Dough Mixing 101 with Ooni Halo Pro

Written by Dan Hall, aka mozza_fella

If you’ve decided to take the plunge and buy a Halo Pro Spiral Mixer - or if you’re considering one - you probably have a lot of questions about how to get the most out of it and take your pizza game to the next level. This guide covers the basics and answers some of the most common questions I get about spiral mixers!

Why Temperature Matters

First things first: when you’re making dough by hand, you only add a very small amount of heat through kneading. You might even use slightly warmer dough to kickstart fermentation and get the yeast going. But if you try that in a spiral mixer, you’ll end up with a very sticky mess!

All mixers add heat through friction as the dough mixes. To counteract this, you need to use colder ingredients so that by the end of the mixing process, your dough reaches the ideal temperature.

If you’re really into nerding out over your dough like I am, there’s even a mathematical formula you can follow - I’ve included it at the bottom of this post! But to keep it simple: use colder water and flour at ambient temperature. The ideal temperature for your mixed dough is 24°C (75°F), giving the yeast the best chance to ferment perfectly.

Power and Speed Settings

Halo is built with power in mind, but that doesn’t mean you should crank it up to 100% when you turn it on. Start slowly to bring the dough together, then increase speed once gluten begins to develop. Pushing the mixer too fast too early can overheat the dough and damage gluten formation. For most doughs, the first speed handles incorporation, and the second speed is for strengthening. If you make higher hydration dough (more water) then you’ll find high speed mixing essential to your process!

Spiral vs Planetary Mixers

Spiral mixers, like Halo, move both the bowl and the hook, creating a gentler action that develops gluten evenly without overheating the dough. Planetary mixers, on the other hand, rely on the hook moving in a fixed bowl. They’re better suited for things like batters and meringues but less efficient for bread doughs, they also generally don’t have the power to handle dough properly, I’ve seen many a planetary mixer burn out making dough (or bouncing off a work top).

Making your Dough + What to Avoid

Below is my personal method on how I like to use a mixer. I’ve made thousands of batches of dough in spiral mixers, and this is what I’ve found to work best for me.

1. Weigh out all your ingredients. Don’t forget to make sure your water temperature is correct!)
2. Add your flour to the mixing bowl. Remember, the Halo bowl is detachable and fits perfectly on Ooni scales, making it ideal for measuring.
3. Add your yeast. For fresh yeast, crumble it into the flour. For instant yeast, add directly to the flour. For active yeast, follow the instructions and deduct any water used to activate it.
4. Mix on low for a minute to break up any clumps of flour.
5. Add about 90% of your water. If using sourdough, now’s the time to add your starter. Mix on low until incorporated.
6. Add the salt and slowly add the remaining water while mixing.
7. Don’t add it all at once - overhydrating will leave your dough sloppy.
8. Increase the speed during the last few minutes of mixing until you achieve that smooth, “pumpkin-like” dough.
9. Check the dough temperature and mix until you hit the magic number.
10. Rest the dough for about 30 minutes, give it a couple of rotations, and then let it ferment.

Additional Tips:

• Remember to use colder water.
• Don’t crank the mixer to max.
• Add your ingredients slowly, not all at once.

How to Tell When Your Dough is Done

You’ll know your dough is ready when, after about 15 minutes of mixing, it’s smooth and has reached roughly the magic temperature of 24°C (75°F).

Because of how spiral mixers work, your dough may also take on a “pumpkin-shaped” appearance. I like to give my dough a little rest in the mixer for about 30 minutes, then give the bowl a couple of rotations. This allows the gluten to relax before firming it up again.

Another sign to watch for is a popping sound coming from the dough - a subtle but reliable indicator that it’s properly mixed.

Clean up

The good news is, if you’ve followed my tips and have a nice, silky dough, cleanup should be a breeze. The dough will naturally pull away from the sides of the bowl as it mixes, so you won’t need to scrape it down - plus, the bowl is dishwasher safe!

Final Thoughts and the Geeky Stuff

You’re not going to get your settings perfect from day one. Different flours or recipes will behave differently, but over time you’ll learn to spot what a good dough looks like. As you gain confidence, experiment with the speed and tweak your recipes! Most importantly - have fun! Pizza is a mix of science and art.

Although the Halo is optimised for making dough, don’t forget it has interchangeable attachments. The flexible beater is perfect for cakes and cookies, while the whisk is incredible for mixing cream, meringues, and other light batters.

The Maths: How to Attain Perfect Dough Temperature

So, what is the Desired or Final Dough Temperature (DDT/FDT)? Essentially, it’s the ideal temperature for your dough at the end of mixing. Hitting this temperature gives the yeast the right conditions to ferment properly, maximises enzymatic activity, and helps you create light, delicious dough.

Working out DDT/FDT might look complicated, but it’s actually pretty straightforward:

Start with our magic number, 24°C (75°F), and multiply it by 3.
Measure your air temperature and flour temperature using an instant-read thermometer.
Factor in the friction factor - yes, it does sound like an 80s game show! This is the heat the mixer adds to the dough during kneading. For a spiral mixer, it’s roughly 11°C (51°F) over a 15-minute mix.

Finally, subtract the air temperature, flour temperature, and friction factor from your DDT/FDT. This gives you the required water temperature.

With this formula, you can consistently hit the perfect dough temperature every time.

The Formula

The formula for this is (DDT/FDT x 3) - Room Temperature - Flour Temperature - Friction Factor  = Water temperature

So for example: 69c - 20c - 20c - 11c = 18c

Therefore in this example we’d want to make sure our water was at 18c before mixing

And that’s all there is to it, sounds complicated, but in reality it’s pretty simple!