Is pizza dough supposed to double in size?

[Pizzafrost98]

I want to get better at bulk fermenting my pizza dough. My plan is to bulk ferment it in the fridge overnight, divide it the next day, and let each dough ball rest for a couple hours before I shape them and bake.

Should I let the dough double in size before I divide it? Also, should each dough ball double too, or should I just let them get puffy?

It seems like some people let it double while others don't, so I'm a little bit confused about when I should be letting it double.

[RHawthorne]

If you're throwing your dough straight into the fridge immediately after mixing, I would not expect it to double overnight. That usually takes a good 3 days or so, depending on how your recipe is formulated. People who like an airy crust often advocate for a longer bulk fermentation time before balling. How you approach that is a matter of personal preference. I'm not sure what difference it makes whether your let the dough bulk ferment or ball immediately when you're doing CF. I would say that no matter what, you should let your dough double at least once before use.

[Bill/SFNM]

This is a really tough question that depends on so many things and how discerning you are in your ultimate goal. 2X is just a convenient rubric for volume expansion across all kinds of leavened doughs. Why not 2.3X or 1.85X? Volume expansion is not a direct indication of the final texture of the dough. It just means there is a certain level of gluten structure to trap whatever CO2 is being produced by yeast metabolism during fermentation. The final texture can be more dependent on the reaction of that structure to the rapid expansion from water vapor during baking. 

And expansion is often not an accurate indicator of flavor development. When it comes to visual cues, I tend to ignore expansion and focus more on the size and distribution of bubbles. And aroma. And the feel of the dough in my hands. I still struggle with all of that. No easy answers other than lots of experimenting.

[wiz_d_kidd]

This is a really tough question that depends on so many things and how discerning you are in your ultimate goal. 2X is just a convenient rubric for volume expansion across all kinds of leavened doughs. Why not 2.3X or 1.85X? Volume expansion is not a direct indication of the final texture of the dough. It just means there is a certain level of gluten structure to trap whatever CO2 is being produced by yeast metabolism during fermentation. The final texture can be more dependent on the reaction of that structure to the rapid expansion from water vapor during baking. 

And expansion is often not an accurate indicator of flavor development. When it comes to visual cues, I tend to ignore expansion and focus more on the size and distribution of bubbles. And aroma. And the feel of the dough in my hands. I still struggle with all of that. No easy answers other than lots of experimenting.

I pretty much agree. I've never let my dough double, or do the window-pane test, or those other fermenting criteria that apply more to bread dough than pizza dough. As others have said on this site... "Pizza dough is not bread dough".