Why Is Pizza Dough Tossed?

Last updated on August 6th, 2022 at 10:00 am

Almost everyone has seen pizza dough being tossed in the air. A majority of people have only witnessed this in movies and TV shows. Is pizza dough tossing even a thing other than on TV? 

There are a few different pizza places that offer hand-tossed pizza. While it may not be as popular in everyday life as it is in movies and TV, is there a reason that the dough is hand-tossed? 

Does the pizza dough bake or taste better when it’s hand-tossed? 

When the pizza dough is tossed in the air, the dough stretches into a circular pizza shape. Throwing the pizza in the air helps to avoid any tears that might happen. 

Using your fingers to press the crust in a circular shape is fine to do, but you do run the risk of tearing the pizza dough. Throwing the dough in the air is the “old school” way of making pizza but won’t necessarily make it taste any better than forming the crust using another method. 

Do You Have To Toss Pizza Dough? 

Pizza dough tossing takes lots of practice to perfect. If you see someone tossing pizza dough in a pizzeria, chances are they’ve been doing it for a while. Tossing pizza may come naturally for some, but still needs some practice. 

If you plan on making pizza at home with friends and family, do you have to hand-toss the pizza dough? Is that a necessary step in the pizza-making process? 

Tossing the pizza dough is not a necessary step to do in the pizza-making process. You can press your dough into a pan for a deep-dish pizza or you can press your dough out on a pan and roll in some cheese to the crust for some homemade stuffed crust pizza. 

You do not need to hand-toss the pizza to enjoy delicious pizza at home. 

How Long Does Pizza Dough Need To Rise? 

Baking pizza at home is a fun experience to enjoy with the family. However, if you have a few little ones running around the house, you can also use pizza making as a teaching opportunity. 

The dough-making process is fun but takes a bit of time. You can have fun mixing the ingredients for the pizza dough together, but then it’s time to wait. Making pizza together is a great way to teach patience. 

In a world where almost everything is instant, baking in the kitchen is an excellent way to teach your little children the virtue of patience. 

With that being said, how much patience is needed in the dough rising process? Just how long do you have to wait to allow the dough to properly rise? 

Pizza dough needs about an hour to an hour and a half to rise properly. You can also put the pizza dough in the fridge and allow the dough to rise overnight. 

The best way to know whether or not the pizza dough is ready is by seeing if it has doubled in size. 

Do You Have To Knead Pizza Dough? 

Almost everyone has a favorite pizza and pizza place. Each pizza place offers different pizza and pizza crusts. Some places offer stuffed crust while others offer deep dish. 

Some pizza places will also flavor their crusts with Parmesan, garlic, cheese, and other herbs. 

If you enjoy baking, you can try and recreate your favorite pizza place’s pizza. However, if you are doing everything from scratch you can add different items to make your favorite pizza even better. 

If you are making your pizza from scratch, the dough-making process can seem a bit intense. With all these steps and waiting, are you able to skip the kneading process? Do you absolutely have to knead the pizza dough to achieve a delicious tasting crust? 

The kneading process is crucial to creating a delicious crust. Kneading the pizza dough helps the gluten form. If you do not knead the dough long enough, your pizza might not stretch thin enough to cover the pan. 

If the dough won’t stretch thin, you could end up with a thick, doughy crust that will take a long time to bake. 

However, if you end up kneading the dough for a bit too long, your crust will end up a bit crispier than you were hoping. Over-kneading leads to a crumbly crust instead of a light and airy one. It is recommended to knead pizza dough for about four to six minutes. 

What Happens If You Don’t Let The Pizza Dough Rise? 

Baking bread can be an intense process, but it is worth it. You can buy bread from the store, but there is a sense of accomplishment when you bake your own bread. The bread baking process can seem a bit long, and if you are even the tiniest bit impatient, it might seem impossible to bake bread. 

The pizza dough-making process is very similar to that of the bread-making process. Is it possible to skip the dough rising process to make it go a little faster? If the time got away from you and your dough was rising for too long, is that an issue? 

It is very important that you do not skip the rising process for your pizza dough. If the dough does not rise properly, the texture can end up being rubbery and a bit dense. 

The purpose of the rising process is to allow the yeast to ferment and the dough to fill with gas. This is what gives it that airy texture you love in pizza crust. Additionally, if you don’t let the dough rise properly, you will lose some of the flavors in the crust. 

The rising and fermentation process is where the pizza crust flavor comes from. 

If you let the pizza dough rise for too long, the crust can end up becoming crumbly and lose its airy texture. It can also end up being dense and very thick, almost like leftover pizza crust. 

Final Thoughts

Tossing pizza dough isn’t just something that’s done in the movies. You can toss your own pizza dough at home. While it is not necessary for the pizza dough-making process, it sure is fun. 

It might end up being a little messy, but spinning some pizza dough in the kitchen with friends and family can lead to some great memories.