of yeast, let it rise, then use it as fast as they can, sometimes the same day. On the other spectrum of commercial yeast, you have the Romans, who add 1 gram of yeast to a 10,000-gram batch of dough, a tiny fraction of a percentage of the flour. Then they proof for 5 days. In the middle, Neapolitans generally do a 48-hour fermentation with commercial yeast.