3/1 Water Temperature

Water Temperature and Finished Dough Temperature

The initial temperature of the water added to your ingredients will affect the finished dough temperature which in turn affects the quality of your final product. In baking to get a quality product the desired aim is to have a developed dough with the correct temperature.

Identify 3 varieties of dough you produce and document the initial water temperature and the finished dough temperature for each.

Wholemeal Dough

It is recommended that a standard bakery room temperature of 20 degrees to 35 degrees should have the water temperature at 10 degrees, in warmer conditions, i.e. in summer; water temperature is reduced to 6 degrees – 8 degrees. In colder conditions the water temperature is increased to 12 degrees. These conditions apply in the water temperatures of the wholemeal dough. It is important to maintain consistency when producing the dough in order to contain optimum dough development. The finished dough temperature (FDT) of the wholemeal dough is 28 degrees Celsius; a window test should be performed to determine dough clarity and elasticity.

This dough will take longer to spin than a normal white dough as it is using bran, germ and endosperm as well as added gluten and so requires longer mixing. In general new longer mixing times will produce better breads than previous methods. This means using cooler water the mixing can continue to achieve the desired temperature of 28 degrees. The measuring of the final tempreture of the dough determines accurately a prediction of the amount of energy impacted on the wholemeal dough.

The water and temperature determine the final outcome of a dough, in means of volume, texture, character, appearance, shelf life and quality. ( By mixing a 25kg wholemeal dough using 12 degrees water by personal experience the dough spun for 4mins slow speed-mixing speed, and 4mins fast speed-development speed, then after oil is added 30secs slow speed, 7mins fast speed for the dough to reach 28 degrees).

Factors contributing to the temperature of a dough are, whether, room temperature, mixer type, dough size, bakery condition, is the bowl temperature and bench temperature.

Country Grain Dough

It is recommended that a standard bakery room temperature of 20 degrees to 35 degrees should have the water temperature at 10 degrees, in warmer conditions, i.e. in summer; water temperature is reduced to 6 degrees – 8 degrees. In colder conditions the water temperature is increased to 12 degrees. These conditions apply in the water temperatures of the Country Grain Dough.

Adding correct water temperatures determine correct dough development; the finished dough temperature (FDT) of a country grain dough is 28 degrees. A window test is performed, which is when the dough is stretched to form a clear membrane, which is free of lumps and rough patches. Correct mixing is very important to ensure quality country grain bread quality. Dough. Correct water temps, 28 degrees (FDT) and window test achieve optimal dough development in a country grain dough.

(By mixing a 32kg Country Grain dough using 12 degrees water by personal experience the dough spun for 4mins slow speed-mixing speed, and 4mins fast speed-development speed, then after oil is added 30secs slow speed, 6mins fast speed for the dough to reach 28 degrees).

Factors why a country grain dough may spin longer than a normal white dough are again the factors mentioned in the final paragraph of wholemeal dough as well as country grain doughs use added grains and gluten, in conjunction with the mixing of white flour into one dough.

Cape Seed Dough

It is recommended that a standard bakery room temperature of 20 degrees to 35 degrees should have the water temperature at 10 degrees, in warmer conditions, i.e. in summer; water temperature is reduced to 6 degrees – 8 degrees. In colder conditions the water temperature is increased to 12 degrees. These conditions apply in the water temperatures of the Cape Seed Dough. Yeast activity is approx. doubled by a 5% rise in temperature and as a rule of thumb changing water temp. By 1 degree will change dough temperature by approx. 0.5degrees.

Correctly determining an ideal water temperature creates and optimal dough development for a cape seed dough. The finished dough temperature (FDT) of a cape seed dough is 28 degrees. Water temperature in doughs determine proof times, and oven spring of doughs later on through the baking cycle.

(By mixing a 3kg Country Grain dough using 12 degrees water by personal experience the dough spun for 4mins slow speed-mixing speed, and 4mins fast speed-development speed, followed by 30 secs slow speed and 15 to 20mins fast speed). A cape seed dough is the longest spinning dough to reach 28 degrees.

Factors contributing to why a cape seed may spin longer than a normal white dough are, whether, room temperature, mixer type, dough size, bakery condition, is the bowl temperature and bench temperature. A cape seed dough is wholemeal flour based, has added gluten, grains, seeds, and mostly because cape seed doughs are usually smaller doughs. Small doughs will have erratic mixing times because sometimes they catch up on the spiral and receive a lot of work quickly and sometimes they fall off the spiral and travel around and around the bowl only slowly recieveing the required work to reach a temp. of 28 degrees.

Question

What will happen to the ingredients if the finished dough temperature is too high?

Mixing has three main purposes:
To combine ingredients into a uniform, smooth dough.
To distribute the yeast evenly throughout the dough.
To develop the gluten.
When ingredients are mixed together along with flour and water, they form a dough, if a finished dough temperature is too high it can have a detrimental effect of the final quality of a product.

In general a dough temperature between 26 º- 28 º Celsius is advisable. A higher dough temperature hardens the gluten and the gluten becomes too tough to process it. A high dough temperature also requires increased processing speed, which is not always possible.

A dough which is overheated results in un-optimal developed dough and poor product, at warm dough temperatures yeast begins to burn out and the ingredients begin to break down due to excessive heat created by over mixing and going beyond a doughs tolerance.

Too high temperatures can rupture the doughs ingredients causing dramatic effects towards a loafs final outcome in means of its volume, shape, Holes within the bread, character, texture, strength, the loafs colour and overall appearance.

Therefore a FDT (Final Dough temp.) of 28 degrees is critical as it allows the yeast to work at its optimum range, as too high temperatures discombobulates the yeast fermentation ability and its overall effect within a loaf, whilst keeping in balance, the rate of change in gluten and starch structures due to enzyme activity.

Factors which contribute to too high of temperature within a dough are, the doughs size, the whether, room temperature, mixer type, dough size, bakery conditions, the bowl temperature and bench temperature and mostly the water temperature, mixing times and speeds of the dough.