Can anyone 'Toss' their dough to make a base?

[dunnes2002]

I know not all pizziolo's do this as it's a bit of a party piece.... which is exactly why i want to learn to do it It seems to be the only thing missing from my pizza nights, everyone asks if i can do it which i sadly have to say no.

I think i'll end up learning from a youtube video or something similar but i wondered if anyone does it and if they have any tips?

Expecially if the the of dough has to be a particular kind? I use caputo pizza flour which may be too stretchy.

I was even thinking of working for a local pizza company for free if they could teach me... that may have been drink fuelled though!

[spinal]

I do this, less as a party trick and more as a way to get some paper thin bases. I'm not good at it, but I can get a base out without too many being grabbed by the dog.

Advice:
- do this alone, with no-one to point and laugh. Make sure the ceiling is high enough for the first few tries.
- use caputo blue or red (or other high gluten flour)
- make your dough - ensure it's moist, then cut into single-pizza size balls. Flatten out to about 1cm thickness (with a rolling pin if you wish), then allow to rest at least 15 minutes.
- flatten further, until it's wide enough that you can start tossing it vertically (easier to catch) with a spin. you'll notice that the center will get pulled thin, and the sides will form a ring that will be your crust
- get the dog out of the kitchen, throw away the base he grabbed
- if at any point you notice the dough starting to rip rather than stretch, put that base down and let it rest another 10-15 minutes.
- once you have a few bases spinning vertically (wont be round, gravity will deform them); try spinning horizontally. Use closed fists (knuckles) to catch them to stop the base tearing.
- With your knuckles, pull the base outwards, then give it a small spin (this is where you need a lot of practice).
- cook & eat the deformed bases; don't let others have them!

M.

[rivergirl]

No, I always end up with a mess!

[dunnes2002]

cheers spinal, think i've got some dough in the freezer so i'll get that out and start practising this weekend. I imagine it will take me many attempts before i get anwhere near doing it correctly....

[cannyfradock]

Dunnes

I think that Spinal is a bit of a Pizziola on the quiet. Great advice from him btw.

I tried the "no one looking" method in my kitchen, then got cocky and tried it in front of my students on my clay oven workshops. This is outside and when I tried it (not very high) the wind caught it and it landed half on my my face and half in my hair....much to the amusement of my paying guests. One of the students on that course used a brilliant technique which Spinal has described. I happened to take a picture of him (Rod) using the fingers of the back of his hands to stretch the pizza base.



He didn't toss the pizza.....there was no need as he stretched the pizza base out perfectly using this technique to create the perfect base for a Neopolitan type pizza......I'm still learning!!

Terry

[spinal]

This is what I keep wishing I could do:


What's funny is there's an "international acrobatic pizzaiolo" competition in Italy... here's the SIXTH place... imagine what the first place did...



Edit: Was looking at some random videos of the championship, and found a sponsor called "Throw Dough" - it's a practice pizza base for pizza spinning...
store.uspizzateam.com

No idea if they ship to the UK, but seems like a way to practice that doesn't shrink your shirt collars/waists...

[adm]

Yes, but.....I don't want to.

I'd rather open my pizza dough ball a bit more gently. Definitely some gravity stretching over the back of the hands, but no throwing it in the air. My dog doesn't like raw dough,

Although if you do fling it, a higher percentage of oil might help - maybe 2% or so.

www.pizzamaking.com/forum for answers to any pizza question you may ever have....

[adm]

Yes, but.....I don't want to.

I'd rather open my pizza dough ball a bit more gently. Definitely some gravity stretching over the back of the hands, but no throwing it in the air. My dog doesn't like raw dough,

Although if you do fling it, a higher percentage of oil might help - maybe 2% or so.

www.pizzamaking.com/forum for answers to any pizza question you may ever have....

[firebeard]

I learnt form youtube, its a while since I looked on there but if you hunt around there is some good stuff. The main thing you need is a dough that is extendable. If you want to do the fancy throwing you need stronger dough like the New York style pizzas. Save your rolling pin for pastry pizzas are best made by hand.