How to Stretch Pizza Dough By Tossing It in the Air

There are various ways to stretch pizza dough into a flat bed ready to receive sauce and toppings. You can use a rolling pin, though purists frown on this technique as it presses out the gas in the dough, resulting in a flatter, tougher, denser pizza. You can stretch the dough by hand, pushing it out with your fingers and the rotation of your hands, while keeping it firmly on terra firma. Or, you can let your dough take flight, tossing it in the air. This technique not only evinces fun and finesse, it results in a dough that’s an ideal consistency, with a thinner, airy middle and thicker outward edges that transform in the oven into a nicely crunchy crust.

Don’t get discouraged if you punch a hole in your dough the first few times you try tossing it. It takes a little practice to get this technique down. Use dough that’s been brought to room temperature, as chilled dough is more resistant to stretching and more prone to tearing.