How to Throw Pizza Dough Like a Pro

So many Readers know I’m a (most of time) former pizza maker. One of the things people always liked to ask me would be if I knew how to throw pizza dough in the air like you see in movies and some famous ones pizzerias. Paulie Giannone, founder of Pizzeria by Paulie Gee (I worked at Paulie Gee’s Logan Square in Chicago), generally discouraged from practice. “Throw is show,he would say. I did it anyway.

In short, yes I can throw a batter in the air, although I’m not particularly good at it. Some of my colleagues were absolutely amazing which delighted kids and adults alike as the restaurant has an open kitchen. Travis and Danny, two of my former colleagues, have a special knack for it; Travis always gets a really impressive airtime with his while Danny commands a rotation speed that blows my mind again and again.

The pros and cons of tossing pizza dough

Paulie ibut is right: for mostly, Throwing is not a good way to stretch pizza dough. Wwith softer dough types, how Neapolitan style I often have to do with you running a real risk of putting holes in it if you throw it around. This renders the dough useless during a fast-paced service—and since we cold-fermented the dough in a three-day process, it was of course a big waste when we punctured or dropped it.

For slower services Restless pizza makers like to practice their throw without using the restaurant’s resources. One way we would practice was over Use wet kitchen towels that are about the weight of dough, but need to be the right level of moisture. If it was too wet, it would splash water everywhere (and on to her colleagues), but when too dry, the towel floated around unevenly and was difficult to manage.

There is however a specific tool for practice—actually a toy—called throw dough. It’s exactly what sounds like: a simulated silicone pizza crust the roughly mimics the texture and weight from raw pizza dough. Its edges are knurled to match those of a real pizza crust, so the weight is distributed like the real thing.

These tools are fun and you can get them online. Amazon sells a 13″ round for $37, or you can get a similar 13-inch device Online shop of the US Pizza Team for $25 if you want to learn how to toss pizza dough at home. I must warn you that you are a little touchy; If you use your fingertips a lot to poke that thing up in the air, you run the risk of piercing it. (Another way in which these things are realistic.)

How one throw pizza dough like a pro

I am Not the most coordinated person, but one thing I know for sure: the start is really important. Travis always likens it to a layup to a basketball. You want to use the palm of your dominant hand with a light fingertip to throw the batter in the air and wiggle your wrist sharply (like spinning a basketball for a layup). The dough must be parallel to the floor when lifted; Any angles will make it harder to recapture on the descent, or harder to keep up in the air if you plan on bouncing it back up.

On the way down, you can either land the dough on your knuckles, nudge it very gently with your fingertips (a maneuver only ideal with a thrown dough), or launch your palm for a re-launch to keep the fun going . Real dough stretches to hilarious proportions quickly, and when you’re good, these things can get wafer-thin and downright huge. someday it will tear at what point You can cry or not. A throwing dough doesn’t get any bigger, of course, since it’s made of silicone, but you’ll get infinite throws of it — or at least in theorybecause they eventually break out Wear and tear.

Honestly, throwing pizza dough is as fun as it sounds. At home, dough is more of a valuable resource since it’s probably destined for dinner, so I really don’t recommend it as a home cooking technique. But if you want to try throwing dough without losing a meal, give yourself an exercise Play around version. And if you don’t have high ceilings, I strongly recommend that you only practice outdoors, as you’re bound to end up with a disaster in the beginning. With practice, you’ll look like a master pizzaiolo and have a really special party trick to show off to your friends. Or you can get a job at a pizzeria like I did.