How to Open Up Dough

Appears in
Pizza Czar: Recipes and Know-How from a World-Traveling Pizza Chef

By Anthony Falco

Published 2021

  • About
You’ve made your perfect dough, your oven is raging, and toppings are prepped. Time to open your dough. I use the same method for my New York–style, Thin & Crispy, and Neapolitanish pizzas (Tokyo-style is an exception).
  1. Step One.

    Remove the dough from the tray carefully to maintain its round integrity. Drop the bottom into some bench flour, move the dough to your work surface, then sprinkle flour on top.

  2. Step Two.

    Define the crust. I do this with my fingertips (no fingernails, please) to create a channel just inside the outer edge. The distance between the channel and edge will determine crust size. For a big crust, start a channel farther from the edge. For a small crust, closer. Once you have a channel of pressed dough that forms a circle inside the edge, you have a defined crust. Be careful not to press the crust—it won’t bounce back.

  3. Step Three.

    After defining the crust, use your fingertips to gently but firmly press the center of the pizza, pushing down but not stretching it out. At this point, the dough’s general shape will be established—a crust around the outside and an even, flat area for topping in the center. Be careful to not fall into the “airplane wing” trap (see diagram).

  4. Step Four.

    Now you can stretch the dough to its final shape. There are many methods, but I start by passing the dough back and forth between my hands while spinning it toward myself. Then I’ll either put the dough on my fist and make a motion like turning a steering wheel, or toss it in the air, spinning it off the backs of my hands.

  5. Step Five.

    It’s important to lay the dough flat to check your progress, especially if you’re unsure about whether things are getting out of hand. Look for thin spots, and sprinkle the bottom of the pizza with flour and rub it in gently to eliminate sticky spots. Once you’re happy with the shape, put it on your peel and shimmy it before topping it. If it doesn’t shimmy freely, flip it and rub in another sprinkling of flour. If it’s moving smoothly, top with intention posthaste.