Ask Tom Lehmann a Question

Hi Tom

In South Africa our flour is graded 'cake, white bread, brown bread, bran etc etc… We are currently using cake flour but was wondering which or which combination would be the best to use along with a wood fired oven to get a great thin crispy base?

Also should one add oil?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Hi Tom,

I am in the process of opening a deep dish pizza restaurant. I was wondering if you have any suggestions on the kind of oven I should use, and what kind of mixer. Currently I think i may use a hobart m-802 mixer, and maybe a blodgett double deck for the pizza oven. Although I feel there may be better ovens or mixers out there. Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Tom Lehmann:
Submit your questions here.
Click to expand...
Tom, would you share your recipe for gluten free pizza dough. I am an experience pizza man and have used your recipes for pizza dough but have never been interested in gluten free until now. thanks
 
Last edited:
Tom, I am sure you have covered this many times before but I have to ask do you have a Gluten free dough recipe? thanks
 
Last edited:
Hi Tom
What do you think on the color of this base? As I only have one deck, I am trying to get both pan and thin crust to be cooked without changing my speed, so I am using an aluminum thin crust pan.
 
Last edited:
Tom
I have a problem with my pizzas. I have a stone deck oven that I run at 500 degrees and when I cook my thin crust pizzas the bottom get done much faster than the top. As a result I either have a pizza with a well done/overcooked bottom and correctly cooked top or a pizza with a correctly cooked bottom and one that is not done on top. It is especial true when I add more toppings on the pizza. Is it the dough or the ovens.
 
Last edited:
Hi Tom
I am making up my dough, but I am not always selling everything, so I throw some away. I thought I read that you you do not throw dough away, but you can remix the remainder dough, into the next days mix, can you clarify this, and any procedure i need to follow.

I must say Tom your dough formulation rocks, I have attached a picture of two 16"
pizza’s coming out the XLT oven
 
Last edited:
Tom, i have used grande cheese for years but I’m growing tired of the price. Do you have any suggestions for a good quality mozz. :?
 
Last edited:
Take and Bake Pizza Dough

Hi Tom,

I spoke with you earlier this year in regard to my small take and bake pizza restaurant and wanted to see if you could offer further assistance with my dough issues.

Recipe:

Flour 12.5lbs
Salt 4oz
Sugar 4oz
Yeast 6oz
Butter 3 Tlbs
Oil 10oz
Shortening 4 Tlbs
Conditioner 1Tlbs
Baking Soda 1oz
Water 5.5 lbs

The dough has improved since I last contacted you but it is still not to my satisfaction. I know you told me that my take and bake crust can not be prepared to the extent of a Jet’s Pizza or other traditional pizza place but I need help with creating the a great competitive with the other take and bake pizza place in the area. The color is off, the crunch is not there and the rise is low. I did try your take and bake formulation on the site but it turned out a little bland and was not crisp at all. I am at the point where I want to throw out our current process/ingredient mix and start from scratch. I really want to make a dough that is light, rises well, and has a moderate amount of crispness to it. I would like to know to if the mix I have is too heavy, not enough yeast, wrong kind of coated leavening (baking soda) and the best brand of flour for take and bake pizzas. For some reason my dough has a yellow hue that I am not fond of.

Also
I called the company numerous times that makes the “Wrise” product to no avail. So I have been using regular baking soda. Thank you for any feedback/help you can provide.

Malikah
 
Last edited:
Tom,
I am interested in making a deep dish pizza. As of now we have a 12" and 16" that after mixing the dough we place on the pan and over a period of 1-2 hours we press out the dough ball 3 times and after the third time we cover with plastic and put in the walk in. We wait at least 12 hours before using. I’m hoping to use the same formula to make the deep dish. In general do you think I could use the same formula but just prepare it different. Perhaps keeping it balled up and in a pizza box or ? I’m sure there is more information you may need but I’m hoping that this get me started. Thanks
 
Last edited:
I’m fairly new at this business and luckily I “inherited” an incredible dough recipe that seems idiot proof, thank goodness for me! The dough recipe calls for ice to be used during the mixing process which of course melts during the mixing procedure. Overall, my procedures are quite basic. I proof the dough at room temperature in the dough’s 5 gallon storage container. In fact, this dough is so versatile that in a busy rush the dough can be used almost immediately (with liitle or no rise) and it still comes out perfect (maybe just a little browner then normal). I have read many of your posts and responses and the science of dough making is quite involved whereas it seems my dough is very simple, resilient and very good. However, I do have some problems: First, the dough will sometimes rise quite high popping off the storage container top. Second, on another thread a member identified that I may have a dough issue. We were talking about dough coming out at the “advertised” size…is a 16 inch really 16 inches?! He suggested that the “shrinkage” could be related to temperature of the dough or proofing process.

