Flying Pizza with Tony Gemignani
You’re going to love this one! Tony schools me on the art of dough tossing, both for function and for acrobatics.
As those who have made my recipes know, my doughs tend to be too wet and fragile for tossing so I always use flour on the back of my hands, with my thumbs on the edges, to rotate it around. Tony’s dough, which is firmer and not sticky, was easy to toss around and, after a few minutes of lessons from the master I was not embarrassing myself too much (we had gathered a nice crowd round us, there in the middle of North Beach, SF, where Tony’s Pizza Napoletana is located). This webisode should prove instructive for any of you who want to toss your dough the way the professionals do and, in these few simple instructions, Tony really does give us a lot information and technique. Enjoy the short tease at the end of Tony spinning dough for us–it is but a small sample of what he can do when he gets going. There are other videos of Tony on YouTube doing competitions and exhibitions and, for those who have never seen him or heard of him before now, you should know that for about ten years he was pretty much unbeatable and a many time world champion before then winning the world championship for his Margherita pizza. Sit back and enjoy–this one is pure fun!
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Great tips! Thanks for sharing. Looks like fun.
Can I assume that’s not the same dough style he uses for his Margherita?
Correct, this is probably closer to the one he uses for his NY style Pizza.
Great tips and re-balling dough to tighten it up is a great idea if you’re working on your dough tossing.. of course there are plenty of other ways to open dough, but this way gets the greatest response!
Peter,
I think I heard Tony say that you were tossing one of your doughs. I have made a few of your delayed fermentation doughs and after they have been on a counter for a few hours before making a pie, the dough almost oozes down my arms and I can only toss it once or twice before it is the correct size. How did you get the dough to stay workable, so that it could be tossed around and almost “played with”?
Peter,
Did you get a chance to try Tony’s New Yorker pizza? We ordered that one, and the Margherita. While we enjoyed the Margherita for its simplicity and austerity, the New Yorker absolutely sang. It was easily one of the most delicious slices of pie I’ve ever had the chance to eat, and quite possibly one of the most delicious things I’ve eaten, ever!