Lallemand develops yeast with pizza makers in mind

Lallemand Baking Solutions representatives Phillip Lee Wing and Jim Kopp were on hand at Pizza Expo to tell pizza chefs about its new proof-tolerant yeast called FlexFerm developed to ensure a controlled proof of dough to maintain consistent volume, shape and size.

Dough made using FlexFerm can be left in the proof box for extended times without detrimental effects to the pizza, Wing said.

“Pizza quality depends on many parameters and adequate gas production by the yeast is essential to avoid both underproofing and overproofing of the pizza dough,” the company’s detailed literature said. Proof time, proof temperature and yeast dosage all affect gas production especially in retarded doughs, frozen doughs, refrigerated doughs and in-store scratch baking.

In many instances, overproofing cannot be controlled, especially in the event of equipment failure or due to irregular demand for pizzas. This leads to product failure or waste in the form of unusable scrap dough, Wing said. Because FlexFerm won’t overproof, processes are more flexible and tolerant toward changes in variables such as proof time and proof temperature.

At present, specialty yeast performs best for pizza formulas with low sugar; however, it can be used in fresh, refrigerated and frozen dough processes for finished pizza with little or no sugar. The proofing process stops when the added sugar is depleted.

The yeast, which is available as fresh baker’s yeast and dry baker’s yeast, is designed to offer advantages when used in frozen dough balls and deep-dish pizza applications.

www.lallemand.com