Have you ever worked a busy night, and your job is to stretch everything, but it seems like you’re in for the worst upper body workout of your life as opposed to making pizza?

One of the worst feelings is going through a busy service and your dough just doesn’t seem to want to cooperate like it normally does. Dough — that you’ve meticulously worked on that’s meant to be soft and easy to stretch — has now become your worst enemy. Dough snaps back continuously and is super hard, making it that much more difficult to get good results. Enter the dough conditioners and improvers. I’ve always grown up in an environment that promotes less additives are best, but sometimes you just need to fix it.

With today’s diet culture bleeding into the larger food culture, we’ve been taught additives are the enemy even though we do not quite understand them fully. In my definition, dough conditioners are an additive that we add to our dough to help improve upon certain key characteristics like texture, stretchability and softness that go beyond the main ingredients of flour, water, salt and yeast. When I first began, the main dough conditioner I ever heard about was called PZ-44. Over the years, I have learned that dough conditioners take many forms, and they can be as natural as fruit or as complex as man-made lab invented ingredients.

First things first, what is PZ-44 and other conditioners like it?

PZ-44, and similar conditioners are meant to soften and relax dough, reducing snapback as well as reducing mixing times. These are known as PZ-44 and Reddi Sponge.  PZ-44 is made from whey proteins and L-Cysteine, and Reddi Sponge is made from whey proteins, corn, potassium bromate, L-Cysteine, ascorbic acid and monocalcium phosphate (depending on the type of Reddi Sponge).

Some of these names should sound familiar if you pay attention to flour and what’s really in your ingredients. It’s not as simple as listing wheat on a bag of flour anymore because of the process it undergoes to manufacture it as well as storage and transportation. Some ingredients are added in to help with preservation over the course of long travel periods or help slow down the aging process and some ingredients are added in for nutritional value. During the grinding process of flour, some nutrition is lost by the extraction of bran for more refined flours, so companies will add back in certain nutrients like Niacin and Ascorbic acid, a.k.a. Vitamin C, which are found naturally and can help with gluten structure.

Potassium Bromate is an ingredient that gets a bad wrap and is soon to be outlawed in California. You’ve mostly heard about this one when it comes to New York style pizza. Numerous pizzerias still use bromated flour because it strengthens dough and helps with spring. This ingredient is banned in Europe and other countries, such as Canada, because it has been potentially linked to cancer. L-Cysteine is an amino acid that is normally used to help with extensibility. It helps shorten gluten strands, so dough is more easily manipulated and stretched. This ingredient can be derived from plants like oats and lentils but also from animal-based products. Like gelatin, a lot of vegans and vegetarians will steer clear of this ingredient because it can be found in animal hooves and feathers making it cheaper to produce.

Deactivated Yeast, a.k.a. Nutritional Yeast, is a great replacement for L-Cysteine as it contains glutathione — which also cuts down gluten strands, breaking down proteins in dough. The only drawback to this ingredient is it is quicker to change the flavor of dough with the more you use.

The more natural approach to conditioning or improving dough would be to go the fruit route.

Fruits like kiwi, pineapple and papaya, whose juices contain enzymes that help cut gluten strands down, make dough easier to stretch and handle. The tricky part about using fruit is that the concentration within will vary drastically from season to season and it is harder to maintain consistency from batch to batch.

Something that you are probably already using that helps condition and relax dough is fat. A lot of pizza makers use olive oil or animal fat like butter or lard. Fats coat gluten strands which makes them stretchier, but also reduces the length of these strands as fats and most things do not mix well and instead create barriers. A less common ingredient these days that functions very similarly is eggs.

One thing that I found surprising as a dough conditioner was meat tenderizer. Modernist Cuisine mentions trying meat tenderizers in a powdered form that work quite well at softening dough. Since meat tenderizers are derived from natural ingredients like those found in fruit juices — but have been purified and processed— they are more consistent and in a measurable form that helps making dough simpler and more reliable.

Dough conditioners were invented at a time when flour was of poor quality.

During times of war and climate change wheat is increasingly hard to grow, especially with supply and demand ever evolving. Dough conditioners and improvers were created to make it easier on the baker — be them professional or at home to make quality products. Nowadays it is easier than ever to gain access to great quality flour, which may not need a conditioner or improver to create dough that is easy to work with and consistent. Knowing how to read an ingredient label and understand the purpose of each item just adds to your repertoire and ability to make great dough in times of surplus and in times of instability.

There are many ways to make dough that is manageable and easy to work with and conditioners and improvers are nothing to scoff at. Just understand restraint is key and to start small when trying them out.

Laura Meyer is the owner of Pizzeria da Laura in Berkeley, CA.

>> Explore answers to more common pizza dough questions in Troubleshooting your Pizza Dough: What’s wrong with my pizza dough? <<

The post Relaxing Tough Pizza Dough: Using Dough Conditioners and Improvers appeared first on Pizza Today.

I received a question recently asking about how to correct dough that is too soft. My first question is: is it too soft on the table in its raw state, or too soft out of the oven? Two very different things and lots of factors to consider.

Pizza Dough that is too soft

For dough that is too soft I would first ask, what is your hydration and flour and what is your process from start to finish, including temps, if you know them? Any time I encounter a problem with my dough, my first reaction is not to blame the ingredients first, but to analyze the process and any circumstances that may stand out.

If my recipe has been tested and I have made it many times before, then I know there’s an error somewhere in the process as opposed to the ingredients. When I opened my restaurant, I started with a planetary mixer and developed my recipe considering this. After a bit, I invested in a spiral mixer and had to completely change my mixing process to accommodate the new piece of equipment. The way I was incorporating the water had to be changed, which greatly affects how the flour absorbs (which changes the final texture and gluten structure). Where my mixer sits in the prep area also played a large factor.

My prep area does not have the greatest ventilation, and the large dish machine is nearby. Knowing the humidity from the dish machine was going to play a factor, I decided to lower the temperature of the water going into the recipe by a few degrees. This small change helped keep the consistency of the dough in place. Bench resting the batch after the mix was another element I added to ensure full absorption and to be certain the temperature was right before cutting and balling.

Addressing Most Common Contributors to Soft Dough

The two most common reasons for too soft of a dough I’ve encountered are rushing the mixing process and not letting the flour hydrate and absorb completely and not mixing thoroughly enough. Not all flour is the same. The types and combinations of wheat going into a bag of flour are going to change from season to season and year to year. Although millers are aiming for the same recipe every time, flours change. I’ve also seen a bag of flour off by close to a pound which can drastically change the final product since all ingredients are based off total flour weight. Considering transportation and handling, this isn’t always one person or one company’s fault. Mistakes happen, and sometimes delivery drivers are just a little too tough on our products.

During the mix, how you add your water is important. For higher hydrations or for a flour that I’ve noticed isn’t absorbing well I would recommend an autolyse. After adding the majority of your water, pause for 20-30 minutes and let the flour fully absorb. Then go back and add the rest of your water and ingredients. You’d be surprised how different your dough will feel after an autolyse. I’ve had to catch myself at the restaurant and also in competition because I was trying to rush the process (whether it’s because I’m pressed for time, or I’m just nervous) — and usually an autolyse fixes that issue.

If my dough was consistently too soft and not absorbing well, I would consider blending a different type of flour. Most pizzerias are using strictly 00 but 00 flour has had as much of the bran and germ removed as possible. The bran not only contains a lot of nutrients, but also absorbs more water. Adding in 5-10 percent of a type 0 or type 1 would be a nice change without feeling like your dough and flavor has changed too drastically. If looking for a bigger changeup I recommend a small percentage of Rye flour.