My environment is quite varied as my location is at high altitude (9000 feet), the temperature of the store can be variable and my space is VERY limited. I have many variables but overall the dough is delicious and people LOVE it. Any help in understanding how my dough making process could be tweaked so that I don’t blow the top of the container and control “shrinkage.”
 
Last edited:
Deep Dish Rise for Dummies?

I’m looking for an easy deep dish recipe. I would like to be able to take the doughball from the refridgerator, push it into the pan, top, and cook and still get a good rise. Is this possible? The proofing stage introduces too many variables for my staff.

Thank-you,

Michael
 
Last edited:
Hi Tom
My results are superb from your formulation, but I have a few problems, not with the dough.
I cannot open the dough quick enough myself yet, so i have employed a chef to do it.
Since opening (3 Months) I have had 3 chefs, all think the are gods gift to pizza’s.
I want to adjust the dough to make it more easier to open a bit like papa johns and dominos. Is there anything you can suggest.
 
Last edited:
Tho I’m not Tom, make sure the dough is well proofed, but not over proofed…cold dough is some what easier to open and overly warm dough is hard to shape, but can be done, with excellent taste…

Nothing beats practice, practice, practice…slap dough Fri & Sat nite & you’ll be a pro in no time…

If all else fails, consider a dough press…you’ll still need to have proofed dough, but with some practice, you’ll make one fine skins…

Consider using a metal cabinet, or a proof box (turned off) to make some skins in advance…they’ll keep for several hours if no air gets to them…
 
Last edited:
Tom,
Due to size and refrigeration limitations we make “fresh” dough with all purpose flour a number of times a day. We allow approx. 30-45 for the dough to rise prior to use (hopefully). We weigh it out, and use a heavy rolling pin to roll out. This apparently has worked for the last 27 years we have been in business. Last Fall we lost a cook (who did the majority of the rolling) and now we can’t keep up with our busy Winter orders. In the past we experimented with a dough press, but since we use fresh dough it was not an opt. Again we have very little fridge space, so proofing is not an immediate solution to the problem. We have too little space to add another rolling table, but was wondering if dough sheeter is an option!? My fear is that it will have the same affect as the dough press. Please advise. Thanks! :roll:
 
Last edited:
Hi Tom,
How can I get my pan pizza dough to have a crunchy crust? I’m using aluminum pans with black bottoms. Any advice? Adding something to the dough? Adding a certain oil to the pan? Right now I’m able to get a bit of a crunch by adding oil to the pan, but I want MORE crunch! Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!!
 
Last edited:
Multgrain dough loosing elasticity.

Hi. I am making frozen buns for use in a wood fired pizzaria. I am making two types: plain and multigrain. The plain balls are working fine, however, my customer tells me that the multigrain is tearing on him.

Here is my formulation:
60# unbleached golden tiger.
20# fine whole wheat flour
16# dry multigrain mixture from Purato’s
51# Water
4# Pizza Base
1.7# idy

I am mixing on a 140 QT Hobart as follows:
Dry ingredients and base mix for 2 minutes on low, adding water and mixing on speed 2 for 8 more minutes, adding 1# of water about halfway through to keep the hook from bogging down.
Am I making it to dry? My customer actually is telling my he thinks it is to wet. Perhaps I should add the grains later in the mix to allow more gluten development.
Any help would be appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Re: Ask Tom Lehmann a Question - Dough Doubling

Hi Tom,

I just want to first say how much I enjoy the PMQ site and that I’ve been a frequent visitor for the past 8 or 9 years and just now decided to join finally!

Just a little back story… I have been on here since first deciding to want to open my own pizza shop almost 10 years ago. I ended up opening a cafe/sandwich shop a few years ago due to some outside issues. But I am now thinking of adding pizza to the menu this Summer!

My question though has to do with increasing the size of my batch of dough. I currently use this small batch of dough to make sandwich buns. The size of the batch has worked well for me so far but now feel like I’m going to need to make the batches bigger instead of making a bunch of small ones. (I already have a good large batch pizza dough recipe) Can you help me triple this sandwich bun dough recipe?

Here is the current recipe:
45 ounces of water
95.5 ounces of high gluten flour
13 ounces of white rye flour
1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)
10 teaspoon kosher salt
3 Tablespoon dry yeast
7 Tablespoon corn syrup (seems to give them a good shine)

I would greatly appreciate any help with this! Again, you and everyone on PMQ has been an inspiration for me!

Thanks!

Jack
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top