Why Does the Pizza Dough Shrink In The Pan When we Roll it Out? (2024)

It will surely have happened to you: you are preparing a pizza at home, following the most disparate recipes, and then you notice an unpleasant fact. When you go to roll out the dough in the pan it shrinks and becomes smaller. But where does this problem come from? The answers can be multiple. In most cases the dough shrinks when it has not had the right leavening time and, as it does not contain enough gluten, the dough returns to its original shape. Gluten is what makes the dough elastic. If not enough gluten has formed, your dough will want to return to its original shape. However, another reason could also be the exact opposite: too much gluten developed compared to the flour. It does not always depend on these two reasons which, however, underline once again how important correct maturation timing is.

A Timing Issue

Pizza dough tends to shrink when rolled out mainly due to the elasticity of the gluten in the flour. Gluten is a protein found in wheat flour that, when mixed with water, forms an elastic network. This network is responsible for the structure and consistency of the dough. When you roll out pizza dough, you're actually stretching this gluten network.

However, gluten also has a tendency to shrink. When you roll it out, the gluten tries to come together again, causing the dough to shrink. This is especially noticeable if the dough has been freshly made or has been resting for a short period of time after rising. During this resting period, the gluten relaxes slightly, but when you begin to roll out the dough, the gluten is manipulated again and can shrink.

In summary we can say that the pizza dough shrinks if it is not ready to be kneaded. It's her way of telling us she wants another five minutes of sleep or that she's overslept. In this case, unfortunately, you can't do anything about it.

To prevent the dough from shrinking, just follow these suggestions.

How to Prevent The Dough From Shrinking in The Pan

To prevent the pizza dough from shrinking and making "denting" easier, you can make some simple moves that will make your homemade pizza even more delicious.

First of all you have to let the dough rest after the initial leavening. The dough must rest for a fairly long time: this allows the maturation to be activated and for the gluten to "relax", making the dough more manageable on the baking tray. If you don't let it rest, the yeast continues to work due to our body heat and our manual action: this will lead to an expansion of the dough, causing excessive fermentation and giving it a bad taste.

If you make a pizza without yeast, this step is superfluous but you have to be careful: usually the yeast is replaced by bicarbonate and this still needs a sort of "pre-maturation" to be effective. In this case the dough must rest when it is not yet ready: the action of salt and bicarbonate combined with the flour (and oil if you want to use it) starts the autolysis. After about twenty minutes, however, you have to add more flour and finish the dough. With this type of dough, resting is useless because the dough must be rolled out immediately after creating the spheres.

Returning to traditional doughs, another fundamental step is the temperature. You should always let your dough return to a temperature above 21°C before rolling it out, because a cold dough has a greater tendency to shrink. If you move from the fridge to the baking tray you will naturally have the "little turtle" effect that returns inside its shell. Don't forget that the dough is mostly made of flour – using it while rolling out helps reduce the friction between the dough and the surface you're rolling it on, which can help prevent shrinkage. If you roll out the dough on a baking tray, grease it with oil instead. However, remember to always use quality flour: very often the problem is caused, quite simply, by poor quality flour.

Finally there is technique: perhaps it is the human being who makes mistakes and not biology. The dough must be treated delicately: do not apply too much pressure and use your hands to gradually spread it instead of forcing it. Try using your knuckles to gently spread the dough out from the center. This technique can help keep the dough more uniform. Don't pay attention to traditional Neapolitan pizza makers who roll out with the so-called "slaffo" because it is only useful for that type of dough, i.e. if you have to make Neapolitan pizza. At home it is very complex to make this recipe because we are not usually equipped with ovens capable of reaching those certain temperatures, so be delicate with your dough. Experiment with making pizza with these tips and in this way you should be able to reduce the problem of the dough shrinking while rolling it out.