Hand stretched dough is this becoming a lost art?

[Georgiascp]

So we have been looking to hire pizza cooks lately and its so hard to find people that know how to hand stretch and these are people that have previously worked in pizzerias. So I have resorted to hiring people that have kitchen experience but I have to teach them how to hand stretch the dough. How do you guys go about teaching your new people how to hand stretch because as we all know its not the easiest thing to do(I dont have the patience for this not to mention all the dough you have to go through to teach these guys). We also have to teach them how to roll dough because we make our own dough in house. Its amazing how many pizza places dont do this anymore. Its all frozen dough and dough that is run through some sort of machine to stretch it out.

 

[BspaPizza]

I’ve found the same thing, even the guys that can hand stretch it don’t know how to do it off a pizza peel.

 

[smiling_with_hope]

I grew up in the business in NJ just outside NYC. Back then you had to be in the family or be a close friend to get a job. We started doing dishes and clean up and would mimic the pizza makers tossing wet towels. We dreamed of getting to making pies. Most of the family owned shops were able to buy the building and put their kids through college. The kids, my age (60) got out of college and had no interest in the business. The shops closed and or were forced to start hiring non family and it has gone downhill ever since. Many people today get into the business just for the cash so the easiest and cheapest way is the best way. I have lived all over the USA and to be honest once you leave the NYC metro area the pizza goes down in quality exponentially by the mile. Of course there are people across the country making great pies but they are the minority and the public settles for a low quality pie with lots of toppings (also of low quality). The coupons, specials, and such, have also dumbed down pizza IMO. Thankfully there is a sort of rennisance going on with the young people and food. This has kicked pizza up quite a bit in quality but mainly in the wood fired scene. Finding a good gas deck NY pie is not so easy anymore even in NY. Walter

 

[Georgiascp]

It’s very frustrating not being able to find kitchen help and not being able to move the business forward because of it. There have been so many time where I have thought about getting a sheeter and having drivers prep the skins before the rush. We do a pan pizza so we stretch before the rush but it takes my fast guy a good hour to fill all the pans up and then when we run out of them the need to be quickly filled up again so they have some time to proof before use. It would probably eliminate 1 extra set of hands off of the payroll but the pizza is not the same.

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[d9phoenix]

I tend to agree, it seems our whole society has moved to a point where working with your hands is not to be tolerated or beneath them. It’s like everyone thinks they deserve a desk job that pays 6 figures without having to actually do anything.

Heck even getting drivers is getting to be a chore, what i only make $20 to $25 an hour ? … no thanks.

 

[pizzapiratespp]

I tend to agree, it seems our whole society has moved to a point where working with your hands is not to be tolerated or beneath them. It’s like everyone thinks they deserve a desk job that pays 6 figures without having to actually do anything.

Heck even getting drivers is getting to be a chore, what i only make $20 to $25 an hour ? … no thanks.

I don’t get the driver thing either. It’s the easiest job for the most amount of money. For the last month or so I have found myself out on the road delivering just about every day. I have only been taking 5 to 10 deliveries a day and I literally have money pouring out of my wallet now. About $600 in cash. And that’t just the small tips. The big ones I gave out to the insiders who actually did the work.

 

[Georgiascp]

I don’t get the driver thing too it took me 3 weeks to replace a driver that just left and to find someone with a brain in their head. The money is good they easily make 25/hr I have even clocked the good ones make as much as 30/hr. They all like the idea of making all that money but when they need to work to earn it its a different story. I as well have been running deliveries lately and I always make good tips. I had to work a morning shift when my drivers car broke down and I made 50 bucks on 5 deliveries!!!

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[GotRocks]

I agree, all of my interviewees have never hand stretched, and the real scary part is that a large percentage that stated they had “Pizza Experience” have only ever done frozen pre-made crusts out of a Sysco truck.
I wish I had video of a guy who came in with a very impressive pizza history, he listed several of my favorite places as past employers on his application. So training day comes, and it was very obvious this guy never stretched or topped a pizza in his life. I asked if he’d like to be a dishwasher, he took that position and lasted for maybe 3 days.
Why do some people think that they can simply BS their way through making pizzas. and learn as they go when they have never done it? Maybe because we all make it look easy??

 

[Georgiascp]

I agree, all of my interviewees have never hand stretched, and the real scary part is that a large percentage that stated they had “Pizza Experience” have only ever done frozen pre-made crusts out of a Sysco truck.
I wish I had video of a guy who came in with a very impressive pizza history, he listed several of my favorite places as past employers on his application. So training day comes, and it was very obvious this guy never stretched or topped a pizza in his life. I asked if he’d like to be a dishwasher, he took that position and lasted for maybe 3 days.
Why do some people think that they can simply BS their way through making pizzas. and learn as they go when they have never done it? Maybe because we all make it look easy??

