Restaurants & Bars

How do I calculate the cost of my dough?

Question: How do I calculate the cost of my dough? Answer: Many of us have spread sheets that will automatically calculate our dough cost for us, but many of the small operators don't have that nifty tool available to work with, so they must revert to the old, tried and … More

Food & Ingredients

In Lehmann's terms

Question: We are having a continuing problem with our dough over-rising in the cooler. What are we doing wrong? Answer: Blown dough, as it is affectionately called, can be caused by a number of things. So, I'll start at the beginning of the process and work my way through and … More

Restaurants & Bars

In Lehmann's terms

Question: We currently hand-toss our dough, but with new stores opening we want to automate our dough forming operation. What is the best way to form our dough so it still looks like hand-tossed? Answer: The two best methods to use for a machine to produce a formed dough skin … More

Restaurants & Bars

In Lehmann's terms

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

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

Restaurants & Bars

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 Occasionally we end up with some old, out-of-date product that we were not able to use within the specified shelf-life period.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

Restaurants & Bars

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

Restaurants & Bars

Healthy pizza part 3: low-carb dough recipe

It seems that not a day passes by during which I don't get a request or two for information on making a low or reduced carbohydrate pizza crust. As I write this article, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) still has not defined just what a low or reduced … More

Restaurants & Bars

Frenchbread pizza: know the recipe!

Question: I've heard of French bread pizza but I've never made it before. What can you tell me about this type of pizza? Answer: French bread pizza has actually been around for quite some time. It is a common sight in the frozen foods display case at your local supermarket. … More