The world is full of wringers, even electric ones. Couldn't one be adapted for this use?
THAT is EXACTLY what I'd like to find. I'd really like one 12" wide, but anything bigger than 10" would be GREAT. I guess the key is in knowing how to phrase your question. I've been looking for dough sheeters and pasta rollers. The sheeters are upwards of a couple hundred dollars to thousands, and the pasta rollers are only 6" wide - neither of which is acceptable for our needs.
But, when I searched for "clothes wringer" I came across lots of suitable things for under $200. And, on ebay I even found the exact same picture that you posted on a seller's page!
Most of the ebay clothes wringers don't say how wide they are. And, neither the ebay sellers nor the new ones on commercial sites provide any notes about how thin they'll roll. However, I'm sure I can email them & get an answer to that question. My guess is that they're spring loaded so that they'll squeeze ANY piece of cloth that's run thru them, but not "adjustable" for any set thickness. However, even if it's spring tensioned, it would probably mean we could pass the dough through a couple of times (turning it 1/4 turn each pass) to get thinner crust.
I used to work at a pizza place in Waco where they sold a cracker crumb crust. It's not Pizza Hut, but I liked it a LOT more than Pizza Hut. The crust had a little more substance to it than the P.H. thin crust, but was still a cracker on the bottom. We/they used a dough sheeter. We'd grab a wad of dough from the food grade Rubbermaid trash can & throw it in the sheeter. After the 1st pass we'd turn it 1/4 turn & put it through again, then one last time. Lay it on the perferated pan & trim the edges, dock it, sauce & cheese & toppings & then into the oven. Their oven was this huge square oven that went from the floor to the ceiling & it had doors on all 4 sides. The shelves were round & were on a vertical axle & they rotated. You could put the pizza into the oven from any side, & remove it from any side, and all the doors were glass so you could watch the pizzas cooking as they went around & see which ones needed to be removed. It was a nearly fool proof way to produce lots of pizzas. One guy worked the cutter table & he'd have someone pulling out the ready pies (during the busy rushes) so that he didn't have to do anything but cut & plate them.
The dough, no matter WHERE I worked (except Mr. Gatti's) was made the night before the evenings when it was used. We'd make huge batches of the dough (filled half of a 55 gallon food grade Rubbermaid trash can) & roll it into the fridge. The next morning, during prep, I'd come in & punch down the dough. I LOVED the smell of the alcohol as it escaped from the falling dough. Then, that night, we'd yank a handful & run it through the sheeter.
Now, what I'm wanting to do is for my home. It's been several life times since I worked in a restaurant. And, if I ever did go back to a restaurant, it'd have to be something like an upscale Marriott (last restaurant where I worked) - because I could design the Daily Special & create something new every day. But, at home, we have made pizza from scratch on several occasions. We use a thicker rising dough & it gets made & cooked in just a couple of hours. We've even had friends over for dinner where we made pizzas. It's not such a big deal to have pizza. The real treat is rolling out the dough & building the za's for ourselves. It's a social event to put on all the toppings. And, because everyone has their own "perfect" assortment of toppings, everyone gets to have their own. But, rolling them out is a major pain and I really want to make that a LOT easier. I'm not going into business or I'd spend the big bucks to get something that's industrial strength. I just want to bring some smiles to my family (& myself) and a few close friends.
