Hi Bakers,

I manage a small(tiny) bakery in the back of a larger restaurant kitchen. The majority of our product output consists of brioche hamburger buns, which we make in both a 4oz and 1.5oz size, and they have been suffering from the same issue since before I took over as manager. This is that, post-baking, the tops of our buns have evident, large bubbles in them giving them an uneven, ugly appearance. Many also suffer from cracks all over the top, as though they had expanded and then slightly collapsed in the oven. Also, when we cut into them a lot of them have large air pockets inside which makes them unsalable.

I will post some pictures as soon as I am able showing the 'problem areas', but for now any advice anyone can give will be hugely appreciated! I have made brioche buns en masse at one of my past jobs and so I know from experience that these issues are absolutely solvable; sadly, I do not remember the recipe used in that kitchen so I cannot check it for comparison.

Lastly: The recipe we use comes from a sponge made each day for the next day's dough, which will then be fermented overnight in the refrigerator before being cut and formed the day following. All of our cutting and forming is done by hand.

Okay! Thank you so much in advance for any tips. This has the potential to be a consistently great bun and I look forward to getting it there.

-Matt