Cross-stacking dough trays is key to effective dough management in a pizzeria, especially if you’re making your dough in advance and doing cold fermentation. Cross-stacking helps control temperature, moisture and gas buildup during the critical early phase of fermentation.
During the mixing process, your dough heats up due to friction. Warm yeast is more active yeast, leading to faster dough rise and fermentation. Cross-stacking refers to placing your dough trays on top of each other with the edges rotated or offset, so that air can circulate between them while they’re in the cooler. This speeds up the cooling process and prevents the development of moisture in the dough boxes.
Here’s how to do it correctly:
- After balling the dough, place dough balls in your trays as normal.
- Stack them in the walk-in cooler so that each tray is turned 90 degrees or shifted so that it’s not sitting flush on the one below it. This creates an air gap at the corners.
- The dough trays should remain cross-stacked until the internal dough temperature reaches 50°F to 55°F. But you’ll want to consistently target the same specific temperature, such as 53°F, rather than that particular range.
Once that target temp is achieved, it’s time to downstack and seal your dough boxes for the controlled fermentation period. Restack the dough trays flush, taking the top box and placing it on the bottom of a new stack and orienting the boxes so that each box serves as the sealing lid for the box underneath it. For the top box of the stack, cover it with a lid or an empty box.
Downstacking is important because it helps locks in moisture and slows fermentation over the next 24-72 hours.
After cold fermentation, remove the boxes from the cooler and let them temper at room temperature until the internal dough temp reaches 50°F. Now you’re ready to open them into dough skins and put them to use. The dough balls will be good for about two-and-a-half hours at room temperature, but keep the box lidded so they don’t dry out.
Why Cross-Stacking Dough Trays Is Important
Rapid Cooling in Walk-In: Right after your dough is balled, it’s often still warm from mixing. Cross-stacking lets cold air circulate around each tray in the walk-in cooler, bringing the dough down to the target fermentation temp faster. Heat + yeast = runaway fermentation. If the dough stays warm too long, you risk overproofing and creating a sticky gum line (undercooked layer under the sauce) after baking.
Gas Venting: As dough begins to ferment, it gives off CO2. Cross-stacking allows gas to escape, preventing pressure buildup inside the sealed trays and keeping dough balls from sticking to lids.
Surface Drying (in moderation): A slight drying of the dough’s outer layer during cross-stacking helps prevent sticking between dough balls and trays. It also creates a bit of skin that helps with handling.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Skipping cross-stacking: Leads to inconsistent dough and overproofing.
- Leaving trays cross-stacked too long: Dough dries out too much and can form a thick crust.
- Not down-stacking after: Dough gets hard, loses hydration, or continues fermenting too quickly.
