Sugar in dough....yes or no?

[pizzasource]

We currently use sugar in our dough recipe at 2%, which for a 50# bag of flour amounts to a full pound of sugar.

As I understand it, sugar is an “optional” ingredient. How many of you use sugar in your dough recipe? If I remove the sugar, what effect will this have on the final cooking characteristics of the dough?

 

[jokergerm]

Thats kinda low, we use 1.5 cups in 20 lbs of flour and our dough is not sweet at all

It helps the crust brown in the oven faster as the sugar burns

 

[Patriot_sPizza]

I used 2 use a little less sugar than you do for 50#…we cut back, and cur back, and…

We don’t use any sugar @ all anymore…

We run a double MM360 @ 465/8:45 min bake…

Perfect, crisp crust…(till it hits the box & Del Bag…lol)

I’m not going back…

 

[jokergerm]

I f***** hate that, Our pizza is soooooo much better when you eat it In the pizza place. Stupid boxes and bags make pizza suck

 

[PIZZAMAGOO]

I have been cutting back on my sugar by about 25g every time that I make my dough goodie bags, and I think that I will wind up at zero sugar too! Sugar is hygroscopic so it actually attracts water to it which can’t be good for the crispiness of your crust!

 

[Tom_Lehmann]

The greatest affect of sugar on the dough is to make it brown faster during baking. This can be a good thing, such as is the case with take and bake pizzas, where they are destined to be baked in a home oven that was built with a greater emphasis on economical operation than on baking efficiency. But for the rest of us, sugar in the dough translates to slightly less baking time, and slightly less crispiness in the finished pizza. Allso, as the sugar is more concentrated in the crust after baking, and it still exhibits its hydroscopic properties, it tends to pull moisture from the air, or surrounding air (think of the air inside of a boxed or bagged pizza during delivery) resulting in a softer, less crispy crust characteristic.
In order to get a sweet taste your sugar level will need to bein the 3 to 5% range or above.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor