Dough tossing advice

[rjdirienzo]

I need some advice/tips on hand tossing my dough. Generally one of two things happens, 1. if I let the dough rise for less than about two hours before tossing only one toss is needed to make a nice circular 12" pie, but the center becomes too thin compared to the outer edge of the pie, or 2. if I let my dough rise for longer than a couple of hours I have a much tougher time forming a nice circular shaped pie. Usually when I make my dough tosses the dough expands in one direction forming an oblong football shaped pizza pie.

If anyone has any tips on how to become better at hand tossing please share them!

[edschmidt]

How do you get to broadway you ask, practice, besides that easters coming up, the egg shaped pizza's will be a hit, woulda been great for superbowl as well.

[Inishta]

Hi rj..............who said pizza has to be round anyway.............

Stick with it.

[dmun]

I cold retard my dough balls, ideally for three days, so they are cold when they come out of the fridge. I find the ability to stretch the dough depends a lot on the temperature. I find they work best when cool but not cold, about 45 minutes out of the fridge. When they are room temperature or warmer, it's pretty much free-form shapes. Once they reach the ball stage, you want to handle the dough gently, and quickly to stretch it out.

The thin center can be helped by starting to press your dough out into a disk at the edges, leaving a thicker part in the center. That way, when you stretch the skin there's more dough in the center to start with.

[asudavew]

Hard to explain...
But I'll post a video this weekend.
I have a nifty little technique for keeping the dough round and thicker in the middle.


Dave

[rjdirienzo]

Funny.... I was making the football shaped pizza the day of the big game. Maybe that is what caused the football shaped pie!

dmum, are you saying that you form the dough balls and then move them right into the refridgerator for three days? I'll have to give that a try.

I look forward to seeing asudavew's video!

[dmun]

Originally Posted by rjdirienzo

dmum, are you saying that you form the dough balls and then move them right into the refridgerator for three days? I'll have to give that a try.

I hate to kneed, so I let time do the work. I stir together my ingredients until everything is wet, I let it sit for 20 minutes, then I kneed it on a floured surface, maybe 6 times, only a few seconds, just enough to form it into a ball. I let it rise at room temperature under cling wrap until doubled, then flatten it out gently, and use a bowl scraper to divide it into sections, which I form into balls, put in individual plastic storage bowls with holes poked in the covers, and into the fridge for three days. I pull them out 45 - 60 minutes before they are needed, and freeze any that aren't.

500 grams of caputo makes four small balls, or three big ones.

[RTflorida]

dmun, the dough balls don't "skin" putting them in containers with holes? interesting...I'm going to have to try it.

RT

[dmun]

No, they don't "skin", the important thing is how big the container is. I use the "disposable" containers rubbermaid makes for carrying lunch. (It's amazing what we think of as disposable) The container should be about twice the size of the ball - that keeps the air (and the dough) damp enough to avoid skinning. The hole is small, just poked through with a small screwdriver or icepick.

[RTflorida]

Got it, will give it a try....we have about a dozen of those "disposable" containers. Thanks