Dough management outdoors?

[capamando]

Hello to all,

Can someone tell me how they handle their dough balls when doing an outdoor event? Do you keep your dough balls in an Igloo cooler prior to an order? What have you found to be the most cost/labor effective way of managing your dough?

Thanks

[Grimaldi]

Re: Dough management outdoors?

Depends on the temperature, when we were dealing with near 100 degree temps, it was a constant struggle to keep the dough from over-proofing, even in the cooler. Basically, you leave the dough in the cooler until a few minutes before you will be using it in hot and humid weather (even directly out of the cooler worked fine...the dough warms up quick in hot weather).

In cold or cool weather, after cold fermenting/proofing for a day or two under refrigeration, you just gauge how long you think it will take to be workable. We usually put about half the dough balls in boxes at the outside temps. Dealing with dough outside at an event is tricky...but the biggest issue is over-proofing. If the dough is properly cold-proofed/fermented, you can manage with colder dough, it just takes a little longer handling it, but if it is over-proofed, you will have an inferior product.

Trial and error in your particular climate is how you will really find out.

[capamando]

Re: Dough management outdoors?

Grimaldi,

Thanks for your reply... today I was in the PQM website and I received a response from one of their experts on using a heated cantilevered shelf. The way he has used it with very good success is to place the refrigerated dough ball on the heated shelf(165 degrees) and press down for 30 seconds then flip it and do the another 30 seconds. He claims that it the dough does not suffer and makes it user friendly right away. You can google it.... not sure if I am allowed to give the site...

Do you use Igloo coolers or something else for your dough balls once they have been proofed/fermented?

Thanks again.

[Grimaldi]

Re: Dough management outdoors?

Grimaldi,

Thanks for your reply... today I was in the PQM website and I received a response from one of their experts on using a heated cantilevered shelf. The way he has used it with very good success is to place the refrigerated dough ball on the heated shelf(165 degrees) and press down for 30 seconds then flip it and do the another 30 seconds. He claims that it the dough does not suffer and makes it user friendly right away. You can google it.... not sure if I am allowed to give the site...

Do you use Igloo coolers or something else for your dough balls once they have been proofed/fermented?

Thanks again.

Yes, we use Igloo coolers for the dough after cold proofing/fermenting. We stack the dough containers in the coolers and then put the ice on top.

The lowest temps we have dealt with was during December and that was upper 30's at night, 40's - 50's during the day...it wasn't any problem with the dough at those temps.

[splatgirl]

Re: Dough management outdoors?

I think it depends on the dough.
I do a 75-80% hydration sourdough that is completely workable or even easier to handle/stretch when cold, so I've taken to keeping my dough in a portable cooler and taking them out to order. I pre-ball and stash mine in individual containers which also happens to be the technique that works best for my dough formula. They'd be fine just sitting out on a not super hot day, but since that runs the risk of them overproofing, the cooler route is my preference.
The lower hydration doughs are pickier to stretch in the first place, and forget about trying to work them cold. In that case I would probably pull them a few at a time from a cooler depending on the outdoor temp.

[antnapoli]

Re: Dough management outdoors?

Hello to all,

Can someone tell me how they handle their dough balls when doing an outdoor event? Do you keep your dough balls in an Igloo cooler prior to an order? What have you found to be the most cost/labor effective way of managing your dough?

Thanks

Hello Capamando,

I realize this thread is several years old but I have experienced this condition a lot so I thought I would share. We use Caputo 00 at 60% hydration and use cold rise fermentation method and place 8 per plastic tray and refrigerate immediately. However, in an out door setting more must be done to keep the dough from developing a hard skin due to wind or heat. What we do is bring a container with cold water and several towels. We bring the dough to the site straight from our work cooler. We leave the dough in an air conditioned van. When the the tray comes out of the van we immediately put the cold wet towels on the dough. No over proofing and no skin forms and the pie cooks beautifully in the 800 degree oven. Leopard spotting on the crust, and the best part of Caputo 00 that I like in outdoor ovens is that the crust cooks through comepletely. Beautiful texture after two days rise and absolutely no gum line.

Hope this helps if you haven't solved the problem already.