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The ONLY Rule That Makes Stretching Pizza Easy 🍕
Sep 15, 2025
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0:00
[Music]
0:10
It shrinks back. If this is what happens
0:12
to you when you try to stretch your
0:14
pizza dough, then this video is for you.
0:16
There is only one reason why this is
0:19
happening. You didn't make it rise
0:21
enough or proof. Say whatever you
0:23
prefer. The point is you didn't wait
0:25
long enough. You see, we let our do
0:28
proof, not just to wait for it to
0:30
produce all the gas and make it puff up.
0:33
Those are the most visible things. But
0:35
today, we are only interested in
0:38
something else. When we have just shaped
0:40
a dough bowl, the gluten is quite strong
0:43
and tight and stretching is impossible.
0:45
This is why you either swear or reach
0:48
out for the rolling pin, which is the
0:50
tool of the devil, by the way. So the
0:52
main takeaway of this video is do not
0:55
stretch right after bowling. I know that
0:58
for some of you that's obvious, but it's
1:00
also true that loads like loads of
1:03
people are convinced otherwise just
1:05
because they have watched videos from
1:07
YouTubers who with all due respect maybe
1:10
lack a bit on knowledge and expertise.
1:13
Look at these videos for example on top.
1:18
This is going to rest for at least half
1:20
an hour. rest in the greased fold
1:22
covering for another 15 minutes.
1:32
Your dough will hardly be ready to
1:34
stretch after 30 minutes, let alone 15
1:36
minutes. And I won't even mention the
1:39
option to stretch it immediately after
1:41
bowling. And if you did it at some
1:43
point, please let me know in the
1:44
comments what made you change your mind,
1:46
how you learned the right way,
1:48
especially if it was this video. Now, to
1:50
figure out a timing, there are various
1:53
factors to consider. I will explain what
1:55
you need to know and show you useful
1:57
stuff during this video. So, keep
2:00
watching because I will also debunk
2:02
another concept.
2:07
Common knowledge is that you will
2:08
struggle with stretching even when your
2:11
double is too cold. Of course, this is
2:13
only for those of you who may control
2:15
temperature fermentation that is in the
2:17
fridge. But this is one of the many
2:20
pizza misconceptions out there. We take
2:23
it for granted without even wondering
2:26
about how things actually work inside
2:28
the dough without taking into account
2:30
the formula of the dough itself. You
2:32
will see that when the dough is ready,
2:34
stretching a double that comes straight
2:36
from the fridge doesn't present any
2:38
problem at all. But it's time to work
2:41
now. Let's do it. Okay. Dough making.
2:43
First of all, please remember this is
2:45
not a recipe video because today's topic
2:47
is something else. So, I won't go into
2:49
details too much. Everything you need to
2:52
know about my dough is in this video. I
2:55
will make a simple dough around 65%
2:58
aggression, a bit more. And I got this
3:01
do calculator for you that makes all the
3:04
calculations. So you can find it on my
3:07
website.
3:09
[Music]
3:29
Okay, John. Now, it stays here for a
3:33
while. Then I will split it in half,
3:35
shape two dles, and finally we will see
3:38
together the stretching part. In the
3:40
meantime, you can hit the thumbs up
3:42
button.
3:44
See you in a while.
3:48
Time to split.
4:03
Now, according to the first video I
4:05
showed you, I can stretch one of these
4:07
doubles straight away.
4:19
As you can see, it's elastic.
4:24
It shrinks back.
4:34
[Music]
4:36
Now, the other video recommends 15
4:38
minutes. The last one 30 minutes. I wait
4:41
30 minutes for good measure and try with
4:44
the other double.
4:46
30 minutes later, we can try and stretch
4:48
the second double.
4:57
It's still elastic. I can tell there is
4:59
a bit of improvement,
5:02
but it's still not ideal.
5:12
It's still not what we are looking for.
5:15
So, what happens now? I will reball
5:20
even this one. We wait 24 hours and
5:23
tomorrow we try again.
5:28
So I can't stretch straight after
5:30
bowling. I can't stretch after 30
5:32
minutes wait. How long do I have to
5:34
wait? And please understand that
5:36
whatever timing anyone recommends, even
5:39
me today would always be generic
5:41
information for you for the simple
5:43
reason that nobody on this side of the
5:46
screen knows what flour you are using.
5:49
Flour is defined as a structural build
5:51
of our dough and it has the biggest
5:54
influence on the behavior of the doughbo
5:56
during the whole process including
5:57
stretching of course. So in my case, my
6:00
recipe, my usual flour, my dough will
6:03
ferment for around 24 hours and it will
6:06
be perfect. I know by experience that
6:08
the gluten will lose its elasticity in
6:11
favor of its extensibility by tomorrow.
6:14
So yes, I need two days just to shoot
6:17
this video, not to mention the editing.
6:19
I guess this is the right moment to
6:20
subscribe and let me grow my little
6:22
channel
6:25
after 24 hours. Let's see how easy it is
6:28
to stretch these doubles. The cold one
6:32
first. It should be this one.
6:36
Okay. 9.2°.
6:40
It's 22°. It's way warmer.
6:49
See, you you shouldn't really have any
6:51
issue if your dough is ready and if you
6:54
are decent at stretching. Besides, if
6:57
your dough is very hydrated, so I'm sure
6:59
you fermented it at control temperature,
7:02
then it could even be recommended to
7:05
stretch it cold. I'm going a little bit
7:08
more technical here. If you want to dig
7:10
deeper, consider booking a session with
7:12
me from my website.
7:15
Let's see the comparison with the room
7:18
temperature one.
7:45
I see the reaction is absolutely the
7:48
same. So this is the main takeaway here.
7:50
My dough is fermented for around 24
7:53
hours. This is enough most of the time.
7:57
It's not likely that you will experience
7:59
any difficulty in stretching after that
8:02
long. Of course, it is always possible
8:04
as an exception. I personally encounter
8:07
one during a onetoone remote session.
8:12
If that was your case, if this happened
8:14
to you, whatever the resting time you
8:16
allowed your door, then you need to
8:18
experiment a little. If your dough ball
8:20
snaps back when you stretch it, then
8:23
next time let's ferment it for a couple
8:25
of hours longer. I am sure you will see
8:28
some improvement in the extensibility.
8:30
But if you don't, guess what? Give it an
8:32
extra couple of hours next time. On the
8:34
other end, you don't always need to wait
8:36
that long, especially if the flour you
8:39
use is not rich in proteins. For
8:42
example, most plain flowers here in the
8:43
UK contain less than 10%. If that's your
8:47
case, your goal could easily be just two
8:50
hours or so, maybe three or four at
8:53
most. However, remember that it's not
8:56
just a question of time. It's not just a
8:58
question of volume. You know, it is said
9:01
wait until the dough doubles up its
9:03
sides. Your dough itself, the one you
9:06
make with your recipe, with your usual
9:08
flour, will tell you when it's ready.
9:11
And to know what it actually tells you,
9:14
there is this video for you to watch.
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