Little Caesars is a popular pizza chain known for its affordable prices and convenient ready-to-go pizzas. A key component of any pizza is the dough, which serves as the base. At Little Caesars, the pizza dough consists of just a few simple ingredients that are mixed together and proofed to create a perfect crust. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at exactly what goes into making Little Caesars pizza dough.
Main Ingredients
There are five main ingredients that make up the pizza dough at Little Caesars:
- Flour – The main ingredient in pizza dough is flour. Little Caesars uses a blend of bread and all-purpose flours in their dough recipe.
- Water – Water is essential for activating the gluten in the flour and allowing the dough to come together. The right proportion of water to flour is important for getting the proper dough consistency.
- Yeast – Yeast is responsible for leavening the dough. As the yeast ferments, it produces carbon dioxide gas that causes the dough to rise. Little Caesars uses both active dry yeast and cake yeast.
- Salt – A small amount of salt is added for flavor. The salt also helps control the fermentation rate of the yeast.
- Sugar – A tiny bit of sugar provides food for the yeast, supporting the fermentation process.
These core ingredients are simple, but properly combining them and going through the steps of mixing, kneading, and proofing produces the perfect crust for Little Caesars pizzas.
The Dough Making Process
Making pizza dough on a large scale requires careful measurement, mixing, and proofing. Here is an overview of Little Caesars’ dough production process:
- Measuring – The ingredients are precisely measured out according to Little Caesars’ proprietary recipe. Massive bags of flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and water are prepared.
- Mixing – The ingredients are loaded into large commercial mixers and mixed to form a shaggy dough. The dough is mixed just long enough to fully hydrate and develop some gluten.
- Kneading – After mixing, the dough goes through a kneading machine that further works and strengthens the gluten. Kneading helps give the dough a smooth, elastic consistency.
- Proofing – Once kneaded, portions of dough are rounded and placed into oiled tubs. The dough tubs go into a proofing room to rest and rise for several hours. As the yeast ferments, gases expand the dough.
- Portioning – After proofing, the risen dough is pressed out and portioned into individual dough balls using portioning machines. The dough balls are ready to be topped and baked into pizzas.
This streamlined process allows Little Caesars locations to produce hundreds or even thousands of fresh dough balls every day to keep up with pizza demand.
Dough Ingredients Details
Now let’s take a more in-depth look at the ingredients that go into Little Caesars dough:
Flour
The flour used in Little Caesars dough is a blend of bread flour and all-purpose flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content, typically around 12-14%, which gives the dough more gluten strength and chew. All-purpose flour balances this out and provides a softer texture. Together, these flours give the crust the right amount of crispness and structure. The exact ratio of bread flour to all-purpose flour used by Little Caesars is proprietary.
Water
The water hydrates the flour proteins and allows them to bond together and form gluten. Little Caesars uses plain tap water, chilled to between 50-60°F, in their dough recipe. The colder temperature helps control yeast activity during mixing. The ideal water temperature and percentage relative to the amount of flour impacts the finished dough’s consistency and how much it stretches when pressed out.
Yeast
Little Caesars employs both active dry yeast and cake yeast in their dough recipe. Active dry yeast is made of single-celled organisms that need to be hydrated and activated in liquid prior to mixing. Cake yeast has a soft, moist texture, and does not require rehydration. Including both yeast types may provide some synergistic fermentation effects. The yeast gives off carbon dioxide gas and organic compounds that boost dough rise and contribute to flavor.
Salt
A small percentage of salt, around 1-2% of flour weight, seasons the dough and regulates yeast activity. Salt tightens and strengthens gluten strands, giving structure to the dough. It also enhances the flavor impacts of the yeast. Little Caesars likely uses non-iodized table salt or kosher salt.
Sugar
Just a pinch of sucrose or table sugar is used in Little Caesars dough recipe. The sugar feeds the yeast, accelerating its growth and gas production. This helps the dough proof and rise efficiently. Too much sugar can make dough overly extensible. A small amount provides just enough food for optimum yeast fermentation.
