My birthday this year fell on a Thursday. So, in honor of Throwback Thursday, I was looking through old pictures and came across some from the time that I "stretched dough" (chef's words, not mine) at Due Forni, a restaurant that came to Austin from Las Vegas for a short tenure of less than 3 years.
A few years ago, my ever-so-thoughtful husband surprised me with a personal pizza making session. Chef Sean Zirkle was more than happy to oblige. From the second I walked through the door to the final moment of that first bite, I was warmly welcomed and in heaven. After all, I was surrounded by my first true love, pizza.
Chef Zirkle gave me a tour of the kitchen, pulled out a batch of well-rested dough, and told me the secrets to their success (sorry, I promised not to share!). He said that each chef had his or her own way to work their dough and you just had to do what was right for you. So he taught me his method, which I like to call the "stretch and turn". We would take the circle of dough, place our left hand down as a holder, pull the dough out with the right hand, turn and repeat.
We stretched a lot of dough, but I am still standing by that it is the dough that makes the difference. Whether you spin up in the air, stretch it with your hands, or just toss it left and right, it's all the same.
Before we knew it, we had this:
which very quickly became this:
But long story short, if you're ever looking for a fun way to celebrate a birthday, stretching dough is a great way to go!