New member with a burnt bottom and raw top

[rworner]

Hello,  my wife and I run a pizza restaurant in Maine.  We use two blodgett ovens and make a thin crust whole wheat dough.  Things are good except that lately the pizza has been cooking on the bottom and not the top.  The top looks anemic, the bottom is charring nicely.  There is little rise on the top.  I have noticed the refrigerator that I store the dough in has been dropping to near freezing (32) so I am wondering if that has something to do with it.  I am considering dropping sugar content to avoid burning on the bottom.  We like our dough, it tastes great but something is wrong. 

[dellavecchia]

Hello rworner - Welcome to the forum. How long are you fermenting your WW dough? What percentage of yeast/type and sugar?

John

[rworner]

Hi,  I do about an 18 hour cold ferment.  I use a combination of brown sugar and non-diactive malt as sugar.  My hydration is around 57%.  I use dry active yeast.  Sugars are 3.6%.

[dellavecchia]

The charring on the bottom may indeed have to do with the type and amount of sugar you are using. But WW doughs are tricky to work with. It may also be that your yeast is not working to it's fullest potential if the temp drops to freezing. The lack of rise and anemia may be due to inadequate mixing (gluten development), lack of proper fermentation, or not enough heat from above.

John

[scott123]

Rworner, both the temperature of the dough and the sugar content will impact both the top and the bottom of the skin.  If you reduce the sugar, the bottom will brown slower, but so will the top.  If you turn up the fridge temp or let the dough warm up longer, the top will brown faster, but so will the bottom.

There's a small chance that your top/bottom browning issue is recipe/dough management related, but I think it's more like related to your oven.

Is your oven gas or electric? Model? Deck Material?

If gas, when was the last time you cleaned the ducts and air entry points?

Could anything be obstructing the flue plates?

If gas, is the oven properly vented? (no long horizontal runs, tees, elbows)

How long have you had these ovens for?  How recently did the top coloration issue arise? Do you have a photo of the pizza (or a link to a photo) from a time when it was baking to your satisfaction and a photo of the problem?

Do you own an infrared thermometer?  If so, what temps are you getting from the hearth, ceiling and sides?