Cheese Pizzas: Air Bubbles/pockets

[PizzaAl]

Just a quick questions for you guys, I am having issues with my cheese pizzas creating air bubbles or pockets not sure how you define it. It’s where it bubbles underneath the dough and pushes the cheese off some areas and at times right near the crust so when you pick the slice it’s really floppy.

What causes this and what do I need to do to correct this? We haven’t ever got a complaint but I am not happy with the way it’s coming out.

Not sure if the dough is too thin but I never have this problem with any other pizzas because the weight of the toppings is keeping the dough from bubbling up.

We use a MM conveyor oven, 500F at 5:35 min

Anyways, I would appreciate some tips or input.

 

[Piper]

Dock your dough and this problem will pretty much disappear!

 

[PizzaAl]

We do have a docker but never really used it before. Can you give me a tip on how to effectively use it. Do I dock first and then press the dough out or press the dough down and form the crust and then dock. How deep do I roll the docker in the dough, do I penetrate through the dough?

Thanks, I appreciate your response.

 

[Piper]

You want to dock it when the dough is already shaped into a finished skin. Our dough is very thin, and the docker pretty much penetrates is all the way through. We push hard enough to dock, but not so hard that it mis-shapes the dough. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll get a good feel for it after a couple of times.

I believe I’ve read that having your dough warmed to room temperature before using it will greatly decrease bubbling, but somebody more knowledgeable than me would have to explain that. We take our dough straight from the cooler and right into the sheeter.

 

[NicksPizza]

slow, overnight fermenting of dough will produce a smaller, more consistent bubble size in your dough. Like piper said, letting dough temper for 30 to 45 minutes will also reduce ‘blistering’/‘bubbling’ in the dough. Using three or four different types/formulations/styles of dough, I’ve found this to be a consistent truth. Heard it from Tom Lehmann then found out for myself that it works. COLD DOUGH BLISTERS is my mantra in the kitchen.

Docking is about pressing the top layer to ‘glue’ it to the bottom layer of the dough. So, press it out, then dock it and then do final shaping. Don’t poke through the dough, but make divets that make the dough ALMOST perforate.