I Need Dough Help

[argetim]

I am actually opening in about 6 weeks    Very excited but the dough is a concern.  We used to have a pizzeria 6 years ago but we had a deck oven with a stone and beat out the dough by hand.  This time we are going with the pizza press do save time, and also a middleby marshall conveyor oven.  I bought a 80quart hobart mixer just need a reciepe that will work with the conveyor and press.  Here is Alaska we have a Costco that offered to sell us dough ( I have to admit I am tempted since they also have the conveyor and press) but dont want to get used to that.  I like cooking and want to do it from scratch.  So I need to test on an individual pizza bases now any suggestions???

[PizzaBrewer]

I'm sure some of the real experts will chime in with advice.  My 2 comments are:  if you have a mixer (80-qt, wow, that's big) certainly don't buy your dough pre-made;  and why not stretch the dough by hand?  I think you'll get a much better result than using the Pizza Pro dough press.

---Guy

[argetim]

I was going to buy a 60 quart but got a steal on the 80, could not pass it up.  I dont want to buy pre-made but for starters I might need to.

[Pete-zza]

argetim,

What type and size of pizzas are you planning to make?

Peter

[argetim]

The standard pizzas (cheese, ronis, bk olives, ect.) as well as calzones, strombolis,  I believe we are going for 10-12 inch (personal- small) and large 16 inch.   

[PizzaSuperFreak]

check the forum for baker's percentages. i'd go with something similar to the lehman percentage. make sure you're doing something around 63% hydration.

don't use a press. it's like using a rolling pin. you'll make the crust too dense.

[Pete-zza]

argetim,

I suggest you take a look at some of the recipes at the Recipes section of this site, at http://www.pizzamaking.com/pizza_recipes.html. I have a special fondness for the Lehmann recipe listed in the Recipes section. I have downsized that recipe for home use and have several versions at the Lehmann NY style thread, starting at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,576.0.html.

You might also want to take a look at the Big Dave Ostrander recipe at the Old Faithful thread, starting at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,660.0.html. Big Dave says that over 2 million pounds of dough based on his recipe have been made all around the world. I have discussed a couple versions of the Old Faithful recipe at the Old Faithful thread, as well as a more recent variation (from a recent NAPICS) event that I have dubbed "New Faithful".

Peter

[pizzamagic]

For commercial pizza making, it's all laid out at http://www.correllconcepts.com/Encyclopizza/_home_encyclopizza.htm from start to finish. He discusses all issues related to running a pizza business.

[argetim]

Ive seen the pizza making encylopedia and love it.  I guess what Im asking is would my old reciepe (for deck oven, hand stretch) work in my new conveyor oven with pizza press stretch?  What is usually adjusted in a reciepe to make the dough work for my new set up???

[varasano]

No matter how you slice it, a dough press will kill the texture of the dough.  If you learn to mix the dough correctly using instructions you will find here, stretching the dough should take just 10 -15 seconds at most.  You'll never have to beat it or press it. Properly mixed dough will just spread on it's own with very little coaxing.  If your dough is not doing that then you should follow guidelines here and figure out how.  Click the globe under my name for a complete set of instructions or check out the Patsy's pizza thread.

[Pete-zza]

argetim,

I am not a pizza operator but I have read about conveyor ovens and some of the setup techniques. It may turn out that your dough recipe may require some changes in going from a deck oven to a MM conveyor oven with a hearth profile, but I believe the first thing you may want to do is to check the finger profile of the MM to be sure that it is correct for a hearth profile. The advice I usually see on this is to note the serial number of your conveyor oven and call the manufacturer to fiind out what the correct configuration is for what you want to do. The manufacturer may have to set up the proper finger configuration, but they may also be able to advise you on what changes might be required in your dough recipe. I suspect that the MM will be operating at a somewhat lower temperature than your former deck oven, so you may have to do some trial runs to see what results you get using your former dough recipe in the conveyor oven and using the dough press. I don't know what kind of press you plan on using, but it may be possible with some final hand shaping to get it closer to a completely hand shaped skin.

Peter

[Pete-zza]

argetim,

I did a little digging at PMQ and maybe this Q&A between a poster and Tom Lehmann will help:

"Hi Tom, I finally gave up trying to cook all the pizzas in my deck oven. I bought a used blodgett conveyor. Is there any changes I should make in my already excellent dough, or should I start off with the same and adjust it from there? What would be a good starting point for time and temp?
Thank You!! Sorry Deck Lovers!

Mark;
I'd suggest starting with your existing dough formula. If you experience a problem with the dough not coloring well, try adding a couple percent sugar to the formula, this will help the crust to develop color but not affect the flavor. The only change that I'd make is to set the oven temperature at 435F and the bake time at something close to 7 minutes. This should get you in the ball park for a cheese pizza 12 to 14 inches in diameter. Don't try to make everything in the conveyor, just your biggest sellers, that way you can fine tune it to give the best bake to that product.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor"

Peter

[argetim]

Thank you for all the advice....Ill let you know how it goes