Tom Lehmann: In Lehmann's Terms
July 2009
Keeping Crisp and Going Deep
June 2009
Sizing Up
May 2009
Yeast Master
April 2009
Recipe Conversions and High-Gluten Flour
March 2009
Pizza Centers, Hoagies, & Dough Stations
February 2009
Mixing, Oil and Baking Disks 
January 2009
In the Dough
November/December 2008
Whole Wheat Matters and More
October 2008
Crust Holes, Calzones, Pizza Skins, & Slices
September 2008
Pizza by the Slice
August 2008
What’s the secret to a crispy crust?
June/July 2008
Due to the small size of my business, I don’t want to get involved in making my sauce from scratch. Are there any really good ready-made sauces?
We want to make a chicken-topped pizza, but we don’t want to use a regular red sauce. What do you recommend?
We sell pizzas from a trailer, and we get a lot of requests for a dessert pizza. We don’t have much room or storage space, so how can we make a fast, easy dessert pizza without having to inventory a lot of extra ingredients?
May 2008
How should I manage my dough overnight, or for up to several days in the cooler?
April 2008
Why have flour prices been skyrocketing?
March 2008
We want to start making personal pan pizzas, but we’re put off by the high cost of the pans; do you have any suggestions?
We’ve been open for only about three months, but we’re already having some major problems with our dough. We can’t keep it in the cooler for more than one day, and once we bring it out and begin prepping the dough, it doesn’t last for much more than an hour. Can you tell us what we’re doing wrong?
January-February 2008
We’re thinking of making wheat or whole wheat grilled calzones. I’ve read about making grilled pizzas, but what about calzones?
Is it possible to get New York-style pizza characteristics when using one of the new conveyor ovens?
November-December 2007
What’s the difference between regular white table sugar and brown sugar?
Does it really make any difference what type of oil I use when I make my pizza dough?
October 2007
How to make: French Bread and rolls, Italian bread, garlic knots and hoagie buns
September 2007
How to make: Tuscan Bread Dough.
August 2007
Can air impingement ovens bake pizza with a crispy, hearth-baked characteristic?
How do you make a good emergency dough?
What causes cheese to oil out so bad?
June-July 2007
What can we do to mix our dough faster?
Can we par-bake our garlic knots to help speed up the turn around time on them?
May 2007
How do you keep whole-wheat and multi-grain crusts from coming out flat and dry?
If we use a hot press on our par-baked crusts, do we still need to bake them or will the hot press provide all of the baking needed?
Do you recommend buying a used conveyor oven?
April 2007
What size dough mixer do you recommend?
March 2007
Can whole-wheat flour couldn't be stored as long as white flour?
What can we do to make the cheese on our pizza look healthier to our customers?
We have been getting customers asking about gluten free pizza. How do I make them?
January-February 2007
Rather that percents how to I mix dough using 40 pounds of flour?
Are there any advantages of wood peels versus metal peels?
November-December 2006
How do I get rid of a gum line in my pizza?
October 2006
What is mapping an oven hearth for temperature?
Is it possible to make a pizza dough/crust without any oil or shortening?
How long can I hold my dough in the cooler?
September 2006
Why is there so much variation in the amount of yeast called for in a dough recipe?
How do I convert to weight measurements (instead of percentages) for making a dough?
August 2006
Do you have any recommendations on dough shelf-life extenders?
What is the rule for adjusting the amount of water added to the dough as a result of outside weather?
Are Kosher salts better for flavor than regular salt?
June-July 2006
How do you make a healthy pizza?
April-May 2006
How much “old” dough can be added to our fresh made dough so we don’t need to throw out?
For a Tex-Mex flavored crust, what ’s the secret to getting a good corn chip flavor?
We are wanting to get our crust to color up better and faster during baking but we don’t want to get a sweeter tasting crust by adding more sugar to the dough, what can we do?
We buy frozen dough balls for making our crusts. How can we make them taste better?
March 2006
How much should I mix my dough?
January-February 2006
How much butter should we use to replace the vegetable oil in our dough formula?
Is there any special handling that is needed to use milk in our dough formula?
What are our options for using a different type of sugar in our dough and how much should we use?
November-December 2005
How do I calculate the cost of my dough?
How do I achieve that yellow, almost orange color for my Chicago pizza?
With all the different speeds that vertical and spiral type mixers have, what is the correct speed to mix the dough on?
September-October 2005
What do I do about dough over-rising in the cooler?
Why is it important to have a fat encapsulated baking powder when making pizza dough?
July-August 2005
What is the best way to form our dough so it still looks like hand-tossed?
Will adding sugar cause our sauce to scorch during baking?
Why can’t yeast be put into the water with the salt and sugar?
May-June 2005
What’s the best way to make an ingredient bag that we add to our flour to make our dough from?
How can we prevent the mold growth on our crusts that have been in our cooler for a week?
November-December 2004
How much dough should we use for an 18’ pizza?
I'd like to freeze my dough, but I don't have a clue as to how to begin.
What do I need to make my own sub rolls using my existing pizza dough?
September-October 2004
Why do I hear so much negativity regarding the use of par-baked pizza crusts?
What is the benefit of eggs in pizza dough?
What’s the most effective way to prevent the development of a gum line?
Is it possible to fully shape and freeze our pizza dough?
July-August 2004
What is the “sponge-dough” process for making pizza and other products?
May-June 2004
Can I let my dough balls sit at room temperature before putting them into the cooler for overnight storage?
What are the differences between convection ovens and impingement ovens?
March-April 2004
Is there a special coated leavening material for use in making take and bake pizza dough and how is it different from regular baking powder?
Why doesn’t our new conveyor ovens bake pizzas as crispy as our old Decemberk ovens?
November-December 2003
How do you go about lowering the carbohydrate content in a pizza crust?
September-October 2003
How can we prevent the gum line just beneath the sauce on many of our pizzas?
Spring 2003
Can you tell me how to determine what water temperature to use in order to achieve a specified dough temperature?
Winter 2003
Which method of dough forming works better?
What can we do to improve the browning characteristics of our dough?
Fall 2002
How do you use Baker's Percent to calculate the amount of dough that might be needed to fill an order, and what’s an easy way to calculate the amount of dough that can be made from any amount of flour?
Summer 2002
Can you describe the use of dough forming equipment and the procedures?
Spring 2002
Can I get some info on take and bake?
How can I achieve a chewy texture with my dough?
How can I get my crust to develop a darker color during baking?
I have been told that if we use a brewer’s yeast, we’ll will obtain a stronger, more beer-like flavor in our dough? How much brewer’s yeast?
You always recommend plastic dough dockers. What’s wrong with metal dockers?
Fall 2001
How can we make pizza a healthier food?
Summer 2001
How can we correct the problem of our garlic and herb-flavored dough becoming soft and hard to handle?
Can you describe the natural process where dough rises without help from chemical leavening?
Spring 2001
What can I do to get a more consistent crust color over the life of my dough?
What is the advantage of using a conditioner for my dough?
Winter 2001
Why is cornmeal occasionally used on the bottom of some pizza crusts, but not on the bottom of others?
Why is it that pizza doughs are usually under-mixed, as compared to bread doughs which are mixed more to increase gluten development?
Is there a problem with cooking our sauce before using it?
Fall 2000
Since we’ve moved to a central location to make dough for all our stores, it doesn’t taste as good. Can we get the original flavor of our crust back?
What is the best way to determine the correct mixing time with the new mixer?