Rushing the process and not mixing the dough enough can result in the dough being too soft. My mixers have multiple speeds, and if I’m toggling up and down between them I sometimes go too fast. Hence, the gluten hasn’t developed enough before pulling it out of the mixer. If I notice this before scaling out the dough, then a bench rest or bulk ferment will help the gluten develop and ensure the dough remains soft but elastic. If I’ve already balled my dough and when I come back to it hours later or the next day it’s flat instead of raised and airy, then I would re-ball the dough and let it rest again for a few hours before attempting to use it. I’ve had this happen on numerous occasions and it always seems to be when I need the dough the most. Re-balling is one of your best tools that a lot of people forget about. Most dough is not a lost cause, but time is not always on your side.

Lastly, when it comes to the mixing process, how are you measuring your ingredients? If you are not using the same unit of measurement for everything, I can assure you there will be inconsistencies in your final dough. Volume measurements are notoriously inconsistent and switching to weights is the best practice.

If the Finished Pizza Crust is Too Soft

If you find that your dough is too soft coming out of the oven, there are a few things you can do. Lower the temperature of your deck and slow down the cooking process. If using an electric oven, you’ll want to play around with the top and bottom settings as well. The higher the hydration the slower you’ll need to cook it if you are looking for a crunchy base. If your oven has internal vents, check that they are at least halfway open. Some people don’t realize their vents are closed and trapping all the moisture inside.

When taking your pizzas out of the oven, some don’t cut them right away but place them on cooling racks first to let some of the steam dissipate. Using trays with dimples also elevates the pizza so it is not sitting in its juices after it has been cut. Each of these measures can help ensure your dough is not too soft.

Laura Meyer is the owner of Pizzeria da Laura in Berkeley, CA.

>> Explore answers to more common pizza dough questions in Troubleshooting your Pizza Dough: What’s wrong with my pizza dough? <<

The post How to Correct a Pizza Dough that is Too Soft to Work With appeared first on Pizza Today.

This extensive guide for troubleshooting your pizza dough and pizza crust answers common pizza dough problems to help you make a better pizza. Whether you are a professional pizza maker and pizzaiolo or an at home pizza maker and pizza chef, answers to common dough questions can help you perfect your pizza. Pizza Today has spent four decades providing solutions to pizza dough issues that pizzerias face. Through Dough Doctor, Knead to Know and Kitchen features, we have helped pizzerias learn more about pizza dough productions, management and fixing pizza dough problems. We have a section of pizzatoday.com dedicated to Dough Production & Development. Bookmark that link and browse through recent articles.

Here, we are addressing common dough problems and how to fix them. Before you dive into specific pizza dough questions, go ahead and bookmark this page. We will continue to add more dough questions and solutions.

What’s wrong with my pizza dough?

There are many things that could be wrong with your dough. Maybe your pizza is sticking to the peel. Maybe your dough is too soggy or your dough is undercooked. Maybe your pizza dough is overproofed. Maybe your pizza dough is too touch or stick or dough won’t stretch… this guide has answers to all of these common concerns and more

Explore the following common pizza dough questions with many resources to help solve each issue:

How do I get rid of the gum line on pizza crust?

Why is my pizza crust soggy?

Why does my pizza dough keep snapping back when I try to stretch it? Why does my dough not stay stretched?

How to prevent my pizza crust from bubbling in the oven?

How do I stop getting my pizza stuck on the pizza peel?

What do I do if I ruin my batch of pizza dough?

How do I keep the ingredients from sliding off my pizza crust?

Why is my pizza dough weak and tears when I stretch it?

Why is my pizza crust undercooked?

Why is my pizza crust too tough or chewy?

Why is my pizza dough too soft?

Why is my pizza dough so sticky?

How do I fix overproofed pizza dough?

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How do I get rid of the gum line on pizza crust?

What do you do when your pizza has a dreaded gum line? First, what is a gum line? The gum line is the doughy section of the crust, basically undercooked dough of the crust under its sauce, toppings and cheese.

4 causes of the gum line on finished pizza crust

The late Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann identified four common factors that contribute to the development of the gum line. They are:

1. Excessive thinning of the sauce. A thin watery sauce that exhibits a tendency to separate upon standing will develop a wet soggy area just below the sauce, leading to the development of a gum line.
2. Pre-saucing of the pizza skins ahead of time for in-store use or in making take and bake pizzas. Pre-saucing of the skins should be avoided whenever possible, but when it must be done, either to help keep up with orders during busy periods, or when making take and bake pizzas, the pizza skins should be given a very light application of oil prior to saucing.
3. Too much sauce used on the pizza. When too much sauce is used on the pizza, it becomes more difficult to bake out thoroughly.
4. Insufficient yeast level. This can result from a number of things. Incorrect dough formulation (not enough yeast), but more commonly it is the result of action taken to address blowing of the dough.

A few other solutions to reducing a gum line is to cross stack dough balls when they goes into the cooler. Keep adequate temperature control over your dough-making process to make sure the dough has cooled properly before cooling.

Read all about the dreaded gum line — What causes it and what to do about it.

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Why is my pizza crust soggy?

A myriad of factors can contribute to a soggy pizza crust. Here are a few common causes to start your trouble shooting:

The main culprit could be your pizza sauce. Audrey Kelly says, “It is also important to tailor your sauce to fit the style of pizza you are making. You don’t want a super heavy sauce on a delicate Neapolitan pie just as you want something more substantial on a Sicilian crust.”

It could also be your toppings, especially fresh vegetables. The late Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann provided an interesting solution. “I solved that problem by using a Japanese breadcrumb. I find it best to sauce the dough first, then sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of the coarse, plain, white crumb on top of the sauce. Then add the cheese and the vegetable toppings. The crumbs will absorb the moisture from the veggies, and the texture blends right in with the cheese. It really does work and prevents soggy bottom pizza!” Another option to roast vegetables slightly to expel excess water content.

Check that your oven temperature is correct. Thoroughly inspect your oven temperature. The late Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann goes into what to look for in troubleshooting oven temperature issues.

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Why does my pizza dough keep snapping back when I try to stretch it? Why does my dough not stay stretched?

Also called dough memory, pizza dough snapback occurs when a stretched pizza will not stay stretched – snaps back – no matter how much you stretch or how much pressure applied to the stretch.

Dough Expert Laura Meyer addresses pizza dough snapback or dough memory in a Knead to Know column. She says, “To better understand why dough snaps back we need to have a basic understanding of gluten development. Mixing time and the type of mixer used is extremely important when it comes to gluten development. If not done properly this can lead to your dough snapping back. Over mixing is a thing. When it comes time to mix your dough, having a game plan and all your ingredients weighed out and ready to go is important. I have seen many operations weigh as they go, which translates to dough mixing for too long in the mixer and the gluten becoming too tight.

“Cold dough is another factor here,” she continues. “Cold dough will not only cook poorly but will not stretch well and will continue to snap back. If you were to try and run a marathon without warming up you’ll most likely pull a muscle within the first few miles. Dough is no different, warming up your dough means the dough will stretch nicely and be less likely to tear.”

4 ways you can address pizza dough snapback

The late Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann identifies four ways you can address dough snapback:

1. By changing to a lower-protein content flour, we can generally reduce the amount of snap-back (though, in severe cases, this will not totally eliminate it).
2. Dough fermentation. One cause of snap-back is insufficient dough conditioning through fermentation, so anything which will increase the amount of fermentation the dough receives prior to opening into a skin will help to reduce or eliminate the problem. This might include any of the following: increasing the yeast level; increasing the finished (mixed) dough temperature or increasing the total fermentation time. Any of these actions will result in an increase in dough fermentation that will weaken the wheat flour proteins and result in a softer, more extensible (less elastic) dough that exhibits less of a tendency to snap-back.
3. Dough absorption. In some cases where only a slight amount of snap-back needs to be addressed, a slight increase of two to five percent in dough absorption might be sufficient to address the problem without any other changes being necessary.
4. Reducing agents. Reducing agents are ingredients that act on the flour proteins by breaking them down or weakening them. Some will even destroy/denature the proteins entirely. Reducing agents are what one might call the “silver bullet” or “magic ingredient” when it comes to excessive dough snap-back or memory. These are ingredients that you just add to the dough formulation and — poof! — no more snap back.

