Entry into the frozen dough market offers many advantages, including extended shelf life and sales beyond a baker's immediate fresh market distribution area, and yet numerous factors impact finished product quality and consistency. Although any skilled baker has the ability to control product formulation and the manufacturing process, finishing off the product by thawing, proofing and baking often is left to the unskilled end user. Thus, much is left to chance when all is said and done.

Specialty dough conditioners enable bakers to make yeast-raised products, such as bagels, that go straight from the freezer to the oven.

Optimizing the performance of yeast in frozen dough is one of the most important criteria impacting bread quality. Cryoresistance, or the ability of yeast to survive the freezing process, can be accomplished with the right combination of ingredients and processing parameters. For instance, maintaining proper dough temperature is a critical step in keeping yeast dormant.

In addition, advancements in ingredient technology have resulted in improved stability for frozen product and longer shelf life, notes John Graham, regional sales manager, Red Star Yeast Co., Milwaukee.

Optimizing dough quality

Optimizing dough quality
Two of the most important objectives of frozen dough production are to optimize dough development during mixing, while maximizing the cryoresistance of yeast, so it remains dormant during frozen storage. Although these objectives are partially accomplished through formulation, process conditions also are key. Dough temperatures need to be in the 59°F to 68°F (15°C to 20°C) range, notes Jan van Eijk, Ph.D., Lallemand Inc., Montreal. In addition, the time between mixing and freezing needs to be short. Small batches help reduce variation between mixing and freezing.

“The temperature of your dough is achieved by the temperature in your atmosphere, the friction in your mixer and the temperature of your ingredients,” says Rick Robbins, president and owner, Pittsfield Rye and Specialty Breads Co., Pittsfield, Mass. “Some people have water chillers, as we do, although sometimes that in itself is not enough in some seasons to give you your desired dough temperatures, so ice is an option. We actually add shaved ice now. It's less friction on the mixer and better for the dough as well.”

The amount of ice needed per formulation varies depending on factors, such as the season and the amount of humidity in the air. Bakers can rely on past experience and judge the amount of ice needed based on the dough temperature of the first batch, Robbins adds. Environmentally controlled dough production rooms also are helpful. Pittsfield Rye uses evaporators to cool the dough production room — an area sealed off from the heat and humidity of the proofing and baking processes.

Colder dough is stiffer by nature, causing more wear and tear on dough processing machinery that may need to be upgraded with larger motors and more horsepower, notes Chris Bohm, senior bakery technolgist, Caravan Ingredients, Lenexa, Kan. An alternative is to find the right kind of equipment to accommodate doughs ranging from highly hydrated and sticky to those that are stiffer. Robbins feels he has done just that.