Dough tearing?

[Steve]

Anyone have a fool-proof way to make dough that won't rip or tear when you toss it or stretch it thin?

I've tried all-purpose flour, bread flour, and even high-gluten flour. I've tried making the dough a little wet, just right, and a little too dry. I've tried various kneading times, etc... I think I've tried every possible combination and end up with mixed results. Most of the time my dough is very stretchable, but sometimes I go down in flames and even the slightest tug causes it to tear.  

I've seen guys hand-tossing pizza dough in the air all day and not a single tear... any ideas how to get dough to behave like that?

[DKM]

I have noticed the Alton Brown's (Good Eats on the Food Network) way of testing seems to work pretty well.  After kneading (or mixing) tear off a peice and stretch like making a little pizza.  You should be able to get a thin, tight, almost translucent membrane without tearing.

I have also noticed that if the dough sticks to the hook in the mixer it doesn't knead well.  I stop the mixer take the dough off the hook and use a little nonstick spray on the hook. (Also from AB)

I use a 13% bread flour with a "just right" dough (not wet, not dry).

DKM

1 more set of Pizzas to go.  Tonight New York Style!

[Randy]

They’re four items that control dough stretch that come to mind.
1. The need for high protein flour(high gluten) like bread flour.
2. The need for a wetter dough in the area of 60% water.  Which, by the way produces a crisper crust.
3. The timing of adding the oil or shortening. Add it last.  The fats, if I remember right, coats some of the protein preventing the water from getting to the strand slowing gluten development.  This would be especially exasperated by a lower water content recipe.
4. A proper length kneading cycle which for my Kitchen Aid is 13-15 minutes.  Use the bakers window to verify.

[DKM]

I have always had problems with wetter dough, but I guess it is how once defines "wetter".

DKM

[canadave]

Steve,

I had the same problem until I figured out to let the dough rise in the refridgerator overnight.  When I was rising the dough in an hour and a half in a warm place, I'd take the dough out and it would be completely fragile.  With the overnight rise, that dough is tough.  

As I understand it, the fragility of the dough is mostly dependent on the strength of the gluten strands that bind the dough together.  So a high-gluten flour would be an ideal base--and then rise it overnight.

That being said--if you turn around and tell me that you HAVE been rising it overnight, then...I'm stumped

Good luck,
Dave