Dough Handling and Prep
In addition to using quality ingredients, proper dough handling is also essential for the finished crust. Here are some key steps Little Caesars takes:
- The dough is mixed just long enough to properly hydrate and develop some gluten, without overmixing.
- Portioning into dough balls provides enough surface tension for gas retention.
- Oiling the dough tubs creates the right non-stick surface for proofing.
- The proofing room is temperature and humidity controlled to allow ideal rise.
- Allowing the dough to fully proof gives the yeast time to produce gases.
- Gently pressing the dough out avoids degassing it too quickly.
Proper dough handling ensures maximum rise, light and airy texture, and the ideal bite and chew in the baked crust.
Dough Production Processes
For a national pizza chain like Little Caesars to keep up with huge demand, consistent dough production is vital. To achieve this, Little Caesars has standardized processes for high-volume dough making.
Mixing
Massive industrial mixers are used to combine large batches of ingredients. A typical mixer may hold several hundred pounds of dough. The mixers have powerful motors and specially designed mixing arms to thoroughly blend ingredients without overworking the dough. Little Caesars likely mixes doughs in stages, with a short initial mix followed by a rest period and then a final mix. This allows more control and optimizes dough consistency.
Dividing and Rounding
Once mixed, the large batch of dough must be portioned into individual dough balls. Divider-rounder machines accurately separate and form dough balls of a precise weight and shape. As the dough chunks are rounded, surface tension forms a smooth outer skin on each ball. This allows the dough balls to hold rising gases.
Proofing
The dough balls are placed in oiled tubs and racked in a humidity and temperature-controlled room for proofing. Maintaining the right proofing environment allows the dough to slowly ferment and rise without collapsing. Some Little Caesars locations may use retarder proofers that cold proof dough at cooler temperatures to extend fermentation.
Pressing
After proofing, the dough balls move to a make station where they are gently pressed into pizza rounds. Little Caesars likely uses sheeter machines that uniformly press and stretch dough balls into circles without degassing them. The dough retains its airier texture and structure from proofing.
Topping and Baking
The pressed dough rounds are topped with sauce and ingredients before being baked in conveyor or deck ovens at high heat. The intense heat sets the structure, creates rise, and bakes the crust to a crisp, lightly charred exterior while keeping an airy interior crumb. Proper baking is the final step in perfecting the Little Caesars crust.
Dough Production Timeline
From start to finish, it takes time to produce fresh dough every day in large quantities. Here is an overview of Little Caesars’ high-volume dough production timeline:
- Mixing – Large batches of dough are mixed and initially fermented for 30-60 minutes
- Dividing/Rounding – Dough is divided into dough balls, which takes about 10-15 minutes
- Proofing – Dough balls proof for 2-6 hours depending on temperature
- Pressing – Proofed dough balls are pressed into rounds as pizza orders come in, taking 1-2 minutes per dough ball
- Topping/Baking – Topped pizzas bake for 5-8 minutes in the oven
The most time-consuming stage is proofing, where dough needs several hours to develop flavor and texture from yeast fermentation. Actual dough mixing and pressing only take minutes. Little Caesars has their process timed so that new batches of dough balls are always proofing and ready for pressing and baking.
Dough Storage
To ensure fresh dough is always available for pizza making, Little Caesars has methods for storing and holding dough balls:
- Walk-in Refrigerators: After mixing, dough tubs can be held in refrigerated storage up to 2-3 days.
- Freezers: For longer storage, dough balls can be frozen for several weeks.
- Retarder Proofers: Dough balls proof slowly in temperature controlled proofers for up to 2 days.
The compressed production timeline means most Little Caesars dough balls are used within several hours. But having chilled and frozen storage options provides flexibility. Dough balls may be taken straight from cold storage to be pressed and topped to accommodate unexpected customer rushes.
