Tony Gemignani's (World Champion Pizza Thrower) secrets to making pizza dough

[Cellar2ful]

I have met Tony several times and seen him in action throwing pizza's. He is amazing. Tony got his start at his Uncle's pizza joint in my town of Castro Valley before he became world famous.  He now has a famous pizza place in San Francisco and several other restaurants.  His Margherita Pizza is out of this world. He became the first American (and non-Neapolitan) to win Best Pizza Margherita at the World Pizza Cup in Naples, Italy. Here is an interview with Tony on how to make homemade thin crust pizza dough. This is an quote from the article:

What's the best way to make a thin-crust pie at home? What are the biggest faux pas?

"Home cooks should be sure to use a flour that is high gluten and high protein in a home oven – not all purpose. Also be sure to incorporate a browning agent like sugar or honey. Make sure you roll out your dough with a rolling pin and use a dough docker; this will help release the gas so the dough doesn't rise too much. Dust the dough in semolina, not flour. Also be sure to trim about a quarter inch off the circumference even after you've rolled the dough out. People often overtop their pizzas but it's better to keep it simple! If you need more tips, check out my book, The Pizza Bible."

Here is the entire article and interview.
https://www.bayarea.com/play/tony-gemignani-tonys-pizza/

[MikeRocksTheRed]

Very interesting.  I've always seen advice NOT to roll out dough.  I like the idea of trimming off the out edge.  That part on my pizzas really puffs up more than I would like.

[WNC]

Okay, so now that I got my kettle pizza I've started following this section of the site more...
Can't wait to try out making pizzas, and all of you guys have already shown me so much, I think it's going to greatly cut down on the learning curve...thanks for that btw!
My first job was making pizzas, so I threw out dough for years. I think there's really something there in the docking of your dough, we used to do it to every pizza. It helps prevent bubbles and will help your crusts from puffing up too much.
I don't have a docker, but I bet the same could be accomplished with the spiky end of a meat tenderizer hammer.
Again, this coming from a guy who hasn't made a pizza in 25+ years, and never in a wood fired oven...
Now I bet my first pizza is going to come out like shit



Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[LightningBoldtz]

Okay, so now that I got my kettle pizza I've started following this section of the site more...
Can't wait to try out making pizzas, and all of you guys have already shown me so much, I think it's going to greatly cut down on the learning curve...thanks for that btw!
My first job was making pizzas, so I threw out dough for years. I think there's really something there in the docking of your dough, we used to do it to every pizza. It helps prevent bubbles and will help your crusts from puffing up too much.
I don't have a docker, but I bet the same could be accomplished with the spiky end of a meat tenderizer hammer.
Again, this coming from a guy who hasn't made a pizza in 25+ years, and never in a wood fired oven...
Now I bet my first pizza is going to come out like shit



Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

Mine will be frozen pies

I am having @MrHoss over to show me the ropes when I do my first real cook.

[Cellar2ful]

Okay, so now that I got my kettle pizza I've started following this section of the site more...
Can't wait to try out making pizzas, and all of you guys have already shown me so much, I think it's going to greatly cut down on the learning curve...thanks for that btw!
My first job was making pizzas, so I threw out dough for years. I think there's really something there in the docking of your dough, we used to do it to every pizza. It helps prevent bubbles and will help your crusts from puffing up too much.
I don't have a docker, but I bet the same could be accomplished with the spiky end of a meat tenderizer hammer.
Again, this coming from a guy who hasn't made a pizza in 25+ years, and never in a wood fired oven...
Now I bet my first pizza is going to come out like shit



Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

I have only made one pizza and it was with Trader Joe's fresh dough. Made it on a Weber pizza stone with no pizza attachment and used my home grown heirloom tomatoes to make marinara. Then added more heirlooms, fresh mozzarella and fennel sausage from the butcher.  It was amazing. I learned from that experience to not load up the pizza with so many ingredients.  When I went to slide the pizza off the peel onto the stone, it did not want to budge. Way to heavy with all the ingredients.  I was able to save it by using two large commercial spatulas to slide it off the peel.  The article mentions about not loading the pizza with to many ingredients. I will also take the sausage out of the casing next time and precook it in a pan, sprinkling it over the pizza before it goes on the Weber.   Looking forward to using my new $40 Pizza Kettle this summer when the tomatoes start coming in again. 

[demosthenes9]

I grabbed a cheap docker from Amazon and it worked great.

https://www.amazon.com/Orblue-Docker-Uniformly-Prevents-Blistering/dp/B00VRTHQBE/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1488577395&sr=1-2&keywords=pizza+docker

If I really get into pizzas, I might get a nicer metal docker.


Have to differ with the issue of overloading a pizza.   I don't eat pizza just to taste crust, sauce and cheese, otherwise I'd order a cheese pizza or breadsticks with pizza sauce.   I order meat pizzas because I want to taste meat !!    You really just have to watch the amount of grease that will form.    As for the middle being weighed down, use a pizza screen.    Form the dough, lay it out on the screen, add your sauce, cheese and toppings then slide the thing screen and all onto the pizza stone.