Read on in a Q&A with the Dough Doctor.

An easy fix may be using PZ-44 Dough Conditioner. In a Dough Doctor story, the late Tom Lehmann says, “This ingredient is what we call a “reducing agent.” When used in a dough, it will cause the dough to become softer and more extensible (less elastic). What this means is that it will not exhibit the snap-back characteristics during hand, or machine forming. When adding any type of reducing agent to your dough, care must be taken to prevent using it in an excessive amount.” Read more.

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How to prevent my pizza crust from bubbling in the oven?

Fermentation is one of the keys to reducing bubbling in our pizza doughs. The Late Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann looks at solutions to preventing bubbling crust.

With normal yeast levels (0.375 percent instant dry yeast, 0.5 percent active dry yeast, or 1.25 percent compressed/fresh yeast), and a finished (mixed) dough temperature in the 80 to 85F range, the bubbles are minimized after 2.5 hours of fermentation time at ambient temperature (approximately 70F).

If you take the proper storage steps, you can pretty much eliminate bubbles. Start by taking the dough balls immediately after scaling and balling and place them in dough boxes, cross-stacked for two hours. Be sure to wipe them with salad oil to prevent them from drying out in the cooler. After two hours, downstack them and allow them to ferment overnight. Allow them to sit at room temperature for two hours before you use them and you’re ready to go.

The second main cause of bubbling crusts, and possibly the most common today, has to do with both temperature and tempering of the dough balls after removal from the cooler. If the dough is at cooler temperature when taken to the oven for baking, an open invitation has been extended for bubble development.

Some prefer to allow dough balls to warm 5F above the cooler temperature. “We have found that by allowing the dough to temper at room temperature for 2 hours prior to opening the dough balls up into skins.”

Dough dockers are designed to help control bubbling. But they don’t do anything to prevent it, or address the problem at its root cause. If you do happen to have one of those doughs that just seems to have a penchant for bubbling, the dough docker might prove to be your salvation.

The Late Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann explores Bubbling Pizza Crust further.

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How do I stop getting my pizza stuck on the pizza peel?

Pizza sticking to a peel as you put the pizza in the oven is common pizza dough problem While some may think maker error, the real answer may lie in dough science. The late Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann addressed the cause of this dough issue in Pizza Today. “If you are using malt in your dough, make doubly sure that it is non-diastatic (non-enzyme active) malt. If the malt is diastatic malt (enzyme active), it will convert starch in the flour to sugars, making the dough sticky or tacky to the point where it will stick to almost any surface it comes into contact with, including a prep peel,” he said.

“If the dough is over absorbed (contains too much water) it may feel clammy or even exhibit a slight tackiness when touched,” he added. “Over absorbed dough tends to be difficult to work with as the dough is just too extensible and is easily over stretched during the forming operation. While some of the traditional doughs are fairly high in absorption and difficult to handle during forming, they can still be peeled into the oven without much of a problem if they are well floured for ease of handling, and either fine cornmeal, or semolina flour is used as the peel dust to aid in sliding the prepared dough skin off of the peel. Be sure to use a wood or wood laminate peel for your prep peel.”

He continued to offer this simple solution: “just make sure once the dough is placed on the peel it is dressed and peeled into the oven without interruption. Of course, a good peel dust doesn’t hurt either.”

From the Pizza Today Test Kitchen, we learned that if you give the peel a little shake after you top the pizza, it’s a good check before you attempt to slide a pizza off the peel onto a hot oven deck.

Go even more in depth into dough sticking on pizza peels.

Understand why certain flours are good peel release agents in Prep Peel and Dough.

Learn everything you ever want to know about pizza peels. Read Tools of the Trade Part One, Part Two and Part Three from Tony Gemignani:

Tools of the Trade

Peel Off on Different Types of Pizza Peels

Pizza Peels, Part III

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What do I do if I ruin my batch of pizza dough? 

Blowing a batch of dough happens. What’s important is that you have a plan in place to replace the pizza dough that has blown and maintain pizza service with the best pizza dough. That is where emergency dough comes in.

Dough Expert Laura Meyer recently addressed the subject. She says, “Having a low protein flour on hand will always work in a pinch. Certain flours work best at certain cooking temperatures. But with a low cook temp around 500 F, a 13-percent protein will do the trick. In an emergency situation, you’ll want to increase the temperature of the dough coming out of the mixer by 5-10 degrees, stopping at 80 F-85 F and adding a touch more yeast. This will get things moving quickly. If you’re accustomed to cold fermenting, you’ll want to switch to room temperature fermenting and leave the dough out of the fridge and in a warm area. Be careful if it’s in front of an oven as you’ll need to keep your eyes on the dough and rotate the trays so one side is not getting all of the heat. A poolish preferment will help add flavor as well as push the fermentation along, making sure your emergency dough doesn’t just cook well but also has all the flavor you need.” Read her article: Knead to Know: A Dough Emergency.

The late Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann provided a blue print for you to create an emergency dough fast. “Every shop should have an emergency dough formula and procedure tucked away for these not-so-special moments,” Lehmann said. “I like to make my emergency dough from my regular dough formula because I’m already familiar with it. Still, we need to make a few changes to our dough formula to allow it to be made quickly and be ready for making pizza skins in not much more than two hours.”

He continued, “I have found that increasing the yeast content to double the normal level helps to speed things up a bit. Increasing the finished dough temperature to something in the 90 to 95 F range really helps to get the dough on line within the two-hour time limit as well. The quickest way to do this is to just increase the temperature of the water that you are adding to the dough by 15 F (assuming you are presently targeting a finished dough temperature of 80 to 85 F). If you are not targeting your finished dough temperature in that range, give it your best estimation for water temperature to get your dough to come from the mixer within 90 to 95 F.

I also like to have a bag of reducing agent, such as PZ-44, on hand for these occasions. By including a reducing agent in the emergency dough formulation you will have a greater assurance that the dough will handle well without excessive snap-back during the forming procedure.”

Go deeper into creating an emergency dough.

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How do I keep the ingredients from sliding off my pizza crust?

There are several causes of ingredients sliding off your pizza crust. The first component you need to examine is if your pizza crust is strong enough to support the weight of the toppings that you are putting on the pizza. Pizza Master John Gutekanst dives into types of pizza crusts and the toppings they can support. “Too much hydration, wet toppings, weighty meats and cheeses, and insufficient thought about how the heated foundation will support all these assets can lead to your downfall. To avoid this, let’s look at the styles of pizzas and the topping support they offer.

Pizza styles and the weight of toppings

• Thin and crispy pizza: Low tolerance for weighty toppings unless an extremely low-hydrated, high-gluten dough is baked at medium temperatures, creating a hard, crisp crust that will not “flop” or crack. Examples are the East Coast Hot Oil pizzas, the Roman Scrocciarella and the St. Louis thin. A lot of these styles are made with less sauce and cheese and cut in the Chicago “Tavern Style” squares to accommodate multiple toppings.
• Medium thick brick-oven crust: Mid-level tolerance for heavy toppings depends upon hydration. Below 70 percent and a lower temperature bake at 500 F will dry a dynamic high-gluten crust out enough for plenty of sauce and cheese. The more steam remaining in the crust will soften the dough, and higher heat will only crisp the outside of the cornicione (crust.) If you try drying out the gluten scaffolding in the center at this high temperature, it will only burn the outside.
• High Hydration Crusts: Believe it or not, high hydration crusts are the perfect platform for dressing with multiple toppings. Pizzas like the Pizza in Teglia are baked in pans because of that high moisture, but they create a crisp crust and large cell structure at temperatures in the mid 500 F range. These pizzas also have a lot of oil in the mix because the oil coats the gluten strands eliminating moisture saturation. This technique creates strong alveoli, or “lungs” when filled by carbon dioxide. Many high-hydration pizzas are par-baked much in the same pans that the smaller-celled Sicilian Pizzas are, like the wonderful Sfincione.

