Stretch, Snap or Tear: Troubleshooting Pizza Dough Issues
In the world of professional pizza making, dough performance can make or break service. Whether you’re working in a high-volume QSR, an artisan pizzeria, a HoReCa kitchen, or a cloud kitchen model, how your pizza dough behaves during stretching determines the final texture, shape, and structure of the crust. If your dough stretches unevenly, snaps back, or tears too easily, it’s a sign something's off — with your technique, ingredients, or fermentation process. Let’s break down the most common pizza dough handling issues — stretch, snap, and tear — and explore practical ways to solve them.
Common in: Dough that’s under-proofed or too cold
Common in: Low-protein flours or improperly hydrated dough
Common in: Inconsistent flour or climate variation
Common in: Weak gluten structure or over-proofed dough
Common in: High-hydration doughs or enzyme imbalance
Whether your dough is snapping back, sticking, or tearing apart, small changes in ingredients and technique can create big improvements. Start by evaluating your flour — the foundation of your dough. For professional kitchens, using a purpose-formulated flour like MORCOTE® 00 is often the most effective step toward smoother workflows, better crusts, and more consistent pizzas.
Issue #1: The Dough Snaps Back After Stretching
Problem: You stretch the dough, but it keeps shrinking or snapping back to its original shape.Common in: Dough that’s under-proofed or too cold
Why It Happens:
- Underdeveloped gluten network: The dough hasn’t rested enough after mixing.
- Cold dough: If the dough has come straight from the refrigerator, the gluten is still tight and needs time to relax.
- Overworked dough: Excessive kneading or too much mechanical mixing without proper rest phases can cause this too.
How to Fix:
- Allow bench rest: Let your dough sit at room temperature for 30–45 minutes after cold storage.
- Use a flour with balanced extensibility: A 00 flour like MORCOTE® 00 Pizza Flour offers excellent elasticity and extensibility, reducing snap-back during stretching.
- Don’t skip autolyse or bulk ferment: Give the gluten time to relax during early dough stages.
Issue #2: The Dough Tears When You Stretch It
Problem: The dough is too fragile, thin, or breaks apart when being stretched.Common in: Low-protein flours or improperly hydrated dough
Why It Happens:
- Flour has low protein content, leading to weak gluten structure.
- Under-kneaded dough that hasn’t developed enough gluten.
- Over-fermented dough that’s broken down structurally.
- Too much bench flour, drying out the surface and weakening tension.
How to Fix:
- Choose flour formulated for strength: MORCOTE® 00 Pizza Flour is designed for professional use with high-protein content and optimal gluten structure.
- Improve mixing technique: Ensure consistent mixing to build a stable dough network.
- Recalculate hydration levels: Experiment with 60%–70% hydration depending on your oven type and desired crust texture.
Issue #3: The Dough Feels Too Tight or Too Loose
Problem: Some days your dough is too tight to shape, and on others, it feels like soft batter — inconsistent texture across batches.Common in: Inconsistent flour or climate variation
Why It Happens:
- Fluctuations in temperature and humidity: Dough hydration and proofing are sensitive to your kitchen environment.
- Unstable flour quality: Inconsistent milling or gluten content can vary from batch to batch.
- Improper scaling: Miscalculated ingredient quantities can throw off the dough’s structure.
How to Fix:
- Use year-round consistent flour: MORCOTE® 00 Flour offers stability across temperatures and humidity, ideal for HoReCa kitchens with varying prep environments.
- Monitor fermentation timings: Adjust your bulk and final proof based on ambient conditions.
- Use digital scales: Ensure precise flour, water, and salt ratios.
Issue #4: Dough Doesn’t Hold Shape During Baking
Problem: The pizza looks fine when shaped, but collapses or bakes unevenly.Common in: Weak gluten structure or over-proofed dough
Why It Happens:
- Over-proofing: The dough has exhausted its gas retention potential and can’t maintain structure.
- Weak base from poor gluten strength: This is especially common in short fermentation or flour with low protein content.
- Under-kneaded dough: Not enough structure formed to trap gases.
How to Fix:
- Avoid over-proofing: Use cold fermentation with retardation control — MORCOTE® 00 has high tolerance to retardation, helping maintain structure even after long proofs.
- Ensure proper gluten development: Don’t rush the kneading stage.
- Balance hydration: Over-hydrated dough may collapse if unsupported by a strong network.
Issue #5: Sticky Dough That’s Hard to Handle
Problem: The dough clings to surfaces, hands, or utensils, slowing down kitchen workflow.Common in: High-hydration doughs or enzyme imbalance
Why It Happens:
- Improper flour-to-water ratio: Overhydrated dough can be unmanageable without the right flour.
- Lack of enzyme balance: Too much amylase activity can lead to slack, sticky dough.
- Insufficient fermentation control: Over-fermented dough loses elasticity and becomes sticky.
How to Fix:
- Use flour with enzyme balance: MORCOTE® 00 contains a specialized enzyme profile for controlled gluten behavior, improving dough handling.
- Dust with 00 flour during shaping: Prevent sticking without toughening the surface.
- Add a pizza dough conditioner to your signature recipe, such as MORCOTE® PZ 20 to improve dough handling in high-hydration scenarios.
- Shorten fermentation time in hot kitchens: Excess warmth accelerates activity — use temperature-controlled dough storage when possible.
Why the Right Flour Matters?
Dough issues are not always technique-related — they’re often ingredient-driven. For chefs and pizzerias handling high-volume pizza prep, using the wrong flour can create inconsistency, slow down operations, and affect product quality.Why MORCOTE® 00 Pizza Flour?
- Perfectly milled particle size for smooth dough handling
- High elasticity and extensibility for consistent shaping
- Stable gluten structure to support long fermentations
- Enzyme-balanced formulation to minimize tear, snap-back, and hydration issues
- Performs well across temperatures, suitable for deck, conveyor, and wood-fired ovens
Whether your dough is snapping back, sticking, or tearing apart, small changes in ingredients and technique can create big improvements. Start by evaluating your flour — the foundation of your dough. For professional kitchens, using a purpose-formulated flour like MORCOTE® 00 is often the most effective step toward smoother workflows, better crusts, and more consistent pizzas.
