How to Keep Pizza Dough From Sticking

Making homemade pizza is so much fun (OK – except for the infamous kneading process). But if you’ve whipped up a batch of pizza dough and find yourself in a sticky situation, you need help – and quickly. How do you keep the pizza dough from sticking?

Hey, everyone! My name is Michelle. I’ve spent the last ten-plus years working on my skills in the kitchen. Now, I consider myself a pizza-making guru, and I love to share my tips and tricks for success with other readers.

I’ve struggled with sticky dough plenty of times and found the perfect solutions to these sticky messes. Want to know how to keep your pizza dough from sticking? Then keep reading – I’m sharing all my insight to stopping stickiness in its tracks.

Say bye-bye to sticks, and let’s talk about fending off sticky pizza dough!

How to Keep Pizza Dough from Sticking: 6 Tricks for Success

Nobody wants to try and work with sticky pizza dough. It’s just downright challenging and irritating. Luckily, this is an issue with many easy fixes. Here are my top six solutions for getting rid of overly sticky pizza dough.

1. Add More Flour

One of the biggest culprits for sticky pizza dough is a wet dough. Overly wet pizza dough will be impossible to manage, which means you won’t end up with a delicious, ooey-gooey pizza in the end.

If you notice that your pizza dough is wet and wild, adding a bit more flour is the easiest fix.

Don’t go crazy with the flour, though, as you don’t want to add too much. 

Start with a tablespoon and see if it fixes the problem. Keep adding flour by the tablespoon until the dough is easy to manage. 

2. Flour Your Workstation

Even if your pizza dough feels fantastic, that doesn’t mean it won’t stick. This is especially true when it comes to stretching your pizza dough.

For this problem, again, it’s flour to the rescue!

To avoid the mishap of pizza dough sticking to your hands and workstation, all you need to do is dust the areas with some flour. 

Again, don’t overdo it, as too much flour can be a bad thing for your pizza. Lightly pat your hands and workstation with flour; you’ll notice less sticking.

3. Knead Your Dough Longer

Nobody likes to knead pizza dough – there, I said it out loud! Unfortunately, it’s essential to the well-being of your pizza crust. Under-kneading will cause a slew of issues, including tearing and sticking.

Always remember that you should knead your dough for at least 12 minutes, although many bakers go up to 15 minutes. If you don’t want to end up with sore hands, you can also use a pizza dough mixer for eight to ten minutes.

If your pizza dough is still under-kneaded, continue kneading it until it’s smooth, slightly tacky, and holds its shape. 

4. Preheat Your Pizza Stone

There may be some confusion about whether or not you need to season a pizza stone. But one topic that’s not up for debate is whether or not pizza stones need to be preheated. The answer is always yes.

Preheating isn’t just beneficial to the outcome of your pizza, though. It’s also a surefire way to ensure the pizza dough doesn’t stick to the pizza stone.

So, the next time you’re wondering whether or not you need to preheat your pizza stone, remember that the answer is yes, you do. And if you don’t, you may end up with stickiness and a sub-par, off-putting crust. 

Crank your oven as high as it goes and place the pizza stone inside for 30 to 60 minutes.

5. Flour the Pizza Peel

A pizza peel makes it easy to slide your dough onto the stone. Or at least it’s supposed to make it easy. If you’re finding some resistance during the transfer, you’re likely struggling with the dough sticking to the peel.

Now, one of the significant rules of making a homemade pizza is that you should never flour the pizza stone itself. This can cause problems along the way, such as sticking and burning.

The rules for the pizza peel are different. You can 100% dust your pizza peel with a bit of flour before placing the pizza dough on top. This will ward off sticking, allowing you to maneuver your dough from the peel to the stone successfully.

(Noticing a trend yet? Flour is the cure-all for pizza dough stickiness!)

6. Act Fast When Placing Dough in the Oven

In order to get that homemade pizza cookin’, you need to get it into the oven. This can be the most exciting part of making pizza but also the most frightening. After all, you’ll be met with ultra-high temperatures and rebellious pizza dough that just won’t budge.

The best thing to do is add a dusting of flour to your pizza peel, place the pizza dough on top, and quickly slide it onto the pizza stone. Use a slight thrusting motion to propel the dough off the peel and onto the stone. You may need to move it back and forth a few times.

You need to go fast for two reasons. One, you don’t want the oven to lose too much heat. The high temperature is what will make a perfect crust and succulent toppings. Secondly, if you struggle too long with the dough on the peel, it will start to cook and stick to the peel.

FAQs

Clearly, there are lots of easy ways to resist sticky pizza dough. But before you run off to make the best, stick-free pizza dough of your life, I recommend checking out these frequently asked questions. Let’s keep learning, everyone!

Should pizza dough be sticky after kneading?

Pizza dough should have some tackiness to it, but it shouldn’t be so sticky that it’s challenging to work with or stick to your workstation, hands, pizza peel, etc. If your pizza dough is tremendously sticky after kneading, add some flour and knead for a little longer.

Will pizza dough slide off of parchment paper?

Pizza dough will easily slide off of parchment paper. That is why many bakers choose to place parchment paper on their pizza peel before adding the pizza dough and sliding it onto the stone. However, I personally enjoy adding a pinch of flour to my peel. Either way will work like a charm!

Can you put pizza dough directly on the pizza stone?

You can put pizza dough directly on a pizza stone. There is no need to season a pizza stone. However, you must preheat the pizza stone in the oven for at least 30 minutes before adding the room-temperature pizza stone. I always heat my stone for an hour at 500F for the best results.

Now You Can Finally Say Goodbye to Sticky Pizza Dough!

Sticky pizza dough is a huge hassle from beginning to end. Thankfully, there are many ways to fend off stickiness – and almost every solution involves some flour! 

Have you ever dealt with sticky pizza dough? How did you remedy the situation? Did you use one of the techniques above, or did you do something else? Let us know in the comment section below!

About Michelle
I have been a lover of sweets since day one. This led me on a self-taught baking journey starting at the age of 13. It's been over 10 years since the start of my baking adventures, and I’ve learned a lot along the way. Now, people rave about my delectable treats, whether it’s a chocolate cake or a strawberry crepe.

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