Read his article: Heavy Lift: Crusts to Support Loaded Pizzas

Secondly, the dreaded gum line can be the culprit of toppings sliding off your pizza. Whether the pizza is over-sauced, under cooked or insufficient yeast levels, you’ll want to address these problems right away. Take a look at how to fix gum line issues. 

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Why is my pizza dough weak and tears when I stretch it?

Laura Meyer addressed dough tearing. “If your dough tears easily or is unable to stretch, then it has not developed enough gluten and could use a little bit more time mixing,” she says… “If my dough is high in hydration and I am using a planetary mixer, it can be hard for the dough to reach full gluten development purely because of the style of mixer and the way it is constructed. This is not necessarily a flaw by any means. Planetary mixers are great work horses and for some operations the best choice because it can accommodate attachments for cutting and shredding. Knowing that this mixer is not as well suited for high hydrated doughs, bulk fermentation as well as incorporating a few folds before refrigerating the dough will ensure that the dough absorbs all the water and develops to full gluten development. A good rule of thumb when using bulk fermentation is the shorter the mix time the longer the bulk fermentation and vice versa.

Autolyse is another technique used by bakers and pizza makers to make sure flour is well hydrated and to ensure full gluten development. Autolyse is a rest period during the mixing process.

Read her article: Knead to Know: What Comes After the Mix for your Batch of Dough.

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Why is my pizza crust undercooked?

Laura Meyer knows the ins and outs of proper pizza cooking. To address an undercooked pizza crust, she says, “One of the most common errors I see in kitchens is not enough dough has been pulled out of the refrigerator before service. Just as you should never put a cold steak on a grill, you should never put cold dough in a hot oven. If you are cooking Neapolitan pizza, cold dough tends to blister more giving it that leopard spotting everyone loves but at the same time is that much harder to cook all the way through. No matter what style you are cooking, your oven is going to have a set point and a specific cook time. In every kitchen I have worked in there is always that one cook or new person that loves cold dough because it is easier to stretch and harder to tear. The downfall of this is an improperly trained cook. During the cooking process your dough is rising in temperature to cook the toppings, cheese and dough. If your dough is cold, it is harder for it to cook all the way through while your toppings cook and the dough browns. When the pizza enters the oven, the water in the dough begins to boil and evaporate. If the dough is cold, it will not cook all the way through leaving too much moisture in the dough resulting in a gum line.

“Another flaw I see repeatedly is improperly cooked bottoms. On busy nights it can be hard to keep up with dine-in as well as take-out and delivery. It can become overwhelming and adding on people constantly asking where their food is can be anxiety driven and frustrating. Most cooks try and compensate by putting as many pies as they physically can in the oven thinking they’re going to push food out faster that way. What really ends up happening is the oven cools down to a point where the stones cannot recover with each new rotation of pies. As pizzas cook, the heat from the stones is absorbed by the pizza. By putting pizzas in the same spot, those areas completely lose their heat meaning the bottoms never cook. To combat this, I recommend leaving at least one spot where nothing is cooking leaving it as a “hot spot”. By keeping a hot spot in the oven, you will always have an area to rotate your pizzas into towards the end of the bake to finish off the bottoms. If you are using screens, it is smart to remove the screen halfway through so the pizza can finish on the physical stone. The contact with the stone will ensure a well-done bottom as well as ensure you get the desired crispiness.”

Read her article: Knead to Know: Avoid an Undercooked Pizza and Unhappy Diners.

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Why is my pizza crust too tough or chewy?

Dough Expert and owner of Pizzeria da Laura in Berkeley, California, recently covered the topic of how to relax tough dough. She says, “Dough snaps back continuously and is super hard, making it that much more difficult to get good results. Enter the dough conditioners and improvers. I’ve always grown up in an environment that promotes less additives are best, but sometimes you just need to fix it.
” In my definition, dough conditioners are an additive that we add to our dough to help improve upon certain key characteristics like texture, stretchability and softness that go beyond the main ingredients of flour, water, salt and yeast.” She goes into great detail how PZ-44 and other dough conditioners are used. Read Relaxing Tough Pizza Dough: Using Dough Conditioners and Improvers.

There are many factors that cause a pizza crust to be too chewy or too tough. The Late Tom Lehmann dives into the topic and provides cause and ways to fix the issue. He said, “When we encounter an excessively tough and chewy thin-crust pizza, the problem might be due to improper dough management techniques (such as a finished dough temperature that is too low, which therefore results in insufficient dough fermentation). Another cause for a tough and chewy crust characteristic is trying to sheet the dough too thin, thinking that it will make for a crispier finished crust. Just the opposite is true. Our dough formula and dough management procedure can be “spot on,” but if we sheet/roll the dough too thin we end up degassing the dough, making it more dense. The heat then passes right on through the dough without ever getting it hot enough to fully bake it and we end up with a crust that might have some resemblance of crispiness when it comes out of the oven but soon progresses from crispy to tough and chewy. The answer here is to use a different method to open the dough into a pizza skin (hand formed or pressed) or to open the sheeting rolls slightly to give a thicker pizza skin better able to create a heat/thermal block.

Read Lehmann’s article: Dough Doctor: Tough Sell — Causes of too tough, chewy crust.

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How to prevent my pizza crust from burning?

The first thing to examine: Is your pizza crust burnt or is that part of the pizza style and pizza characteristics? Blistering, also known as leoparding, is common with many high-heat, wood-fired pizzas. Char is a common characteristic of pizza styles, like New Haven and many artisan style pizzas.

Laura Meyer says, “At times what appears to be burnt areas are thin spots on the crust that formed during the stretch but were never degassed before entering the oven.  A simple fix is to pop thin bubbles before cooking or using a bubble popper to deflate enlarged bubbles inside the oven before they firm up.”

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Why is my pizza dough too soft?

The Late Tom Lehmann answered this question based on a two-day cold fermentation. “Your dough formula likely contains too much oil. Keep in mind that both water and oil contribute to the soft and extensible handling properties of the dough. It’s most likely that this is where the problem is. To correct the problem, I would suggest reducing the oil content to a level where it does not exceed four percent of the flour weight and to where the combined water and oil do not exceed 56 to 60 percent of the flour weight.”

He continued. “Also, keep in mind that the flour needs to hydrate the water in order to form “gluten”. With the high level of oil that you’re using it is entirely possible that a good deal of the flour is absorbing oil rather than water if the oil is not added in a delayed manner. To do this, do not add the oil until the ingredients have had a chance to mix together at a low speed for a couple of minutes. When you cannot see any dry flour in the mixing bowl, the oil can be added and blended in by mixing for an additional minute at low speed. Then, the dough can be mixed in your normal manner. This should give you more consistent dough performance, especially after a couple of days in the cooler.” Read on in Knead to Know: Soft Sell.

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Why is my pizza dough so sticky?

The minute you pull your dough from the dough box, you know when you have a sticky situation. The late Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann said, “The number one reason for a wet, sticky dough is covering it when you put it into the cooler. After mixing, the dough is going to be at least at room temperature or above, making it quite a bit warmer than the inside of your cooler, which should be operating at 36 to 40F. When you lid the container of dough balls, the moisture that is being held in the warm air condenses onto the inside of the container (the top where there is head space above the dough) as it cools due to exposure to the cold air. Since the dough retains a lot of heat (latent heat) it continues to generate moist air within the box and the moisture continues to condense onto the inside of the container until the dough and box eventually equilibrate at the same temperature. By this time, though, the box is flooded with water that drips onto the dough surface. This water is slowly absorbed back into the dough, but under most conditions the dough is removed from the cooler for use before it is fully absorbed. What we experience is a wet, sticky dough. To add insult to injury, these doughs also tend to have a strong propensity to bubble during baking as the water in the outer portion of the dough is vaporized into steam.

