Mark,
I essentially agree with what Tom (Tscarborough) and Chau have said about finished dough temperature. Finished dough temperatures can be used for both cold fermentation applications and ambient temperature applications, but finished dough temperature is usually associated more with commercial uses where it is important that the dough balls be ready when the pizza operator needs to use them to make pizza. Some time ago, I discussed some of the practical effects of finished dough temperatures in commercial settings in the first paragraph of Reply 2 at
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,4747.msg40332.html#msg40332. Walter is also correct that it is frequently necessary to tweak dough formulations and finished dough temperatures to adapt to changing environmental conditions, such as seasonal changes.
However, what has not been said is why the usual recommended finished dough temperature is around 80-85 degrees F. As best I can tell, the reason is that temperatures in that range produce the optimum multiplication of the yeast and optimum fermentation. This can be seen in Table 4 at
http://www.theartisan.net/dough_fermentation_and_temperature.htm. The 80-85 degrees F number that Tom Lehmann talks about is usually in the context of a commercial operation, for example, for a cold fermentation application, but it could also be used in an ambient temperature application. But, as Chau noted, in fairly short order the finished dough temperature will approach the ambient temperature. In your case, the finished dough temperature will approach the temperature of your cooler. So, its value is important if you want to achieve consistent results even in a home setting. I might add that the finished dough temperature number that is most often mentioned for a home setting is 75-80 degrees F. The reason for the lower range is because a typical home refrigerator runs several degrees warmer than a commercial cooler, as Norma mentioned.
With respect to a formula or equation into which you might enter fermentation temperatures and durations and be handed the amount of yeast to be used, I am not aware of any such formula or equation. However, there is a method that member November devised that allows one to do something similar, and can be used for a formulation such as you are now using. But to use his method, which is described in Reply 6 at
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,5028.msg42572.html#msg42572 and elsewhere in the same thread, you need to first conduct an experiment using your dough formulation. To do that, you would make your dough in the usual manner, with whatever amount of yeast you elect to use, note the finished dough temperature, and let the dough ferment at a specified temperature (in your case, the temperature of your cooler), and note the elapsed time for the dough to achieve a particular desired condition, such as the doubling of the volume of the dough (it can be more or less if you want). From that information, you can use a standard online scientific calculator, such as the one shown at
http://www.eeweb.com/toolbox/calculator to calculate the Reference Rate. Once you have that number, you can change either or both of the fermentation temperature and fermentation duration, and use the method described by November to calculate the amount of yeast that applies to those values. Your example is simple because you are not using a series of temperature/time protocols as is discussed in Reply 6 referenced above. However, for future doughs using the new amounts of yeast, you will want to strive for the same finished dough temperature that you used to achieve the Reference Rate. So, for you in this case, the finished dough temperature is an important number.
As you might imagine, most people are unlikely to go through the above exercise. In most cases, they will find it easier to just do the yeast changes in an iterative manner until the desired results are achieved.
Turning now to your particular dough formulation, it appears the nominal protein content of your flour is 11.7%. Using member November’s Mixed Mass Percentage Calculator at
http://foodsim.toastguard.com/, I calculate that the addition of 2% vital wheat gluten will produce a final blend with a protein content of 12.77%. With the addition of the vital wheat gluten (about 1 1/3 teaspoons), the hydration will be lowered to 61.8% but, unless you add one to one-and-a-half times the weight of the vital wheat gluten in additional water, the dough might feel somewhat less hydrated and on the dry side.
Using the expanded dough calculating tool with the 340-gram dough ball weight that you mentioned, your dough formulation looks like this from a baker’s percent standpoint:
Flour (100%):
Water (63%):
IDY (0.20%):
Salt (2%):
Vegetable (Soybean) Oil (3.5%):
Vital Wheat Gluten (2%):
Total (170.7%):
| 199.18 g | 7.03 oz | 0.44 lbs
125.48 g | 4.43 oz | 0.28 lbs
0.4 g | 0.01 oz | 0 lbs | 0.13 tsp | 0.04 tbsp
3.98 g | 0.14 oz | 0.01 lbs | 0.71 tsp | 0.24 tbsp
6.97 g | 0.25 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.53 tsp | 0.51 tbsp
3.98 g | 0.14 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.33 tsp | 0.44 tbsp
340 g | 11.99 oz | 0.75 lbs | TF = N/A
|
Apart from adjusting the hydration of the dough as mentioned above to compensate for the effects of the vital wheat gluten, I think it is too early to offer any further suggestions. Small amounts of yeast and large amounts of oil can peacefully coexist but you may end up with a somewhat reduced oven spring. Judging from the photos you showed, you appear to be getting enough sugars from conversion of the damaged starch to feed the yeast, without the need to add table sugar to your dough. Usually, one needs to add either sugar of diastatic malt when using unmalted flours to be sure that the yeast is adequately fed and that there are sufficient residual sugars available at the time of baking to produce good coloration of the crust.
Peter
