Using the Chamber vacuum to hydrate cookie dough?

General
1

Was reading thru the following cookie Anova recipe suggests using precision chamber vacuum to accelerate dough hydration but does not go into any detail.

https://oven.anovaculinary.com/recipe/AHvyP6iTlndURu8wbhQY

Just looking for details like vacuum mode, duration etc.

Also since the Anova Precision Chamber Vacuum limits your choice in cookware dimension would using a FoodSaver style vacuum storage container with the edge sealer external hose attachment achieve a similar result?

Lastly, from a food science perspective, what is going on here and how does it play into the end “cookie” result?

2

I can’t speak to cookies, but I played around with tortilla dough. One cycle of the compress/pickle setting, and that dough was hydrated well. You can see the difference really well, and I don’t think it would have benefited from a second cycle anymore. I imagine cookie dough would work the same. I have hydrated tortilla dough with a food saver, but still had to let it sit for 10 mins. Chamber Vac did it in 40 sec.

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3

Thanks @bobbynate. That is so cool. Make we want to do some tortilla dough as well now.

4

Blockquote Lastly, from a food science perspective, what is going on here and how does it play into the end “cookie” result?

Yes, please, enquiring minds would like to know. I have made a ton of cookies of many kinds and don’t recall ever “hydrating” cookie dough.

5

You surely have, that’s one of the purposes of the “rest” step in many cookie recipes. (The other one, if it’s a refrigerated rest, is to solidify the butter).

Hydrating here I think just means letter the water distribute evenly throughout the dough (letting the dry ingredients, primarily flour, soak up water from the wet ingredients like butter and eggs).

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