He provided a few step-by-step solutions to solve the sticky dough problem in Knead to Know: Sticky Situation.

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How do I fix overproofed pizza dough?

First, how do you know if your pizza dough is overproofed? John Gutekanst, dough expert and owner of Avalanche Pizza in Athens Ohio shares how tests to see how his pizza dough is proofed. “There are certain ways you can tell how far along your proofing has gotten. One way is to use your finger. Note: these examples are for dough that is not cold. Refrigerated dough may act differently.

• If the dough ball bounces back right away when pressed with your finger, it is not ready for prime time and needs to proof longer.
• If the ball is poked and the dent answers back in a slow, even fashion, it is ready to bake.
• If the dough ball has puffed up tremendously and your finger dent stays in the dough with no bounce back, the dough is borderline over-proofed.
• If the dough looks completely deflated like a wrinkly beach ball and deflates when poked with your finger, it is over-proofed.

One solution that Gutekanst shares is this: “This is a secret that many great pizzaioli and bakers hold tight to their chests, ‘The Re-knead.’  It is used extensively in the airy, Roman style Pizza in Teglia, as well as high-hydration sourdough bakers. The re-knead is a dough resurrection that stretches already mixed and relaxed dough. This procedure strengthens the gluten matrix and introduces new feeding opportunities to the yeast. Most re-kneads are part of a calculated dough schedule which takes highly hydrated, cold fermented dough, brings it to room temperature for a short period of time, and re-forms a new, stronger dough ball. This technique can also be used for dough that has become over-proofed. It gives you a chance to use that secondary rise that a rehabbed gluten matrix and new yeast activity affords you.” He offers other tips to help correct an over proofed pizza dough.

Read his full article Overproofed Pizza Dough: Deflate Gate.

Check back as we will add more common pizza dough problems. Explore more pizza making how-to and advice articles from master pizza makers and dough experts in Dough Production & Development.

The post Troubleshooting Your Pizza Dough — A Guide to Making Pizza Better appeared first on Pizza Today.

When you knead to rise above over-proofed dough.

t has happened to all of us. You’re working in your busy pizzeria, the line in the lobby snakes to the door, all your ovens are full, increasing the internal temperature of your kitchen to 103 degrees. The dough that you brought out an hour ago has been proofing in the boxes for way too long and you promise yourself to get right to it, but that hour turns into 90 minutes in the frenzy.

Once the rush is over, you cautiously look in the dough box and you see dough balls that are flat, wrinkled and spent. You know there are two avenues to take; either throw the dough away or correct this over-proofed dough. You must first find out how old the dough is because this over proofed dough you’re looking at could be on its last rise. Or you could have a dough ball that has just become proofed too much and has a second rise in it.

Role of Yeast in Overproofed Dough: Feeding Frenzy

We all make a living using dough recipes that rely upon time and temperature. Time affords a period for these small natural and human-made yeast enzymes and bacteria to interact with natural sugars to create a rise in our dough. This is also regulated by the temperature at which this dough is subjected. When everything in your dough schedule goes swimmingly, you can pat yourself on the back, stand back and gaze upon the finished pizza product with pride. When you over-proof your dough, there is that sinking feeling that all that time making, resting, balling, storing and proofing your dough is wasted. There are certain ways you can tell how far along your proofing has gotten.

One way is to use your finger. Note: these examples are for dough that is not cold. Refrigerated dough may act differently.

• If the dough ball bounces back right away when pressed with your finger, it is not ready for prime time and needs to proof longer.
• If the ball is poked and the dent answers back in a slow, even fashion, it is ready to bake.
• If the dough ball has puffed up tremendously and your finger dent stays in the dough with no bounce back, the dough is borderline over-proofed.
• If the dough looks completely deflated like a wrinkly beach ball and deflates when poked with your finger, it is over-proofed.
  

Dough Management: Dough Nuts

As a pizza manager, your dough schedule is calculated to use the limitations of your refrigeration space, oven type and knowledge of your dough personnel. Your physical plant reflects and intermingles with the way you want your pizzas to look, taste and feel like. Dough is the platform that holds and melds with all the other flavors on your proprietary pizza and therefore is the spine of your operation. To gain more control over the way your dough is mixed and aged, you can set up a plan to make sure everyone in your pizzeria is on board. This can be a dough schedule printed and attached to a clipboard near the mixer and proofing tables. It should contain times, temperatures, mixing speeds, weights and proofing times for each batch. In a perfect world, this detailed dough production works well, but some of us with high volume pizzerias opt for a simpler dough production with small date and time stickers on the dough. These also have the names spelt, thin crust, regular, Detroit, Roman, sourdough, etc. on them. This also frees the dough people to keep a flow of dough rolling and if they have questions, they can match the type of dough to signs and recipes kept near the dough station.

What to do with an overproofed pizza dough? The Proof is in the Pudding

When you are staring at an over-proofed dough ball, you must not despair because there is a way to rehabilitate an over-proofed dough ball besides making mediocre focaccia or breadsticks out of it.

This is a secret that many great pizzaioli and bakers hold tight to their chests, ‘The Re-knead.’  It is used extensively in the airy, Roman style Pizza in Teglia, as well as high-hydration sourdough bakers. The re-knead is a dough resurrection that stretches already mixed and relaxed dough. This procedure strengthens the gluten matrix and introduces new feeding opportunities to the yeast. Most re-kneads are part of a calculated dough schedule which takes highly hydrated, cold fermented dough, brings it to room temperature for a short period of time, and re-forms a new, stronger dough ball. This technique can also be used for dough that has become over-proofed. It gives you a chance to use that secondary rise that a rehabbed gluten matrix and new yeast activity affords you.

To begin the re-knead, make sure there is no oil or hard crust on your dough ball. Take the over proofed dough ball by two opposing horizontal edges with the bottom of the dough ball toward you. Pull your hands away from one another stretching the dough until taut. Then close the dough like a book. Turn the dough ball 90 degrees and use this stretch/fold method again. Now start tucking the dough under the dough ball with your fingers and tighten the dough ball using a table if necessary. This dough ball can be sent back to the refrigerator to relax for later use or covered at room temperature to use in 20 to 30 minutes.

John Gutekanst owns Avalanche Pizza in Athens, Ohio.

>> Explore answers to more common pizza dough questions in Troubleshooting your Pizza Dough: What’s wrong with my pizza dough? <<

The post Overproofed Pizza Dough: Deflate Gate appeared first on Pizza Today.

Pizza Today has built a vast vault of dough articles in our 40-plus years. Through Dough Doctor, Knead to Know and Kitchen features, we have helped pizzeria operators and pizza makers learn more about pizza dough production, management and fixing pizza dough problems. We have a section of pizzatoday.com featuring Dough Production & Development. This month’s Knead to Know is dedicated to common dough issues. We scoured through the archives to get the answers from the brightest minds in pizza dough and put them in one convenient spot on the website. Through our archives, we also remember the great Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann and his impact on the industry and progress of pizza making. Through features like this and pizzatoday.com, his dough knowledge will carry on to a new generation of pizza makers and pizzeria operators. Let’s examine just a few of the questions we have highlighted in our Troubleshooting Pizza Dough Hub at pizzatoday.com:

How do I prevent my pizza crust from bubbling in the oven?

Fermentation is one of the keys to reducing bubbling in our pizza doughs. The Late Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann looked at solutions to preventing bubbling crust.

“With normal yeast levels (0.375 percent instant dry yeast, 0.5 percent active dry yeast, or 1.25 percent compressed/fresh yeast), and a finished (mixed) dough temperature in the 80 to 85 F range, the bubbles are minimized after 2.5 hours of fermentation time at ambient temperature (approximately 70 F).

