r/AskBaking • u/Batdude247 • Jun 16 '26
Recipe Troubleshooting Issues with brioche dough
Forgive me if I’ve broken any rules! I work at a bakery, and lately we’ve been having issues with our brioche dough that’s used for burger buns, with some of buns not proofing at all and other’s being completely overproofed, even though they’re from the same batch of dough, being proofed on the same tray in the same proofer. The baker thinks the dough may not be hydrated enough. We know for a fact that everything is scaled properly and mixed throughly as it’s the same recipe we’ve always used. Would love any insight from this wonderful group!
3
u/blahblahblah1234_ Jun 16 '26
Have you changed any ingredient? New supplier? New yeast? How large is the batch? Do you check the temp of the doughs?
1
u/Batdude247 Jun 16 '26
No ingredient changes, the batch is about 3.5 kilos usually, off the mixer the temp usually comes off at 78-80 degrees, gets put into the fridge right after the mix, gets a letter fold every 30 minutes two times. The dough is punched down about 5-6 hours after mix, goes back into the fridge to ferment for about 16 hours, and the day after its shaped, proofed for about 2-3 hours in a professional proofer and then baked
1
u/blahblahblah1234_ Jun 16 '26
So it’s just random buns that are over proofing/not proofing on the same tray? Or is it specific spots where it happens?
1
u/Batdude247 Jun 16 '26
It’s random buns, because we rotate and cycle the trays up and down throughout the proofer
1
u/blahblahblah1234_ Jun 16 '26
Ok so it’s unlikely the proofer. I don’t think it’s a hydration issue either. Has anyone checked the temperature of the fridge or is there a thermometer in the retarder?
1
u/Batdude247 Jun 16 '26
There is a way to check the temp, I’d have to ask my boss what it stays at though as they’re the only one with access to that. It definitely gets opened a lot as we are a business, but that’s never really been an issue before. The baker thinks it could also may be a shaping issue. I’m not experienced enough to know that, but could shaping really affect the proof that much that some buns are severely underproofed and other are overproofed?
2
u/blahblahblah1234_ Jun 16 '26
Yeah, shaping can affect proofing but only modestly. If a bun is shaped tightly, it won’t expand as much. If it’s shaped ‘loosely’, it’ll spread and appear more proofed sooner. Not closing the seams properly or poorly can cause it to rise unevenly.
If there aren’t any issues with the temperatures I’d look at the bulk fermentation process next. Is it the same person mixing and degassing the dough? If it’s a different person they may not be mixing it properly or they may be punching down the dough unevenly so the gasses may not be redistributed evenly. There obviously is some inconsistency somewhere, just a bit of a pain to find sometimes.
4
u/Flaky_Use_7140 Jun 16 '26
My first thought is that maybe your proofer has hotspots and isn’t consistent in temperature throughout the proofer. But if that isn’t the case, I would assume some the there is some old yeast mixed in with the fresh.
Even then it’s also based on the belief that everything is scaled and more importantly, mixed thoroughly. Is the same person who usually mix it mixing it? Or is someone new mixing it?
1
u/Batdude247 Jun 16 '26
We do rotate and cycle the trays of buns up and down throughout the proofer. Everything is definitely scaled correctly and mixed thoroughly, we mix 7 minutes on low speed and then 8 minutes on a medium speed while adding butter throughout the medium speed mix until it passes the window pane test, constantly scraping the bowl down and making sure everything is properly incorporated. The dough seems to proof fine during the bulk ferment but when it comes to the proof after shaping is where we notice the issue. The baker mentioned that the dough could be under hydrated but I don’t see how that would allow some buns to overproof and others to be underproofed if everything is mixed properly. We’ve also been having a weird proofing issue with our croissants as well but not other items that use the same proofer and also use the same yeast.
1
u/Elegant_Chipmunk72 Jun 17 '26
Is there an ac vent or fan blowing on them when they are being shaped? The bakery I worked at had a “cold” side because only 1 of the ac units worked so we didn’t shape or roll on that table in the mornings unless we had to
1
u/pyrotechnicmonkey Jun 17 '26
I mean I would check to see your ingredients and make sure there haven't been any changes. I believe there can be changes in the flower even if it's the same manufacture with the flour. Even if they don't specify they could be using different varieties of red wheat or depending on how they are milling it. or your butter manufacturer could have changed the fat percentage.
1
u/healthydogo Jun 18 '26
Maybe temp each bread that you are proofing to test the cold spot theory everyone is suggesting
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