More and more consumers like to do their own baking. Or at least part of it. So it’s no surprise that frozen dough is one of the fastest growing bakery segments.
But if you make dough that’s frozen, there will need to be some specific adjustments to make.
Ingredients in frozen dough
- Flour: should be strong with high protein content (>12.5%) to ensure sufficient dough strength and gas retention during proofing after thawing cycle.
- Yeast: should be added at 1.5–2 times more than regular straight dough systems. The use of compressed and liquid forms of yeast such as cream is advisable since these forms are less processed and contain the lowest amount of cell damage.
- Water: only low levels are required to reduce the generation of free water, after thawing frozen dough, which may damage gluten structure and yeast cells.
- Oxidizing agents: are essential for improving gas retention by promoting aggregation of gluten-forming proteins.
- Modified starches and gums: are often included to improve freezing/thawing stability.
- Fat: higher fat levels are recommended for frozen doughs. Inclusions of 3–8% based on flour weight are common to help extend dough shelf-life and improve its machinability during moulding as water levels are reduced.
- Salt: salt levels in formulations are similar to regular dough. Typically 1.8–2.0% based on flour weight is used to enhance the flavor and control yeast activity.
- Sugars: higher levels are required in frozen doughs. Sugars’ hygroscopic nature provides for binding excess free water. Subsequently improving dough freezing and thawing stability. Higher sugars also increase shelf-life and help with crust color.
- Modified starches and gums: are often included to improve freezing/thawing stability.
- Emulsifiers: SSL, DATEM and GMS can act as crumb softeners, thus improving the texture and enhance the overall quality of the baked product.