If you take the proper storage steps, you can pretty much eliminate bubbles. Start by taking the dough balls immediately after scaling and balling and place them in dough boxes, cross-stacked for two hours. Be sure to wipe them with salad oil to prevent them from drying out in the cooler. After two hours, downstack them and allow them to ferment overnight. Allow them to sit at room temperature for two hours before you use them and you’re ready to go.

Explore more pizza crust bubbling prevention tips in the Troubleshooting Your Pizza Dough Hub.

Why does my pizza dough keep snapping back when I try to stretch it?

Also called dough memory, pizza dough snapback occurs when a stretched pizza will not stay stretched – snaps back – no matter how much you stretch or how much pressure applied to the stretch.

Dough Expert Laura Meyer addressed pizza dough snapback or dough memory in a Knead to Know column. She said, “To better understand why dough snaps back we need to have a basic understanding of gluten development. Mixing time and the type of mixer used is extremely important when it comes to gluten development. If not done properly this can lead to your dough snapping back. Overmixing is a thing. When it comes time to mix your dough, having a game plan and all your ingredients weighed out and ready to go is important. I have seen many operations weigh as they go, which translates to dough mixing for too long in the mixer and the gluten becoming too tight.”

Explore more snapback prevention tips in the Troubleshooting Your Pizza Dough Hub.

What do I do if I ruin my batch of pizza dough?

Blowing a batch of dough happens. What’s important is that you have a plan in place to replace the pizza dough that has blown and maintain pizza service with the best pizza dough. That is where emergency dough comes in.

The late Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann provided a blueprint for you to create an emergency dough fast. “Every shop should have an emergency dough formula and procedure tucked away for these not-so-special moments,” Lehmann said. “I like to make my emergency dough from my regular dough formula because I’m already familiar with it. Still, we need to make a few changes to our dough formula to allow it to be made quickly and be ready for making pizza skins in not much more than two hours.”

Find more of Tom Lehmann’s emergency dough strategy in our Troubleshooting Your Pizza Dough Hub.

The post Knead to Know: Archiving Dough Issues appeared first on Pizza Today.

Have you ever gone out to eat with the intention of going out afterwards for a night on the town but ended up sluggish and uncomfortable because of the food you ate? I have and it has ruined my night on more than one occasion. In the U.S. pizza is a celebratory food. Growing up it’s the food we eat at parties and gatherings. Pizza is the food we eat to celebrate big accomplishments with friends, but it is always shared. We cut it apart and eat slices as opposed to a whole pie. As kids we have fast metabolisms and can run around no problem while simultaneously eating slice after slice. As adults we stop ourselves at a few slices because of how it makes us feel and because of how our metabolisms have slowed down. We are taught to be a little more conscious of what we consume and how our bodies digest our food. We are taught to be “health conscious”.

In Italy, pizza culture is completely different. In Italy, pizza is not shared. Each person orders a whole single pie to themselves. This may come off as excessive knowing what we do about American pizza culture, but if we take a closer look, it makes sense. Having had the privilege to be immersed in Italian culture and become close to a few Italian families over the years, I’ve learned Italians have an unconscious obsession with digestion. One of my all-time favorite things to do when in Italy is aperitivo. There is an entire culture to just this one act that changes from north to south, but in essence it is a pre-dinner drink and snack that is not just a time for socializing but is meant to prime the stomach for the coming meal. It is meant to get the digestive system moving so that when the main meal is introduced it is easier to digest. After dinner you are then presented with a digestif, an after-dinner drink. Digestifs are meant to help your body digest the meal you just consumed. Fernet-Branca is an amaro created in Milan in 1845. When it was originally invented, it was intended to be consumed as a cure-all for many things. It’s a beverage made up of 27 different herbs and ingredients and was originally meant to be medicinal. Although now it is more of a popular drink in the bar scene, especially in San Francisco, it still remains a go-to option for upset stomachs.

Laura Meyer is owner of Pizzeria da Laura in Berkeley, California

So how is it in a culture that is obsessed with digestion the people are eating entire 12-inch pizzas to themselves? It comes down to a combination of proper fermentation and how the body digests food. Most whole pies you see in Italy are 12 inches or slightly bigger and the dough weighs around 250 grams, as compared to larger dough weights here in the U.S., which is one thing it has going for it. But let’s get down to brass tacks here. What happens to our food when we eat? 

Since pizza is primarily composed of carbohydrates with a smaller amount of other ingredients on top, let’s just focus on the dough. Inside our dough alfa and beta amylase enzymes break down complex sugars into simple sugars. Carbohydrates are known as complex sugars because they are made up of three or more sugar molecules that form a long strand. These sugars are harder for your body to break down and digest. Simple sugars like fruit are easier for your body to digest and break down. As adults we start to hear more and more from our doctors to stay away from complex carbohydrates and to eat low carb diets.

When we eat bread, digestion starts immediately. While we chew, the same alfa amylase that is found in fermentation is also found in our saliva. At the same time our teeth are mashing and breaking down the food into smaller pieces, our saliva has already started breaking down complex sugars into simple sugars. This is just the beginning. If our saliva alone could do all the work, I’d be eating pizza every day. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. As soon as the bread passes into our stomach, the major breakdown of sugars happens. Some of the sugars go to our intestines and liver but a lot of sugar ends up in our bloodstream. As our blood sugar rises, the pancreas produces insulin so that the blood sugar can be stored as energy. Our bodies burn simple sugars the quickest and complex sugars more slowly. This is why athletes tend to carbo load before events (complex sugars are considered a slow burn energy source). The body stores it and burns it off more slowly, sustaining them through intense activity. For athletes, carbohydrates are an effective tool; but for the normal person, too many carbohydrates can complicate insulin production resulting in diabetes and other health problems.

When it comes to pizza specifically, fiber is a big factor to consider. We cannot get rid of carbohydrates altogether seeing as flour and dough are the foundation. But if you are looking to create a dough that is “healthier” and more easily digestible, fiber is key. In flour, fiber is primarily located in the bran and the germ. Fiber is what makes us feel full for longer periods of time, and by using types of flour like “0” and “1 & 2” the flour will contain more fiber. Type “00” flour, although a very common pizza flour, has all of the bran and germ taken out of it. Combining flour with a higher bran and germ content with proper fermentation will always result in a tasty pizza that is more easily digestible. 

If the main thing your customers remember is how tasty your product is and not how uncomfortably full and sluggish they felt after eating, they will most likely come back more often than not. As Americans we may not eat an entire pie every time we eat pizza, but it never hurts to have big dreams.

LAURA MEYER is owner of Pizzeria da Laura in Berkeley, CA.

The post Knead to Know: Digestibility of Pizza appeared first on Pizza Today.

A: They don’t call it the “dreaded gum line” for nothing. A gum line can be caused by a number of different things, and some of them are inter-related, but the “kicker” is that it won’t go away until you address the causative factor. This is where things can get interesting.

