Trying to better my stretching. I’ve tried the finger tip pressing technique, but it doesn’t seem to get me anywhere and the dough just bounces back.
I can roll it over my knuckles to stretch it, but I’m having an issue with my crust being a little doughy and wonder if that’s the reason.
Any advice or pointers? The pizza is looking like this:
https://imgur.com/a/UrzQtgh/
by Ravello
5 Comments
Hello /u/Ravello!
It appears that you are asking a question. Did you already check the following sources?
– [Frequently Asked Questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/neapolitanpizza/wiki/faq/)
– Already [ANSWERED](https://www.reddit.com/r/neapolitanpizza/new/?f=flair_name%3A%22ANSWERED%22) Questions
– [Beginners Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/neapolitanpizza/comments/f8a5l8/faq_and_beginners_guide_to_neapolitan_pizza/) and [Image Guide](https://styles.redditmedia.com/t5_10luxk/styles/image_widget_3ft4tn2baku41.png)
– [Glossary](https://www.reddit.com/r/neapolitanpizza/wiki/resources/glossary)
**If your question specifically concerns your pizza dough, please post your full recipe (exact quantities of all ingredients in weight, preferably in grams) and method (temperature, time, ball/bulk-proof, kneading time, by hand/machine, etc.). That also includes what kind of flour you have used in your pizza dough. There are many different Farina di Grano Tenero “00”. If you want to learn more about flour, please check our [Flour Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/neapolitanpizza/wiki/resources/flour-guide).**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/neapolitanpizza) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Think of the finger tip stretch as just flattening it first and forming where the crust will be / pushing air out to the crust, and you then pick it up and roll over your knuckles to loosen the middle part. Does your pizza not stretch much when you do the knuckle part? If that’s the case then you may need to build more gluten strength during initial kneading.
It looks like a pretty fine pizza to me. What size pizza are you aiming for and what weight of dough? Good rule of thumb is 250gr of dough for a 12″ neopolitan pizza.
Don’t fully stretch out the dough ball before topping. Say you are making a 12 inch pizza. Stretch to 10 inches or so and put the sauce and toppings on pull the pizza onto the peel and then stretch it out to the edges of the peel and make it circle. If you do it this way, you won’t lose your circle when pulling it into the peel, and it won’t rip during this process either. Also, be sure to start your dough ball off as a circle too.
I’m not a pro at it yet, but I recommend the “pizza slap” technique for stretching. There are some good videos on YouTube about it. Practicing with a damp towel can help you learn the motions without ruining dough!
From what you’re saying and what I see in the image, it looks like you’re making fast rising dough (like 2-4 hours only), hence not letting it rest for long enough. It should not bounce back that much. Also it looks like your dough could use more water.
How long did your dough rise for? How long after making the balls did you try to stretch the dough?