Owning your own business is tough, but it’s also a rewarding endeavor. You learn a lot in any business you decide to build. That said, you must go the extra mile if you want your business to flourish and to ensure that your customers are satisfied. One of the best things you can do for your restaurant is invest in the right equipment, which is true on the most nuanced level.

For instance, some food preparation methods are better and more efficient than others. If you have a pizzeria, one of the first things you should ask yourself is, “Is using a pizza press better than hand tossing?” This process matters quite a bit, especially since pizza is your bread and butter. Learn more about why pizza presses are superior below.

The Two Methods of Manipulating Dough

Two primary methods of manipulating dough are hand-tossing and pressing. Learn more about these differences below.

Hand Tossed

We’ve all seen it. The man behind the counter at our favorite homemade pizza place is flipping and stretching the dough in his hands in the air. It looks like magic when you see it in person for the first time, but is it worth the extra hassle? Hand tossing is a traditional way of preparing pizza that’s been around for thousands of years. It involves manipulating pizza by spinning it in a circular motion in the air using your fingers and creating a feel that’s quite authentic in the end. However, it requires a lot of skill to tackle successfully.

Dough Press

The pizza dough press is a modern innovation that involves pressing pizza against two metal plates and flattening the dough between them. This is the central function of the device, but some higher-end versions have other bells and whistles, such as customization and elevation of pressure. As shown below, a dough press offers many benefits that might make it the right choice for your shop.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Pizza Press?

So, we’ve gone through the differences between the dough press and the hand-tossed options. With all that in mind, why is using a pizza press better than hand tossing?

It’ll Be More Uniform

The pizza press is superior to hand tossing in almost every way. However, one of the most drastic differences you’ll notice almost immediately is how uniform your dough will be when you remove it from the press. Your pizza press will ensure that your dough cooks without issues. An even spread ensures that the dough won’t burn on one side and fail to cook in the middle. Consistency is crucial in a restaurant because you will turn off customers when you fail to fully prepare their food or offer different levels of quality each time they visit. Hand-tossing your dough and creating a uniform pizza each time demands incredible skill, and in the process of learning the techniques, you could earn dissatisfied customers.

Speed and Efficiency Are Key

When it comes to a bustling restaurant business, speed is key. Have you ever been to a restaurant with a line out the door? You may have seen the line and immediately thought twice about entering the building. At the very least, if you do decide to go inside, you likely weren’t happy about standing around in line. Since you’re on the opposite side of the equation as a business owner, we’re sure you know why you might have long waiting times. It might be because you don’t have the right equipment to push out orders in a way that keeps up with demand.

Hand-tossing your pizza is great, but even the pros will tell you it takes a fair bit of time—time you likely don’t have during rush hour. A dough press is something you can rely on when the going gets tough, so don’t hesitate to get one.

You Don’t Have To Work As Hard

Have you seen someone hand-toss pizza in front of you? As entertaining as it is for your customers, it’s quite a workout. This is especially true for your employees who likely have other things to do after tossing the dough. If your staffs’ arms are exhausted each day, a pizza press is a wise investment. With the help of a press, your employees don’t have to work as hard. Hand tossing multiple pizzas is tiring, especially when rolling and hammering the dough. Even if you’re running a large restaurant, we can assume that you don’t have a dedicated pizza tosser. The staff in charge of the dough likely have other tasks they want to do. Why waste that energy when you can conserve it and use a machine instead?

The Work Requires Less Skill

It’s no secret that there are many different pizzas on the market, and some require different sizes and thicknesses than others. Hand-tossing pizza requires you to learn and develop a long list of techniques. This process will take time to teach, and it’ll take even more time to share your talents with each employee.

Rather than teaching your employee the best way to handcraft doughs for a large menu, why not use a pizza dough press and customize it to create these distinct pizzas? The device will help you become more productive than you think, and you’ll spend less time trying to learn how each style works. We live in the age of machines, and learning more about the equipment options available to you can help your business tremendously.

You Can Make a Range of Styles

You can create many different pizza styles using a pizza press, which is a key benefit to getting one to begin with. Pizza presses have many customization options, allowing you to make your pizza as thick or thin as you want with the turn of a knob (or push of a button). New York pizza is famous for its delicious thin, cracked crust and memorable taste. Meanwhile, Chicago-style pizza sports a bold flavor and delicious soft crust. We can’t deny that pizza making is the finest art form, but a pizza press is certainly up for the task.

As you can see, the pizza press has several benefits over the skill of hand tossing. Since this is the case, why not pick up a commercial pizza press today? At Pro Restaurant Equipment, we have various kinds of pizza presses for your restaurant. Contact us for more information or browse our site and pick one yourself!