I love when people tell me I’m a fast learner it makes me laugh [emoji23] [emoji23] [emoji23]

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[Mrschleg79]

Sorry, some may cringe but I LOVE my sheeter. I had the same problem a few years ago. Having this sheeter has givin me the ability to push out large orders 10 to 50 pies without breaking a sweat. As for training it is as simple as pushing the green button and dropping the dough ball. I have not lost sales at all. In fact i guarantee I have increased sales with my speed of service

 

[noreason]

Sorry, some may cringe but I LOVE my sheeter. I had the same problem a few years ago. Having this sheeter has givin me the ability to push out large orders 10 to 50 pies without breaking a sweat. As for training it is as simple as pushing the green button and dropping the dough ball. I have not lost sales at all. In fact i guarantee I have increased sales with my speed of service

What is the final product like? I tried sheeting a pizza once with a bread roller and it came out flat and an off texture. I’m assuming because it took all the air out.

 

[bodegahwy]

All my years in pizza at a number of different places… (including my own, 5 companies, 11 locations, about 22 years I think since 1978) one place used a sheeter for deep dish, one used a roller for flat but all others used hand tossed for everything else. Does it take a bit of practice for a newby to get it? Sure, but within a week a new employee can be making nice skins and within a month be pretty fast at it. I don’t see the mystery.

 

[Georgiascp]

It’s not so much a mystery it’s just amazing how many pizzerias take the easy route with ready to go everything and we don’t always have time to train people that intensely. I would prefer a person that already know how to stretch and them I can focus on teaching my way and it seems like you just can’t find that or its a rarity.

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[bodegahwy]

We are generally happy to find a warm body with a pulse who gets along with co-workers and shows up on time. We can teach them the rest! haha

 

[Georgiascp]

We are generally happy to find a warm body with the pulse who gets along with co-workers and shows up on time. We can teach them the rest! haha

I’m slowly coming to the realization that this should be my only criteria for new hires.

 

[RPCLady]

We’re ‘new on the scene’ kind of stumbled into the Pizza business by moving into a small town, and it was the only ‘job’ option available since the place had shut down 3 months prior… We bought it and through some hard knocks we’ve done a solid business. BUT, I’ll admit it, we use a sheeter. The previous owner used frozen dough balls and everyone in town hated their product! We researched and learned how to make our own dough, and ball it, then it proofs in the refrigerator. We wanted to ensure that the pizza we made was consistent and good. However, since the number of pizzas we make in any given day is totally unpredictable AND we’re talking this is a very SMALL rural town! you’d all probably choke and gag at how few we make – and yet make a living. So, If we did proof at room temp, we’d end up throwing away a lot of dough! So our process prevents waste. We’re a family-run operation, and the only time of year we have any hired help is during our busy season – Summer.

The previous owner just used a rolling pin… So that’s what we learned to do… but they didn’t use a sheeter, and it was killing us to roll out everything… so we found a second hand sheeter through Craigslist about 4.5 years ago. My husband did have a pizza restaurant job when he was in college, but I don’t think he ever learned to hand-toss there. Anyways, using the machine did cut our time considerably, but we still have some people in this town who think that if they don’t get a custom ordered pizza in 10 min we’re not a ‘real’ pizza restaurant… but its because all they know is franchise fast food and we’re just not a ‘fast food’ place!

 

[smiling_with_hope]

I guess it is all about what one feels is a great pizza. There is no right or wrong on this IMO. It is just whether one likes it or not. I was really surprised when I first left NJ and found how other parts of the country makes pizza. Having lived coast to coast and overseas I have concluded that the taste of home is always going to be the best and whether that is sheeted, tossed, frozen, or whatever. Walter

 

[GotRocks]

It’s not so much a mystery it’s just amazing how many pizzerias take the easy route with ready to go everything and we don’t always have time to train people that intensely. I would prefer a person that already know how to stretch and them I can focus on teaching my way and it seems like you just can’t find that or its a rarity.

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I have had a few people that absolutely could NOT hand stretch dough, or even ball dough for that matter. I have tried and tried, but some people are absolutely incapable of learning that skill.
I even tried the Lehmann method of starting a ball with a sheeter and letting them go from there, it just was not happening with a few people.

a trick I use for teaching tossing is to have them practice with a damp wipe-down towel, have them toss that up with a spin, then we will play catch, then when they get the hang of that, we go to real dough.

 

[smiling_with_hope]

The good news is dough is cheap and for me it is well worth it to go through it teaching stretching/tossing. I learned by tossing wet towels as a kid and also use it to teach. Just make sure it is a square towel and not a rectangle. When the dough is at its peak of perfection it is too loose to toss. I aim to hit that window as much as possible. The older I get the less I toss because to fancy toss the dough it has to be too cold/not fermented too much and doesn’t rise as nice as when warmed up on the bench to near blowing out. The other big hurdle is launching onto the stones. My ovens are 37" deep and we do 18" pies and can fit 4 to an oven with only 1" of clearance between front and back pies. It tends to intimidate most but we get over it through repetition. Walter

 

[Bluebird]

I’m a real stickler for consistency so the problem is not only can they stretch, but can they stretch like you. I’ve had no luck with those with experience. They tend to beat he crap out of it, and stretch too thin for my liking. They come out completely different than mine. And to tell you the truth I’m not sure I could do it differently then I do it now. I’m teaching a 16 yr old kid now, no experience. He’s been topping my pies a , so he sees how I do it. I’ve been letting him stretch some 12" ones, he’s doing really good with those, hopefully he’ll be graduating to large soon. They have to want to learn though and I think he does. It takes time and you just can’t teach it like cutting an olive.