How to stretch dough

[RTflorida]

Re: How to stretch dough

How about Hawaii? It would give you a plate of one bite appetizers...Amuse-Bouche to the culinary elite. Hey I think I just turned pizza into trendy, high and mighty, fine dining......gentleman, a coat and tie will be required for all ovenside dining.

RT

[Frances]

Re: How to stretch dough

You could try Italy minus Vatican City, that'd be an interesting shape for a pizza - or hey, go for the entire Mediteranean Ocean.

I think you may just have started a new Category: Lakes around the World. Or Oceans, depending on the size of your hole....

[texassourdough]

Re: How to stretch dough

Hi PizzaP!

Now that is FUNNY!

How about California (a good wet dough shape) and Death Valley (sort of a hole!) or Utah and Great Salt Lake (but the state shape is awfully squarish!) or Florida and Lake Okeechobee (sp?)

Jay

[PizzaPolice]

Re: How to stretch dough

Is there a state or country that has a hole in it? If so, I want to play.

[texassourdough]

Re: How to stretch dough

I like your idea Frances! Perhaps we should consider ourselves geographical pizziaolists and should photograph our masterpieces. Had I had the proper perspective I could have photographs of a Latin American collection.
- South America (actually pretty good for my early days)
- Argentina (a bit more extreme)
- Chile (unfortunately it tore so it should have been considered "after the earthquake")
)

Now that I use the bench approach my pizzas are slightly thicker but much rounder. I need to work on the slap to thin them just a bit more. OTOH, the thicker dough is bubblier and has a great crust/chew contrast.

There is (and I joke not) a part of me that finds the round pies boring. Geographical pizzas help remind our guests they are NOT COMMERCIAL!

Thanks

[Frances]

Re: How to stretch dough

I think Frances was joking....

I think she was, too...

Pure jelousy of course... yep, these people are fast!

My Pizzas look like Switzerland or Australia. Hey, that could be a new Pizza Party game: Which continent, country or state does your Pizza most resemble? And you'd get extra points for pizzas looking like Peru or Austria. Or topings which resemble the topography.

[egalecki]

Re: How to stretch dough

Well, I do press it with the little rim around the edge first on the bench, but after that I do most of my shaping off the bench. I just don't seem to be able to get the dough to stretch evenly all the way around, hence Texas and Ohio. I'll try dipping the balls in flour first and see if that helps, but I'm beginning to wonder if I just need to do more folds or something before I make the dough balls, so I get more even gluten development. I make a wet dough like most of us here.

I did have much better shaping with the FB flour, by the way. I need to ask for more for my upcoming birthday!

[texassourdough]

Re: How to stretch dough

Hi Mitchamus!

I agree - the "tab" over the edge is at best weird! It appears deliberate and I have no idea why!

And, Elizabeth... "Round is in the eyes of the beholder!" More seriously, if you have enough flour on the dough, making it round is pretty easy and the excess can be knocked off. But it is slow for it is a lot like the first part of the "first video" where the guy is stretching it on the counter (before he starts knuckle streatching it and such). Many of us on this site make wetter dough than are probably in any of these videos and that really complicates roundness if you hand work the dough OFF of the bench. OTOH, my favorite pizzaiolo does wet and soft and round so....

Once I started dipping my dough balls in flour before forming my pies did get much rounder no matter how I tried.

PS. I laughed out loud and my wife wanted to know what was funny when I read your "Texas and Ohio" comment! )

Jay

[dkyowell]

Re: How to stretch dough

Mine always look like Texas or Ohio.

Now that would be a neat trick, sure to impress guests around here.

[Mitchamus]

Re: How to stretch dough

It's strange how the Japanese guy does the sneaky extra 'gravity stretch' over the edge of the counter!

[egalecki]

Re: How to stretch dough

I think Frances was joking....

These guys scare me... not only are they waaayyy too fast, all their pizzas turn out ROUND! Mine always look like Texas or Ohio.

[texassourdough]

Re: How to stretch dough

I am not so sure it was sped up either. If it was the acceleration is subtle. The guys motions aren't particularly fast nor are the flames. The key times are the dough is finished at 24 seconds. The toppings are on by 45 and on the peel and in the oven at 55. He turns the pizza at 1 min 26 sec. At 1 min 52 or so he lifts the pizza up in the dome to finish it and pulls it about 1 min 59 sec.

The oven appears pretty hot and the flames are large. While they may have chopped some frames during the baking it isn't obvious. I don't routinely cook pizzas in an oven hot enough to do a 1 minute pizza but it is probably doable if you pay attention like he did. I might try it next time I fire up - do one early for the fire gods! )
Jay

[KiwiPete]

Re: How to stretch dough

Update:

I just found the clip I referred to above.
It shows the guy cooking the pizzas with a stopwatch being shown continuously in a corner of the screen. He does 8 pizzas in 3mins and 48 secs.

you see for yourself here: YouTube

The amazing thing is that he doesn't even look stressed out or overly hurried..

[Mitchamus]

Re: How to stretch dough

Nah... I recon they speeded up the film. Its the only realistic explanation.

I agree!

[KiwiPete]

Re: How to stretch dough

Sorry but I don't think it has been sped up...If you do a search on Youtube you will find many clips that demonstrate a similar speed.

I saw a clip about a year ago that featured a japanese pizzaiolo (who also was the first foreigner to win the pizzaiolo championship in Naples). He cooked either 8 or 9 pizzas in about 3 minutes. And I mean starting by stretching the dough balls, topping, cooking and plating up in that time...