Dealing With Pizza Dough

Pizza dough can be tricky, let's face it. Rolling it out with a rolling pin can produce an acceptable albeit flat pizza, and if you over work the dough it will simply stretch back like a rubber band (not to mention be tough to eat). 

Luckily I have the inside scoop on how to stretch the dough out for a pizza.

Step 1 Prep Work

First things first, get some dough. The easiest way is to stop by the closest local pizza place and buy their dough. You can make your own but then you're on your own for I have no idea how.

NOTE: Make sure to get the freshest dough possible. Ask nicely, flirt with the cashier, do what you have to but fresh dough makes all the difference.

After you get the dough, cover your work area in flour. This keeps the dough from sticking to anything. Then pick up the dough and flour the top and the bottom. Set the dough on the counter and then spin it in a circle with your hands on the sides. Try to get the flour on the sides of the ball and gently form it into a more perfect circle.

The easy part's done, now the hard part...

Comments

[ArtsyFartsyGirl]

How long will the dough last? Could I make a batch enough for 2 or more pizzas?
I guess it can be frozen,huh? I mean thats like cookie dough or oven bake biscuits

[ArtsyFartsyGirl]

Wow! That was one weird looking pizza! I didn't know that working the dough was such a process, i thought all I'd have to do is press it down into a circle and start with the toppings. I guess I would have had volcanoes and holes all over the place!! LOL

FYI: Di Giorno Pizza is the best frozen pizza you will ever find. Even tho its price has gone up to $7 and change, that's still half the price of delivery. It only takes about 25 minutes, which is just enough time to go to the bathroom,then wash your hands and set your table for dinner! Salad and a beer makes it perfect!! It comes with self-rising crust or thin crust.
Hey,I hope someone from DiGiorno is on this site and will ship me a free one for advertising for them! :)

[jackzylkin]

One thing you should mention: never work with refrigerated dough -- its too elastic and brittle. Let the dough sit at least 30 minutes at room temperature, so the yeast can fire up and the dough gets nice and gushy.

[Strombergundy]

Pressing out the dough with this method works fine with refrigerated dough. We've never had problems with cold dough but have had difficulties with room temperature dough. The most important thing though is that the dough is made fresh the same day you use it. Thanks!

[ElvenChild]

Well actually with a couplE of my pizza dough recipes the dough needs to proof for 24 hours

[arduno.com.mx]

A average price of a Pizza stone large one?

[TechNerd1012]

I bought an 18" round one at Grocery Outlet on sale for $9.99, with a metal carrying rack. But I dont know the price of a better, more professional one

[jwystup]

Mine was about $10 too, at Big Lots (a discount store)

[bombmaker2]

You should mention to slap it down before baking or this can happen

[Strombergundy]

I have been thinking about why this might happen and I think that step four, throwing the dough might help keep it from happening.

[bombmaker2]

I see how that might, similar to what you do when working with clay. But one of my favorite local pizzerias slaps the dough to pop any air pockets and that seems to help a lot because there is almost never any bubbles.

[moxiepurple]

I forgot the explain that docking is to make small holes in the dough. Oops!

[moxiepurple]

To avoid bubbles you want to dock the dough before topping, just use a fork and tap it all around the dough, then sauce and top. If you still get bubbles while baking deflate them with a fork/knife/tooth pick/ice pick. If you pull your pizza out and find you missed a bubble, grab your pizza cutter, flatten the bubble out, and pull the toppings and cheese inward to cover the blemished area, the cheese will still be gooey and as it cools down should set and cover that bubble explosion nicely.

[jwystup]

I use my nails. You still want to do this if you like bubbles, just do it less. It will avoid having a huge mound like in the picture. I still get bubbles when I poke around.

[mcraghead]

My kids LOVE the bubbles! I wonder if the air could be tamed into tons of 1" intentional bubbles all over the whole thing... think of the possibilities! A syringe of molten cheese/pizza sauce lava for a circular field of tiny volcanoesque calzones...
Great 'ible, by the way!

[bombmaker2]

You could just use a syringe with air in it. Use a tiny tiny amount though, because it expands drastically. The pic above was not any noticable air underneath and look what happened. BTW I too love bubbles.

[moxiepurple]

lol, okay that's the best reason to keep the bubbles. =D

[TechNerd1012]

lol thats awesome with the pepperoni the way it is on the mound, it looks like someone peeking up from the pizza

[bombmaker2]

Lol that it does. The bubble was the best part to eat. It was like ultra ultra thin pizza

[TechNerd1012]

lol I bet it was

[bombmaker2]

Yup.

[thepelton]

Remember the movie "Spaceballs"? It's Pizza the Hut!

[TechNerd1012]

hahaha I forgot all about that part! Now I have to go watch Spaceballs again...