Tossing Pizza Dough

It’s hard to describe how to toss pizza/work dough, so I’ll post a video at some point. My friend, who works in a very classy New York Pizzeria, is a food critic, and a pie-slinging expert, sent me a video which I can’t find, but I’ll post that as well when I find it. Here’s the best I can do in text form–this technique is based off a variety of videos and instructions, condensed down to the most accessible. This takes practice! Don’t lose heart if it’s not easy the first time. This is my favorite step of the pizza making process–have fun with it!

Do not roll the dough with a rolling pin. This will result in a flat, textureless pizza reminiscent of what you’d get in a school cafeteria. Place your dough ball on a floured work surface, and flatten it into a uniform, circular shape. If you’re cooking your pie in a metal pan or baking sheet, you can flour that and using it as a work surface.

Work the dough out outwards from the center using the heel of your hand. Use enough pressure to stretch the dough, but not enough to pierce it. If your dough isn’t stretching, try adding more flour to your work surface. If it feels dry like an animal skin, add a small amount of water to the dough and work it in.

Place your left hand on the dough, and your right hand on the circumference. Using your right hand, apply slight pressure to the outside, and using your left hand, maintain the width/shape of the circle while slowly rotating it. The goal here is to create a slight lip on the outside without squishing the circle. Whatever you don’t press down on will rise in the oven.

Using the tips of your fingers, repeatedly press down firmly on the pie (imagine you’re a monkey angry at a piano). This should cause the pie to slowly stretch. Work on the thickest areas until your circle is relatively thin. At this stage, you do not want it so thin it is translucent. If the dough has ripped, you can wet your hands and work the surrounding area to reform over the hole.

Place your hands on the edge of the pie in a 11-and-1 clock position, and lift it in the air, resting the pie on the heel of your hand. The bottom of the pie should slowly sag, stretching the pizza. If it isn’t sagging, your dough is too dry.

Very gently stretch the dough by moving your left hand towards 10-o’clock, leaving your right hand in it’s current position. Most of the stretching should be done with your wrists, where they’re resting on the dough–you can also just hold the dough and let gravity do most of the work. Once you have gently stretched it, move your left hand back to 11-o’clock and slide your right hand to 2-o’clock. Use your right hand to turn the dough through your left hand (like letting a steering wheel slide through your hand) and grasp the dough at 11-and-1 again. Repeat this process until you have gone around the entire pie. If there are parts of the pie that are getting too thin (translucent or starting to rip), skip stretching those areas and be mindful of how the dough is sagging.

Optional: If you’re feeling very ambitious, form fists with your hand and place them close to each other under the dough. Be careful, as it will stretch over your arms. Carefully toss the dough in an upwards, circular motion, very gently allowing the dough to stretch on your hands as you catch it. It’s very easy to go overboard here and rip your dough. Don’t panic if it rips! It’s easily fixed with tiny bit of water and massaging. Worst case scenario, you put the dough back into a ball and get to start the fun process again 🙂