Don’t Throw Out Torn Dough….Try this Instead! – Pizza University & Culinary Arts Center (2024)

FAQs

Why do chefs throw pizza dough in the air? ›

Despite what you might think it's not just for show. Even though it does look pretty cool when they do it. It's actually the best way to evenly spread out the dough before you make the pizza. It creates a uniform crust and also helps the dough retain moisture.

Tossing pizza dough into the air uses what is known as “centripetal force” to give pizza a near perfect circular shape and allows the crust to be thicker and for the center to be thinner. It also gives the dough a more satisfying texture.

At first glance it may seem like tossing pizza dough is just a fancy way to shape and stretch out the dough. But dough tossing isn't just fun to watch, it is the most effective and gentile way to form the crust. Throwing pizza dough extends the dough and stretches it into the perfect shape.

The perforated pizza pan is essential to allow the dough to cook evenly without becoming crunchy. Its holes allow excess moisture and the CO2 produced by the leavening process to escape so that the dough can cook rapidly without forming bubbles.

That's cornmeal, hands down. The main reason you sprinkle cornmeal or flour onto the bottom of your pizza tray or pizza stone is so that it will stick to the bottom of the pizza dough. This way when it cooks it won't stick to the pan.

Considered the gold standard for pasta and pizza dough, 00 flour is a finely ground Italian flour. Here in the U.S., we categorize flours by how much protein they contain, which directly affects the gluten formation in whatever we're making.

Over-fermented dough can get fragile and tear easily when you try to shape it (it can even fall apart).

The underdeveloped gluten molecules will cause your dough to flop around and tear easily. While underworked dough can simply be fixed by a little more kneading, severely overworked dough cannot be fixed.

What does air do to dough? ›

Dough with a high ratio of mechanically added air will also be soft, ready to scoop when cold, and eager to change shape in the oven.

Knocking back

This process bursts the tiny air bubbles that have formed in the dough and then forces them to reform again in the final shape you want, which results in a smoother texture. For some bread recipes – such as ciabatta – irregular holes are desired, so the dough is not knocked back.

If your dough is looking good though, then there's no need to knock back. You can just leave it to prove as normal. However, some people decide to incorporate knocking back into their normal pizza making process. What it can help to achieve is a more even texture in the pizza, particularly in the crusts.

The resulting aeration is what creates the height you want in a crust so that when it bakes, it comes out crispy, airy and light. This step may seem minor, but skipping it (or doing it incorrectly) can lead to a dense, springy texture and unpleasant flavor.