YYC Pizza Week: How to throw pizza dough
‘You do it 300 times … you’re going to get it,’ says Bocce’s executive chef
Be prepared for it to land on the floor.
Or your face.
When it comes to successfully forming a pizza by tossing the dough in the air, just remember that practice makes perfect.
"You do it 300 times a day, it doesn't take long. You're going to get it," said Grant Parry, executive chef of Bocce on Fourth Street S.W.
If you're ready for that kind of dedication, Parry recommends you find a dough recipe that takes several days to make.
"Our dough takes three days to make … so by day three, it's nice and relaxed and it's easy to stretch open," he told the Calgary Eyeopener on Wednesday.
Once it's ready to go, form a ball and shape it out using your hands — not a rolling pin.
"The dough is naturally aerating itself through the yeast, breaking down the sugars and creating those natural gases within the pizza dough so if you use a rolling pin, you'd actually be pressing that all out."
For tips on tossing the dough, watch and learn:
Just remember to toss the dough on the backside of your hands.
If this whole ordeal has just convinced you to dine out, you're in luck. More than 50 restaurants in Calgary are cooking up special pies for this year's YYC Pizza Week, which is on until Oct. 2.
Julie Van Rosendaal's no-knead pizza dough
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (or use whole wheat, or half and half)
1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
In a large bowl stir together the flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups of water, and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and sticky. No need to knead it — cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap and let it rest on the countertop for 18 to 24 hours.
After that, the surface of the dough will be dotted with bubbles. Generously flour a work surface and scrape the mixture out onto it, gently folding it over itself once or twice. Let it sit while you preheat the oven to 450 F and generously oil a rimmed baking sheet.
Spread and pull it out with your fingertips until it's a rough oval or rectangle and transfer to the sheet. If it keeps springing back, let it rest a bit more. Spread the crust with tomato sauce, pesto or anything else you'd like to sauce it with, then add your choice of toppings and grated cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.
With files from the Calgary Eyeopener