Has anyone here used the following method to make extra dough if you’re running low and tight on time:
Mix 25% old dough and 75% new dough
Allow to proof at room temp for 2-3 hours
Scale, ball and ready to use
Appreciate any thoughts on this process.
Tom will probably have the best answer, but in my opinion 25% seems a bit high. I’m not sure I would feel comfortable mixing in more than 10% old dough. At 25%, I would think your dough would have a much stronger flavor profile than 100% fresh dough due to the fact that the old dough has already been through the fermentation process. Maybe a better solution would be to cut your daily dough production by 20% so you don’t have so much left over?
That’s helpful. I’m not open yet, I’m just trying to make sure I have a contingency plan if I do run low on dough during the day.
That’s good that you’re thinking ahead. What most of us do is make our dough a day or two ahead and store it in dough boxes in our coolers. If we run low, we can “steal” from tomorrow’s dough and then make up for it later if we need to.
What you have described here is a modified form of a 25/75 sponge-dough. This means that 25% of the flour has been fermented. It is not a bad approach to making additional dough if you see that you are in potential danger of running out of dough later in the day. Keep in mind that this is not the same as an “emergency dough” which is designed to be used literally, within an hour , or so of being made. As is the case with any of the “quick” doughs or emergency doughs, don’t try to hold the dough over from one day to the next, just “bite the bullet” and toss it at the end of the day.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor