Question: Is there a good way to fix dough stickiness without drying it out? A sticky dough can indeed create a sticky situation. There are a number of things that can cause the condition, therefore there are a number of solutions to the problems. Some of the more...
Want to pack a punch? Consider herb-infused dough One aspect of pizza dough production that just doesn’t go away is that of flavored or herb infused dough. A number of years ago, several of the big box chains offered herb-flavored doughs. Then a lot of the...
Why are pizza dough recipes/formulas expressed in percentages rather than in amounts? The easiest way to express a dough formula is in what is referred to as baker’s percentage. The amount of each ingredient is expressed as a percent of total flour weight used in the...
An interesting question came across my desk asking how the physical attributes of an artisan pizza would be affected by baking the same pizza in different types of ovens. Let’s take a look and see how a New York-style thin-crust pizza might vary when baked in the...
Q: I’ve heard of a thing called “dough factor.” Can you explain this to me? A: Dough factor –– also known as “dough loading” –– is used to calculate the amount of dough needed to increase or decrease a pizza’s size while keeping everything in correct balance in regard...
Whole-wheat crust requires special handling Q: We get a lot of requests for a whole-wheat pizza, but all of our attempts to make one end up with dry, hard texture and poor flavor. What is the secret to making a good whole-wheat crust? A: Like so many other...
Q: Our mixer finally crashed and we got a 40-quart vertical cutter mixer (VCM) to replace it. How does this mixer compare against our old 80-quart mixer? A: The first thing to know about the VCM is that it has a much higher mixing speed. The two-speed models mix at...
Q: On my flour bags it says: “bleached, enriched and bromated.” What does this mean? A: The bleaching of the flour is done only to remove its yellow pigments, making it brighter and whiter in color and appearance. Aside from that, there is no other...
Q: In looking at different methods of dough management, some call for allowing the dough balls to rest at room temperature for an hour or more, while others say to take the dough directly to the cooler without any room temperature rest period. Does it really make a...
Our mixer finally crashed and we got a 40-quart vertical cutter mixer (VCM) to replace it. How does this mixer compare against our old 80-quart mixer? A: The first thing to know about the VCM is that it has a much higher mixing speed. The two-speed models mix at 1750...
I’ve heard that there is a way to calculate the amount of dough needed to make any size of pizza. Can you explain how this is done? A: What you are referring to is the use of our old friend “pi” to calculate the surface area of a circle, and then...
My pizza dough gets too soft to hand toss after only two days in the cooler. What do I do? A: In reviewing your dough formula and management procedure, I see that your dough formula contains nearly 10 percent oil in addition to 60 percent water. This is much more oil...