Quality Control
Maintaining consistency across thousands of locations requires careful quality control measures. Little Caesars implements several controls:
- Supplier oversight ensures high-quality ingredients.
- Water temperature and ingredient percentages are standardized.
- Mixers, dividers, and proofers are calibrated.
- Final dough pH and bounce back are tested.
- Shelf life and storage conditions are monitored.
Adhering to strict protocols allows Little Caesars to achieve dough consistency and catch any process deviations before they impact quality.
Dough Nutrition
While dough ingredients are simple, the nutrition profile provides energy to fuel the yeast and build the crust structure:
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 270 |
| Carbs | 56g |
| Protein | 8g |
| Fat | 1g |
| Fiber | 2g |
The carbohydrates provide fuel for yeast fermentation. The protein from the flour allows gluten to develop. And the calories give the dough energy to proof and bake to a crispy crust.
Ingredient Supply Chain
To source consistent quality ingredients in the high volumes needed for national dough production, Little Caesars has an established supply chain:
- Flour – Sourced from major milling companies under strict specifications for protein content and functionality.
- Water – Local municipal sources tested to ensure purity and minerals do not impact dough qualities.
- Yeast – Secured from industrial yeast producers under requirements for viability and fermentation performance.
- Salt – Purchased from major salt suppliers that can provide exacting gradations and quantities.
- Sugar – Bought from large sugar processors that meet requirements for sweetness and granulation.
By partnering with major ingredient providers, Little Caesars can source what they need to keep fresh dough in stores nationwide. Specifications ensure ideal dough performance.
Dough Troubleshooting
With large volumes of dough being produced, Little Caesars occasionally has to troubleshoot dough issues including:
- Too stiff or soft – Flour protein content, ingredient ratios, and mixing are evaluated to achieve the proper dough consistency.
- Not rising sufficiently – Yeast activity, proofing temperature/humidity, and dough handling are assessed to improve rise.
- Flavor issues – Fermentation time, water purity, yeast health, and salt content are reviewed to achieve proper taste.
- Color problems – Mixing intensity, dough oxidation, and oven settings are checked to ensure ideal interior and exterior color.
Careful analysis of inputs and processes allows dough-related problems to be quickly identified and fixed.
Automation Technology
Producing vast quantities of dough requires specialized automation equipment. Little Caesars locations use several types of automated dough technology:
- Automated mixer-kneaders combine ingredients and knead dough with minimal human intervention.
- Divider-rounders portion and form dough balls at speeds impossible by hand.
- Conveyor proofers regulate temperature and humidity for consistent proofing.
- Powered dough sheeter-pressers push out dough rounds with precision.
- Spiral mixers with built-in controls and timers accurately mix batches.
By automating steps from mixing to pressing, Little Caesars optimizes dough production efficiency while minimizing labor and variability. This results in high product quality and consistency.
Pizza Dough Innovations
Little Caesars continually works to innovate their pizza dough:
- Exploring alternative flours like multigrain, whole wheat, and gluten-free to expand offerings.
- Testing dough conditioners and enzymes to strengthen dough structure.
- Implementing technologies like RFID tracking to follow dough through production.
- Developing new proofing and fermentation techniques to enhance flavor.
- Researching new yeast strains with improved gassing performance.
With R&D resources and test kitchens, Little Caesars can experiment to find ways of improving dough quality, efficiency, and taste. This innovation allows them to stay ahead in the competitive pizza market.
Conclusion
In summary, Little Caesars pizza dough contains just five basic ingredients: flour, water, yeast, salt, and sugar. But carefully following the steps of mixing, proofing, pressing, and baking results in the signature crust Little Caesars is known for. Their optimized dough production process, use of automation, and focus on innovation allow Little Caesars to deliver fresh, high quality dough every day in thousands of restaurants across the country. So the next time you bite into a hot Little Caesars pizza, you can appreciate the careful dough crafting that went into creating that tasty crust.