Contributing factors that cause a gum line

The main factors that we have found to contribute to the development of a gum line are as follows, presented in no particular order:

• Excessive thinning of the sauce. A thin watery sauce that exhibits a tendency to separate upon standing will develop a wet soggy area just below the sauce, leading to the development of a gum line. The reason for over thinning of the sauce may be a sense of false economics resulting from adding additional water when the cost of the sauce increases. It also might be in response to adding onion and/or garlic to the sauce without sufficient heating to neutralize the enzymes responsible for catalyzing the pectin in the tomato –– resulting in their gelling, and/or an excessively thick sauce. This is then addressed by adding more water to the sauce, further diluting it, resulting in water separation. From all indications, it appears that a sauce solids content of about 11 or 12 percent seems to work the best in terms of both sauce performance and economics.
• Pre-saucing of the pizza skins ahead of time for in-store use or in making take and bake pizzas. Pre-saucing of the skins should be avoided whenever possible, but when it must be done, either to help keep up with orders during busy periods, or when making take and bake pizzas, the pizza skins should be given a very light application of oil prior to saucing. This will help to prevent moisture migration into the dough by creating a barrier on the surface of the dough. Pre-saucing of pizza skins with an overly thinned sauce can be especially problematic due to the extreme tendency of the sauce to exhibit syneresis (water out) between the time of sauce application and actual time of baking.
• Too much sauce used on the pizza. When too much sauce is used on the pizza, it becomes more difficult to bake out thoroughly. Due to the sheltering effect of the sauce on the underlying dough/crust, the water separation from the sauce through syneresis is magnified due to the greater amount of sauce present. In addition to a potential gum line, this problem is normally accompanied by a decided tendency of the pizza toppings to slide off of the pizza slice with the first bite.
• Insufficient yeast level. This can result from a number of things. Incorrect dough formulation (not enough yeast), but more commonly it is the result of action taken to address blowing of the dough. When the dough blows, the first thing that is usually done to correct it is to reduce the yeast level. This does work, but in more cases than not, it results in a yeast level so low so as to inhibit proper rising of the dough with a full load of toppings as it should during the early stages of baking in the oven. We typically see this happening in the center section of the pizza. The thinner, more dense dough is now a better heat conductor. And, as such, it allows the bottom heat of baking to more readily pass through the dough/crust only to be absorbed and dissipated by the moisture in the sauce. This results in a bottom crust that is not thoroughly baked, which then collapses upon removal from the oven, to create a gum line.

Pizza Dough Gum Line Solutions

So, why did we reduce the yeast level in the first place? The most common reason is due to some form of temperature abuse or incorrect management of the dough. Temperature abuse can include having the dough at too high of a temperature after mixing, while incorrect dough management can be the result of allowing the dough to bulk ferment prior to scaling and balling of the dough, making for a more gassy dough which is more difficult to cool when it is taken to the cooler for storage.

Many times we find failure to cross stack the dough boxes in the cooler to be the culprit. In this case the boxes are nested or covered as soon as they are placed into the cooler resulting in heat being trapped in the dough box, thus allowing the dough to continue to ferment rather than being cooled down as desired. Along similar lines, the dough balls can also be allowed to ferment outside of the cooler for a period of time prior to going into the cooler. This results in the dough balls proofing/fermenting, and developing more and larger gas cells which work to insulate the dough, reducing the rate at which they are cooled, causing them to blow or sporadically blow. Again, reducing the yeast level might seem like the thing to do, but it will also impact the way the dough rises in the oven to potentially create, or add to the creation of a gum line.

The time of the day when the dough balls are made and taken to the cooler can also lead to a reduction in yeast level. In this scenario, the dough might be made in the morning hours before the store opens, and after all of the dough balls are in the cooler, we begin our regular traffic pattern in and out of the cooler for the remainder of the day. The constant opening of the cooler door leads to a higher operating temperature during business hours than during the night time hours leading to excessive dough fermentation and excessive dough ball growth or full scale blowing of the dough. The solution here is to prepare and process the new dough in the later evening hours so the dough will be placed in the cooler during a time when there is reduced traffic into the cooler, and the dough will be exposed to the lower night time operating temperature of the cooler to achieve more effective and consistent cooling of the dough balls.

The late Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann was a former director at the American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, Kansas and Pizza Today’s longstanding resident dough expert.

>> Explore answers to more common pizza dough questions in Troubleshooting your Pizza Dough: What’s wrong with my pizza dough? <<

The post Knead to Know: Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann talks gum line — What causes it and what to do about it appeared first on Pizza Today.

In last months’ Dough Doctor article we began discussing the causes for the development of the “dreaded” gum line. This month, we take a look further. Check out some common causes and how to remedy the problem:

Here are potential cause of the gum line in pizza crust:

Failure to cross stack the boxes of dough as they are placed into the cooler.

Cross stacking the dough boxes in the cooler allow for more efficient cooling of the dough balls by allowing heat to escape from the boxes through the open ends. Failure to cross stack will trap heat in the box, allowing fermentation to continue for a longer time than desired. Additionally, condensation is also trapped in the box, resulting in dough balls that are over fermented (gassy) or blown and excessively sticky when trying to open the dough balls into pizza skins. In some cases, cross stacking cannot be done so we need to be a little creative in how we allow the heat and moisture to escape. For example, when using a reach-in cooler, there is seldom enough space to allow for cross stacking, but there is usually sufficient space front to back in the reach-in to allow for off-setting the dough boxes as we place them into the cooler, thus creating the desired ventilating effect.

Cannot be done so we need to be a little creative in how we allow the heat and moisture to escape. For example, when using a reach-in cooler, there is seldom enough space to allow for cross stacking, but there is usually sufficient space front to back in the reach-in to allow for off-setting the dough boxes as we place them into the cooler, thus creating the desired ventilating effect.

Another option to consider when cross stacking isn’t an option is to oil the dough balls and place them into plastic bread bags, closing the open end by twisting it into a pony tail and tucking it under the dough ball as it is placed onto a sheet pan or shelf in the cooler. The thin plastic bag allows the dough to cool quite well and the snugness does not allow for the development of condensation within the bag or around the dough ball. If individual plastic bags are not used, the dough balls can effectively be placed onto aluminum sheet pans, lightly oiled and placed into the cooler for a couple of hours. A food contact-approved plastic bag can be slipped over the tray, allowing the dough balls to effectively be stored for as long as three days without and problems.

Allowing the dough to bulk ferment prior to scaling and balling of the dough. By allowing the dough to bulk ferment prior to scaling and balling the dough what we end up with is a less dense, more gassy dough being formed into balls. In this condition, the dough balls are more difficult to cool as the gassy nature of the dough creates an excellent insulation, thus impeding rapid and thorough cooling of the dough balls. It also increases the possibility gassy or blown dough, which is typically addressed by reducing the yeast level, with the dough suffering the afore mentioned failure to rise in the center section leading to the potential development of a gum line. It is better to take the dough directly to the bench for scaling and rounding soon after mixing, as the more dense dough will be more conducive to rapid and uniform cooling without problems related to gassiness.

Failure to take the balled and boxed dough directly to the cooler.

In some cases we see the dough balls handled and managed correctly right up to the point where they are ready to take to the cooler; however, they are then set aside and allowed to proof, in the ball form, for a specific period of time. Again, this practice results in the dough becoming less dense, more gassy, and more difficult to cool, or at least cool uniformly. In severe cases, this can lead to the dough blowing, or at least over fermenting in the dough boxes to the point where they are difficult to individually remove from the dough boxes due to the dough balls growing together. Or, in really severe cases, the dough balls can grow together to create a solid mass of dough in the box, ultimately resulting in loss of the dough, or at least the need to re-scale and re-ball the dough and then wait for it to loosen up enough to form it into pizza skins. Again, the incorrect action is to simply reduce the yeast level to a point where this is no longer a problem as you are setting the stage for a gum line.

Failure to allow the dough to adequately temper at room temperature before opening the dough ball into a pizza skin, dressing it and taking it to the oven. (This can be especially problematic when working with a conveyor oven)

In this case you must remember that any conveyor, air impingement or otherwise, will only put a specific amount of heat into the dough. This is controlled mostly through baking time and temperature, but air impingement baking also allows for the adjustment of airflow over the pizza while it’s being baked. In every case though, these baking parameters are fixed and locked into place when the pizzas go into the oven, so if we do not allow the dough sufficient time to warm up slightly after removing it from the cooler, we can be faced with trying to bake pizzas on dough that varies in temperature. With those fixed baking parameters, this means that the pizzas made using the colder dough may not be baked as thoroughly as those baked using a warmer dough. The result is that if the oven is set up to provide the minimum bake time needed for the pizza (with normal temperature dough), those baked with a lower temperature (cooler) dough may be insufficiently baked to the point where it will exhibit some collapse after baking to create a gum line. In cases like this, it is better to set the oven up to provide a slightly longer baking time than the absolute minimum as this will allow for enough latitude in baking to ensure thorough baking of any pizza made using a dough ball at any reasonable temperature.

