Make Your Dough Stretch

By Katie Barreira

Whether it’s from the freezer section at the supermarket or your local pizzeria, a ball of fresh pizza dough is easy to come by and makes the base of a fun and easy dinner. That is, if the dough behaves itself.

On the subject of dough stretching, our test kitchen director Tracey likes to tell the story of coaching her daughter through a “whose-kid-can-make- the-best-pizza” competition at a friend’s dinner party. With words that will be familiar to every parent, Tracey urged Margot to, “just stop touching it!” This hands-off approach paid off and Margot’s tender, evenly shaped pie took the cake.

The key is not to overwork the dough and unless you’re a professional pizza thrower, that means stretching the dough in increments, allowing the gluten to relax between rounds. Remember, if you battle your dough it’s going get tough!

If you want to make your own pizza dough from scratch, here’s my recipe.

Step by Step: How to stretch a 1-pound ball of pizza dough to fit a baking sheet

Step 1: Remove dough ball from refrigerator (or thaw frozen dough) and place on a floured surface; press with the palm of your hand to flatten. Cover with a barely damp towel and let stand until dough is room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Step 2

Step 2: Gently press and stretch the dough into a 12-inch circle.

Step 3Step 3: Place on a baking sheet; let rest 10 minutes.

Step 4Step 4: With one palm pressed against the dough as an anchor, use the other hand to stretch the dough a little more, let stand 5 minutes.

Step 5Step 5: Use your fingers to press the dough into the edges of the pan, taking care not to tear the dough.

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