Hey all,
I’m been working with a new dough formula (with percents and by weight, so I know everything is exactly what it should be).
When I make a small dough batch, only 1/2# of flour… the forumla tastes great! But when I up the batch to 3# of flour, the flavor is totaly off. I have not done a full 12.5# batch (what my mixer can handle) because I dont want to waste it if I can’t figure out why the increase is throwing off the flavor.
I thought it was a miscalculation on my part, but i’ve checked it 3 different ways and know that the amounts are correct for the %'s that I use.
Other then just the increased size, nothing changes. So how could this be effecting the dough flavor?
Thanks all!
Good Grief! Only 8-ounces of flour? I even have a problem with doughs sizes that small. Just think about the IDY. At that size of dough, the IDY at 0.375% comes out to only 0.851 grams. You must be using a laboratory balance, not a scale to weight out your ingredients. Then, what type of mixer are you using to mix those small size doughs? We use National pin type mixers as they are the only mixers that will mix these small size doughs (they’re designed to mix doughs based on up to 300-grams of flour weight.
I think you should be doing you development work on doughs based on at least 5-pounds of flour weight as this will allow for more accurate scaling of ingredients, and it will also be easier to achieve your targeted finished dough temperature (80 to 85F?) range. You’re right in working in percentages though, as this will always keep your formula in perfect balance regardless of size, providing you can accurately weight the ingredients.
If you have any questions, or if you would like to discuss in detail, please feel free to give me a call at 800-633-5137 (ext. 165).
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
Thanks Tom,
I did another batch yesterday after trying to figure out what exactly i did differently… i recall using room temp. water for the small batches but then using ice cold tap water for the large batch.
I make a 3# batch yesterday with hot tap water… today i tested it and the flavor is almost back, i was thinking of using warm water (around 110F), and mixing the IDY, salt and oil… let it sit for 5 minutes… then add the flour and mix.
I use a 20qt. planatery mixer, and yes, i will bump the new batches upto at least 5#
thoughts?
Thanks again!
A couple things; I wouldn’t recommend putting the IDY in the warm water to hydrate. It isn’t needed. Just add it directly to the dry flour and you’re set to go. Also, don’t worry too much about the water temperature, but instead, be concerned about the finished (mixed) dough temperature. Ideally, it should be in the 80 to 85F range. Doughs that are close to or in the 90F range can be difficult to control, fermentation wise, and they can develop some strange flavors at times. Use the water temperature to adjust/control the finished dough tempetature. Remember, finished dough temperature is the key to effective dough management, and flavor is a result of dough management. So, once again, keep close tabs on the finished dough temperature.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
Ok, I just made 2 new batches,
#1 Water Temp was 70F… after 8 minutes of Mixing the finished Dough Temp is 76F
I raised the Water temp on #2 so that it would be in the 80-85F range, however…
#2 Water Temp was 78F… after 8 minutes of Mixing the finished Dough Temp is 79F
I figure it’s because it’s about 74F in the kitchen. I will taste test tomarrow and post the results.
Thanks again!