Pizza Presses

Pizza Dough Press Machines: What You Need to Know

Sure, everyone loves watching a pizzaiolo throw dough into the air, spinning it into a perfect disc before tossing it into the oven, but good pizza is about substance, not show. Also, spinning dough in the air by hand is not a practical way to serve large volumes of customers quickly and consistently. Pizza dough presses are a pragmatic solution to the problem of meeting growing demand without simply hiring more pizza tossers.

Pizza dough press machines take the guesswork out of flattening pizza dough. Operators can set them to varying thicknesses to get the perfect final product with every press. This saves money in two ways: first, the press greatly reduces the time it takes to flatten out the dough, saving on labor costs; second, consistent production means you'll toss out fewer mistakes. With a press, you don't have to worry about crusts being too thin to hold its toppings, or so thick they don't get cooked all the way through. We'll go over the differences between our pizza presses below and answer some frequently asked questions to help you find the best option for your pizzeria.

Common Questions About Pizza Presses

What establishments need a pizza dough press?

Pizza presses are beneficial to any operation that serves pizza or pizza-adjacent meals to customers. If you're only doing a handful of pizzas an hour, hand-rolling them can probably keep pace without excessive labor costs, but if a sizable portion of your dining room is filled with customers wanting pizza, a good press can pay for itself quickly. Creating a perfect crust is a labor-intensive endeavor and even experienced pizza-makers make mistakes. Using a press will cost you the initial investment, but the time saved with each use eventually makes up for that in labor that can be used elsewhere in your establishment.

Should I get an automatic or manual pizza press?

Our pizza dough presses range from small manual units to high-powered, automatic options, so every pizza-maker can find one that matches their volume. Pizza presses typically are not fully automatic – the automatic portion of the larger machine provides the pressure required to flatten the dough after the operator has placed it on the platens. Automated units usually are more expensive and require more electricity, but if you're going through a lot of dough daily, they can be worth the cost. Automatic presses also ensure the exact same pressure is applied to every dough ball, but manual units also have ways of creating consistent crust thickness.

Why do manual pizza presses have voltage requirements?

Many pizza dough press machines have a heated top platen to shape cold dough properly. Warming the dough slightly while you press it makes it more pliable, so getting a heated top platen can improve efficiency by pressing warmed dough faster. Consider whether you'll be able to supply sufficient power to your pizza press – some of these options require more than a standard 120-volt plug to operate. The product specifications page for each pizza press will lay out the utility requirements for the piece.