Continue to Site

VCM45 for Dough? Anything to be concerned about?

P

pizzapirate

New member
From one of Tom’s articles, I read that you just have to be careful not to let the dough mix too long making the dough heat up too much.

Are there any other concerns that I should be aware of? Can anyone share their experience with one?

I’m about to buy one but wanted to bounce it off you guys first.
 
Last edited:
You have to measure your ingredients exactly since you can’t add flour or water as the batch is mixing. The dough will come out of the vcm fairly warm/hot, so you may have to adjust your yeast or water temp. Overall, the dough just isn’t as good. It’s tougher and harder to work with. If you just made 1 batch and compared it to dough out of a hobart or spiral mixer you might not notice a difference. But, at the end of the week you think to yourself, man my dough sucks lately. If you sheet your pizzas or use a dough press, there may not be a difference. However if you hand toss them, your dough will be tougher to work with. Dang, those things can make a batch of dough fast though!
 
Last edited:
Sounds like an issue for dough formulation and adaptation. Does it make ALL dough tougher than a mixer with a recipe formulated for that mixer? Or can you make adjustments for the VCM in terms of hydration and oil that could address the toughness?
 
Last edited:
We’ve been using a 40 qt VCM for 7+ years and we have the best pizza in the whole country

PZ
 
Last edited:
and we cook it in a conveyor oven - on screens
imagine if we used a deck oven - and those disks

seriously though, you do have to use active dry yeast instead of instant with a VCM Mix it with warm water to hydrate for 7 minutes Then add ice water, and salt and sugar to the yeast water. Mixing time is about 1:45

PZ
 
Last edited:
None of our chains and none of our independent (that I recall) use VCMs for mixing dough.
The VCM was introduced to the industry several years ago by a large group and they promptly developed a reputation for card board crusts.

No professional baker, that I know of, would use a vcm for mixing dough. Hook style mixers OK, Spiral mixers better, articulating mixers best (no pizza operators I know of use the articulating Mixers premium bakeries do).

Just My observation yours may differ.

George Mills
 
Last edited:
never heard of an articulating mixer - tried to google it but no hits- those “professional bakers” must be keeping it top secret.

Little Caesars is one chain that uses VCM’s
I think Big Dave had one as well.

PZ
 
Last edited:
Just love the way it does cheese . . .

Lucky I’m only a couple miles from a demo. Guess I will go down Monday morning and make two or three batches and see how they go.

Or maybe they will give me a grace period to return it if it doesn’t work out . . .

We already use active yeast.
 
Last edited:
“jackaloo” said:
never heard of an articulating mixer - tried to google it but no hits- those “professional bakers” must be keeping it top secret.

The type of mixer I refer to is also called Duo-Flex universal Double Arm Mixer or elliptical mixer also Artoflex.
This type mixer employs a most gentle mixing action through the use of two arms which move with an elliptical motion in to a revolving bowl. This results in a kneading motion that duplicates hand mixing as the original Italian pizza makers did years ago and as did all bakers for centuries.
To see one cut and paste into your browser http://www.badenfoodequip.com/ProductIm … EXPH15.htm

George Mills
Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL.com.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top