So Many Bubbles

Pizza Shop Talk The Think Tank
1

Hey all,

I’m dialing in my new pizza and I’m running into a problem. Our bake temp is around 700 on the floor for about 2.5 minutes.

I’m noticing the pies are getting giant bubbles in the center, particularly on the white pies, but even the sauce pies (which surprised me.) They are rising and pushing whatever topping may have been there to the center or off the pie.

I’m wondering what’s causing this and how to stop it. I don’t know if it’s the temperature of the floor or oven or what. If it was the heat, I would have expected this to happen in places I’ve worked where we’ve baked neapolitan pizzas even hotter!

2

Tom The Dough Doctor can solve your problem. But until he does perhaps you could use a dough docker.
George Mills

3

Do you let your dough come to room temp before you bake it? that could be the problem. bubbles are usually caused by a hiccup in your dough management process. if you can outline that it would help to figure out the problem.

4

The dough is definitely still cool to the touch when I start the stretch process. I’ll try letting it temper some more.

It’s also relatively thin - 9 to 9.25 ounces for a 12" pizza. Is it possible the dough is just too thin and behaving like a pita bread would?

If tempering helps, I may try lowering the temperature for a slightly longer bake so it doesn’t puff up and fill with air immediately.

5

Sounds like your dough’s too cold when it goes into the oven.

6

How long do you let your dough ferment maybe if you could describe your dough process you could get better help. It sounds like you are not letting your dough ferment long enough.

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7

Do you use a dough docker?
Have you tried using more sauce to give more weight on top of the crust?
700 degrees for 2.5 minutes? Are you a fast casual place? That’s insanely fast!!

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8

The two most common causes for dough bubbling during baking are cold dough going into the oven (for your type of application the dough should be allowed to warm to 60F), and lack of dough fermentation (48-hours in the cooler is suggested for a very hot bake).
If you are a F.C. concept hot pressing the dough balls into skins is common, and then stacking with a piece of parchment paper between individual skins and holding under refrigeration is a very common procedure. In this case the dough skins are removed from the cooler, dressed to the order and immediately baked. These skins are very different from a skin opened by hand which is why this procedure is utilized in the F.C. concept.
Yes, docking the dough also helps, but ONLY if the correct type of dough docker is used. The correct type is one having plastic docking wheels with a FLAT tip (looking something like a cowboy’s spur), not metal, not rounded.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor