quot;The best way to get your dough to rise better is to make it slightly softer. The easiest way to accomplish this is to increase the amount of water added to the dough. It generally doesn't take too much added water." Question: We are presently purchasing an ingredient bag that … More
Food & Ingredients
In Lehmann's terms
Question: We are presently purchasing an ingredient bag that we add to our flour to make our dough from. We would like to make this ourselves to save some money. What's the best way to do it? Answer: Making an ingredient bag, or "goodie-bag" (as it is better known as) … More
Pizza News
New York pizza show review
You did it! You helped make PMQ’s inaugural New York Pizza Show an astounding success. The entire PMQ and Infinity staff was there meeting with pizza operators who had traveled from as far away as Alaska and Singapore. More than 2,400 pizza professionals from 40 states and 12 countries attended … More
Food & Ingredients
In Lehmann's terms
Question: We're planning to change the size of our large pizza from 16-inches to 18-inches. How much dough should we use for this size? Answer: This is a very commonly asked question, which is easily answered through the use of a little basic high school math. The math involved here … More
Food & Ingredients
The craft of crust
Question: Why do I hear so much negativity regarding the use of par-baked pizza crusts? Answer: I think much of that negativity comes from the fact that par-baked crusts have been around and in general use for many years. This is the type of crust that puts frozen pizzas in … More
Technology
Basic equipment
In order to make “window shopping” a little easier, you may CLICK HERE for a list of resources. Refrigeration Refrigeration comes in a variety of choices. First things first: new versus used. Both have pros and cons. Should you buy new equipment, you usually also buy a warranty from … More
Marketing
An appetizing update
Customers don’t order food items individually as in any other type of restaurant. You can only add so many additional toppings to your menu. The answer to this dilemma—add appetizers to your menu. An average ticket can jump from just a large pizza and a possible bottle of soda to … More
Tom Lehmann
Salvaging dough for better use
Question: We are using a frozen dough ball to make our pizza crusts. Occasionally we end up with some old, out-of-date product that we were not able to use within the specified shelf-life period. When we have tried to use the dough we found that it did not perform very … More
Tom Lehmann
Dough, ovens, and pizza lovin'
Question: Can I let my dough balls sit out and proof at room temperature for a period of time before putting them into the cooler for overnight storage? Answer: It really isn't advisable to let the dough balls proof for any amount of time before putting them into the cooler. … More
Dough Information Center
Achieving a Crispy Pizza Crust With a Conveyor Oven
Question: I’ve heard and read where you have made a reference to a special coated leavening material for use in making take and bake pizza dough. What is it, and how is it different from regular baking powder? Answer: In all of my ramblings over take-and-bake pizza dough, you will … More
Pizza News
The ease of cheese
If you believe the tale, mozzarella was first invented when cheese curds accidentally fell into a pail of hot water in a factory in Italy. Soon after, it was used on a flat disc of pastry with tomato sauce and baked, thus creating the first pizza. The rest, as they … More
Pizza News
NAPICS 2004 show review and best ideas
What a show! Until this year, the NAPICS (North American Pizza and Ice Cream Show) had focused on the Ohio region. This year NAPICS took on a new attitude, look and approach to what was the Mid-America Pizza Show and put on a national show and absolutely succeeded in their … More