dough doctor with TOM LEHMANN FULL-COURT PRESS Here's how to get a dough press to work for you We bought a dough press but we have not been able to get our dough to press out well, as it keeps shrinking back after pressing. A: There are a number of things that need to be addressed when formulating a dough that will be formed into skins by use of a dough press (also known as a pizza press). Since high-protein flours tend to produce strong and elastic dough, it is best to use a lower-protein-content flour than what you might use for your regular pizza doughs. A typical bread flour with 10.8- to 11.2-percent protein content will work best, but you can also go as high as 12.5 percent if you need to. Anything over that in protein content will present more of a challenge in getting the dough to relax after pressing so it doesn't snap back immediately after forming/ pressing. The lower protein content doesn't really address the snap-back issue - it just makes addressing it a bit easier. The real key to eliminating the snap back is the use of a reducing agent such as L-cysteine or glutathione/dead yeast. There are commercial products available containing either of these reducing agents. Care must be taken when using these products as they are quite powerful in their action. If used in excess they can literally liquefy a dough in just a matter of minutes. While the manufacturers will have a recommended usage level, I always recommend starting out using half of the minimum recommended level if you are managing the dough through the cooler for 24 to 48 hours and working up the amount used based on the dough performance achieved by your formula and dough management parameters. 2 6 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6 After the snap-back issue has been addressed, if you still find that the dough is still a little difficult to press out well, then you can adjust the dough absorption to create a softer dough with better pressing properties. In most cases I find that a dough absorption of around 63 percent gives the best performance at the press. But always keep in mind that the dough absorption is highly variable, so don't be afraid to either increase or decrease the dough absorption depending upon how the dough is handling/ performing. Here is a typical dough formula for dough that will be formed into skins using a dough/pizza press with a heated head. Flour: 100 percent Salt: 1.75 percent Sugar: 2 percent (optional) Instant dry yeast: 0.4 percent Reducing agent: half of minimum recommended level (variable) Oil: 2.5 percent Water: 63 percent By JOSH KEOWNhttp://www.PIZZATODAY.COM