Sheeting or stretching the dough too thin when opening the dough ball into a pizza skin. Forming the pizza skin too thin, especially across the center section, on thin crust pizzas can result in a condition where the heat to the bottom of the pizza conducts right on through the crust and is absorbed by the sauce only to be dissipated as steam. When this happens, the bottom crust may not get sufficiently hot to fully bake and results in an instant gum line. Even if it does bake, the amount of crust actually developed is so thin that only the very surface has any crisp to it, leaving the rest of the bottom limp and soggy. The use of a sheeter/dough roller seems to exasperate this condition due to the fact that the sheeted dough has had most of the entrapped air and fermentation gas forced out of it, making it very dense and prone to this problem even at dough thicknesses approaching 3/16 inch. If a sheeter is used to open the dough balls for thin crusts, it is recommended that the sheeting rolls be set so as to give a sheeted dough piece that is about 75 percent of the desired diameter. The dough should then be opened the rest of the way by hand.

Following this method, we have had excellent results getting thin crust pizza skins with an even thickness, that still retains sufficient gas to spring in the oven, thus preventing the heat from passing all the way through the dough, and resulting in a finished crust that has a uniformly crispy texture to it with no signs of a gum line.

Tom Lehmann is a director at the American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, Kansas.

The post Dough Doctor Tom Lehmann takes on common causes of a gum line appeared first on Pizza Today.

I hold a special place in my heart for bubbles and blisters on pizza crusts — because this was the first problem I ever worked on.

To prevent them, what you need to concentrate on are dough temperature and fermentation time. In studies that we have conducted, we found that fresh dough exhibited the most pronounced tendency to bubble. But as we allowed the dough to ferment prior to forming and baking, the severity of bubbles began to decrease. With normal yeast levels (0.375 percent instant dry yeast, 0.5 percent active dry yeast, or 1.25 percent compressed/fresh yeast), and a finished (mixed) dough temperature in the 80 to 85F range, the bubbles are minimized after 2.5 hours of fermentation time at ambient temperature (approximately 70F). Longer fermentation times do not result in any further reduction in bubbles.

However, if you take the proper storage steps, you can pretty much eliminate bubbles. Start by taking the dough balls immediately after scaling and balling and place them in dough boxes, cross-stacked for two hours. Be sure to wipe them with salad oil to prevent them from drying out in the cooler. After two hours, downstack them and allow them to ferment overnight. Allow them to sit at room temperature for two hours before you use them and you’re ready to go.

From these observations we can safely say that fermentation is one of the keys to reducing bubbling in our pizza doughs. The second main cause of bubbling crusts, and possibly the most common today, has to do with both temperature and tempering of the dough balls after removal from the cooler. If the dough is at cooler temperature when taken to the oven for baking, an open invitation has been extended for bubble development. However, if the dough has been allowed to warm slightly, at room temperature, bubbling can be diminished or completely eliminated. Some stores have found that allowing the dough balls to warm 5F above the cooler temperature is all it takes. We have found that by allowing the dough to temper at room temperature for 2 hours prior to opening the dough balls up into skins, bubbling is all but a bad memory. Keep in mind that dough that has been tempering at room temperature for roughly two hours will have a three-hour window of time in which to use it before it starts getting gassy.

Since it is my policy to never toss dough away, unless absolutely necessary, I will take any dough that is approaching the three hour limit, and open it up to full or nearly full size, then place it onto screens and store it in the cooler on wire tree racks, covered with a plastic bag to control drying. When getting ready to use this pre-opened dough, be sure to allow it to temper at room temperature again, this time for only 20 to 30 minutes before dressing and baking it. Failure to do so will only take you on the road back to bubbles.

Lastly, there is the dough docker. Dough dockers are designed to help control bubbling. But they don’t do anything to prevent it, or address the problem at its root cause. If you do happen to have one of those doughs that just seems to have a penchant for bubbling, the dough docker might prove to be your salvation. But, first, see if you can address the problem and eliminate it from your dough.

The late Tom Lehmann was a former director at the American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, Kansas and Pizza Today’s longstanding resident dough expert. 

>> Explore answers to more common pizza dough questions in Troubleshooting your Pizza Dough: What’s wrong with my pizza dough? <<

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For some of us achieving a crispy crust pizza is like chasing down that legendary Golden Fleece, but it really doesn’t have to be such a massive undertaking. Below are some tips to get you on your way.

Tip No. 1: The protein content of the flour can influence the potential crispiness of the finished crust.

We have found that flour with a protein content of at least 12 percent is necessary to achieve maximum crispiness. Since most “pizza flours” contain anywhere from 12 to 14 percent protein content, most of us should be okay in this regard. But if you happen to be using an all-purpose or H&R type flour, the lack of protein in the flour might be limiting the potential crispiness of your crust.

Tip No. 2: Fermentation has a great influence on crispiness due to the softening affect that it has on the dough.

The softer, more relaxed, dough consistency allows for improved expansion properties of the dough during baking, resulting in a more open, porous internal structure within the crust. This open structure effectively inhibits heat transfer through the crust, allowing the surface of the crust to reach a higher temperature during baking, thus creating a crispier finished crust.

Tip No. 3: The amount of water added to the dough can have a significant effect on the crispiness of the finished crust, but not in the way as many of you may think.

It’s actually the addition of more water to the dough that helps to create the conditions for a crispier finished crust. The water will make the dough somewhat softer, allowing it to more freely expand during those critical first few seconds of baking. This creates the desirable, open crumb structure that effectively blocks some of the heat transfer through the dough and allows for a better bottom bake (ultimately leading to a crispier finished crust).

Tip No. 4: Incorrect finished dough temperature can wreak havoc on your efforts.

If the dough temperature is too high, we may find that the dough exhibits a pronounced tendency to “blow” during storage.

Tip No. 5: Incorrect dough management procedures can also effect crust crispiness for reasons similar to those cited in Tip No. 4 above.

For example, if the dough is allowed to ferment at room temperature for any significant amount of time prior to taking it to the cooler after mixing, the dough will begin to ferment, making it less dense, more open and porous. In essence, the dough becomes more difficult to cool down in the cooler, leading to over-proofed dough balls in the box.

A similar problem can develop if we bypass the important cross-stacking step when putting the dough up in the cooler. The cross stacking of the dough boxes allows heat to freely escape from the dough, resulting in effective and consistent cooling of the dough. If the dough boxes are not cross-stacked, the heat is trapped within the dough boxes. Since yeast is a living organism, it produces heat (heat of metabolism) as it metabolizes nutrients and ferments. This too will result in dough balls that are either grown together, blown, or just wet and sticky on the following days.

Assuming we’re baking in the right type of oven, on the right type and color of pan or disk (if used), and the baking time and temperature are within reason, these tips might provide just the ticket to getting the crispy crust we’ve been looking for. You might note that many of the tips seem to have a common denominator — that is to allow the dough to rise slightly (oven spring) during the first few seconds of baking, which helps to establish an open, porous crumb structure within the dough/crust, thus preventing excessive heat transfer through the dough. This allows for more of the bottom bake to go into baking and drying the bottom of the dough, ultimately resulting in a crispier finished crust.

Don’t worry about the top of the pizza not getting sufficiently done when you block some of the heat from the bottom of the oven. The top heat of the oven will handle the top of the pizza just fine. But if you should find a problem, it is easily corrected by either increasing the oven temperature or extending the baking time slightly.

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