I know some carp anglers who freeze or at least chill their dough balls so they stay on the hook longer but dissolve fairly fast, while others bake their baits to make them hard so they dissolve ...

Single hookbait fishing is most effective with pop-ups, making rigs like the Ronnie rig, hinge rig, or a chod rig the most favoured due to their success in presenting over debris and hooking carp.