Dough Information Center

From Thin-Crust to Deep-Dish

QUESTION:  Can you offer any tips on how to convert my thin-crust pizza dough to a deep-dish dough?   ANSWER: Last month we tackled the pesky problem of tough, chewy deep-dish crusts. So it makes sense to delve a little deeper into the deep-dish dilemma: How do you add … More

Dough Information Center

Creating a lighter deep-dish pizza crust

QUESTION:  Our deep-dish pizzas are too tough and chewy. What’s the secret to a light, tender deep-dish crust?   ANSWER: This problem can be addressed in a number of ways. One way would be to add enough reducing agent—such as L-cysteine, glutathione or protease enzyme—to the dough to sufficiently … More

Dough Information Center

Working with unmalted flours

QUESTION:  What is the difference between malted and unmalted flour? ANSWER: Malted flour contains sprouted barley malt, a source of amylase, which is an enzyme that breaks some of the flour’s starch down into sugars. The yeast uses these sugars as nutrients to support fermentation. Unmalted flours don’t contain … More

Dough Information Center

Solving the soggy pizza problem

QUESTION: We have been struggling with soggy pizzas and soft crusts for some time now. No matter what we do, we can’t fix the problem. We bake our pies in deck ovens at 550°F, and we probably use more toppings than we should, but that’s what our customers want. … More

Dough Information Center

From the screen to the deck

QUESTION: Why are some pizzas baked right on the oven deck while others are first baked on a screen and then finished on the deck?   ANSWER: Many pizza makers prep the pizza skin on a screen, bake it in the oven for a couple of minutes on the … More

Dough Information Center

Tips for using a hot press

QUESTION: We use a hot press with a heated top and bottom to form our crusts/pizza skins. What are the best top and bottom temperatures for pressing our dough? ANSWER: The heat from the top and bottom press plates helps to relax the dough for improved pressing characteristics with … More

Dough Information Center

Tips for a faster slice

QUESTION: We have an opportunity to open a pizza shop in a mall food court. The store will be small, and we would like to sell pizza by the slice. In your opinion, what is the best way to ensure the fastest turnaround on orders when dealing with slices? ANSWER: … More

Dough Information Center

How to Freeze Pizza Dough for Later Use

Q: Can I freeze my pizza dough? Yes, pizza dough can definitely be frozen, but it cannot be frozen indefinitely. There are three very different dough freezing methods. Mechanical blast freezing employs temperatures between -20°F and -35°F, combined with an airflow of 600 to 800 linear feet per minute. Another … More

Dough Information Center

Creating a Pretzel Pizza Crust

QUESTION: What’s the secret to a good pretzel pizza crust? ANSWER: Lately, everyone’s talking about pretzel this and pretzel that. Pretzel buns for hamburgers and hot dogs are all the rage. I was recently asked how to make pretzel breadsticks, too. Since pizza dough is so similar to pretzel dough, … More

Dough Information Center

The Perils of Mexican Flour

QUESTION: I recently experimented with some flour that was imported from Mexico, but I soon realized something was dreadfully wrong. When we brought the dough out of the cooler after only 18 hours, it was very wet and almost soupy. Assuming we’d made a scaling error, we tried again, but … More

Dough Information Center

Creating a Crispy Cracker Crust

QUESTION: I read somewhere that you developed a thin Chicago-style cracker crust that maintains a crispy texture throughout the entire bottom of the pizza, not just the corners of slices. What is the best way to achieve that level of crispiness? ANSWER: We developed this method a good number of … More