Gonnella - Frozen Dough - Troubleshooting

Bread & Roll Basics

Breakout - Retarding - Proofing

Breakout involves taking the product out of the freezer for the next day's bake. Product is placed on clean, lined pans and transferred to racks, as shown in the example to the left. The product is allowed to thaw slowly (retard) overnight in a room (retarder) where the temperature is 36- 38° F. The frozen dough product should fill the pan, just touching adjacent product.

Retarding (defrosting) is an important step in preparing frozen dough. Allowing the dough pieces to thaw for 6 to 8 hours at temperatures of 36- 38° F helps improve the grain of the product.

Limited retarder space may force utilizing the deli/dairy cooler to retard product. Most such coolers are maintained at 36-38° F and use air movement as a means of cooling. This air movement will dry the surface of the product and will cause problems during proofing and baking.

If your retarder has any air movement, cover the rack or the pan with plastic to prevent crusting. For those with limited retarder space, the following procedure can be used:

Lightly dust a sheet pan with flour for white bread and corn meal for hearth products. Place as many of the same product on one sheet pan as possible. Try to leave 1/4" between the products.

CAUTION: Maintain the retarder temperature between 36-38° F. If temperatures remain about 38+° F for an extended period, the product will start to proof and become difficult to handle.

Sometimes it is necessary to thaw the product quickly. The product can be taken out frozen and allowed to thaw at room temperature. This procedure has several disadvantages. The outside of the product will defrost first and start to proof, while the middle of the product will remain frozen. The product may then show signs of blistering.

Some products may be setup according to the panning instructions for baking. Whenever product is panned for baking, care must be taken to place the manufacturing seam (as shown to the left) face down.

PRODUCT PROBLEMS
CAUSE AND CORRECTION

PROBLEM	PROBABLE CAUSE	CORRECTIVE MEASURE
LACK OF VOLUME (Too Small)	• Incomplete Thawing • Loaves to small for pans • Underproofing • Oven Temperature Too High • Dough Too Cold • Dough Has Been Thawed And Refrozen • Dough Too Dry.	• Thaw completely or allow to proof longer (the colder the dough the longer the proofing time). • Use proper size pans or increase the size of the dough. • Proof at proper temperature, humidity and time as outlined in instructions, use timing device. • Use oven thermometer to check oven temperature against temperature dial. Reset to correct temperature. • Rotate inventory using first in—first out system. Use products with earliest code date first. • a) Maintain uniform freezer temperature at 10-degrees °F. b) Do not refreeze dough. c) Place frozen dough in freezer immediately upon receipt. • a) Thaw in sealed plastic bags. b) Increase moisture, steam (humidity) in proof box.

TOO MUCH VOLUME (Too Large)	• Overproofing • Oven Temperature Too Low • Loaves Too Large For Pan. • Dough Has Risen Too Much During Thawing	• Proof at proper temperature, humidity and time as outlined in instructions: use timing device. • Use oven thermometer to check oven temperature against temperature dial: reset to correct temperature. • Use proper size pan or decrease size of dough. • Remove dough into proper shape as illustrated in instructions.

CRUST COLOR TOO PALE	• Thawing Time Too Long: Dough Has Aged • Crust Has Developed During Thawing Or Proofing • Insufficient Humidity In Proof Box • Oven Temperature Low	• Thaw properly under refrigeration to retard aging. • Keep dough pieces in plastic bags while thawing; maintain proper humidity steam or moisture in proof box. • Maintain proper temperature and humidity levels: check water reservoir. • Use oven thermometer to check temperature against temperature dial: reset to correct temperature.

CRUST COLOR TOO DARK	• Dough Improperly Thawed • Oven Temperature Too High	• Thaw completely according to instructions. • Use oven thermometer to check temperature against temperature dial: reset to correct temperature.

CRUST BLISTERS	• Overproofing	• Proof at proper temperature, humidity and time as outlined in instructions and use timing device.

CRUST TOO THICK	• Dough Has Aged Too Much After Thawing • Crust Has Developed During Proofing • Oven Temperature Too Low • Overbaking	• Thaw properly in plastic bags to avoiding crusting. • Maintain proper humidity, moisture, steam and temperature levels in proof box. • Use oven thermometer to check temperature against temperature dial: reset to correct temperature. • Follow baking times recommendations.

POOR TEXTURE (Crumbly Bread)	• Dough Has Aged Too Much After Thawing • Overproofing • Proof Box Temperature Too High • Oven Temperature Too Low	• Thaw properly in plastic bags, keep refrigerated to control aging . • Proof at proper temperature, humidity and time as outlined in instructions: use timing device. • Proof at proper temperature and humidity levels. • Use oven thermometer to check temperature against temperature dial: reset to correct temperature.

POOR FLAVOR	• Dough Improperly Thawed • Improper Storage • Unsanitary Bakery	• Thaw completely according to instructions. • Store products according to Instructions: rotate stock properly. • Clean and sanitize all working surfaces to insure no foreign particles are mixed in dough

POOR KEEPING QUALITIES (Short Shelf Life)	• Dough Improperly Thawed • Improper Rotation: Dough Is Too Old • Overproofing • Oven Temperature Is Too Low	• Thaw completely according to instructions. • Rotate stock according to first-in…first-out. • Proof at proper temperature, humidity and time as outlined in instructions: use timing device. • Use oven thermometer to check temperature against temperature dial: reset to correct temperature.