A lot of it depends on the type of pizza you make. Where I worked we did thin crust pizza, and these were the reasons we tossed:
Speed. Trying to roll or pat out a 17 inch pizza would be very time consuming.
Consistency. Was easier to make the crust a consistent size and shape.
Space. Rolling or patting a person needs the table space 100% of the time. When tossing you can step back from the table and let another person get in to prep (or finish) their toss.
Job marketing. People wanted to work there just to learn how to toss, and it helped maintain that "authentic" vibe.
And as you pointed out, the show aspect of it. Kids loved to watch our staff toss.
You can use sugar or honey, it's just food for the yeast. You can use 2 or 3 times more olive oil to make a smother dough
Some extra tips:
In my recipe each cup of flour makes one thin 30cm pizza base. Most people make the base to thick and it wont cook properly
Try not to roll the dough, pull or push it out by hand, if it wont do this you made the dough wrong or you have the wrong flour
Let the oiled dough rise in a warm place with just a cloth over it
After making the base on the tray, let it rise another ten minutes before putting toppings on it. Be quick from when you start adding toppings and getting it to the oven, otherwise it will go soggy
Use the hottest oven you can dial up, or a hard wood fired oven. A thin crust pizza should take no longer than eight minutes to cook
Sing bad Italian Opera while kneading. You will either get good at singing, or get fast at kneading
Best Answer
A lot of it depends on the type of pizza you make. Where I worked we did thin crust pizza, and these were the reasons we tossed:
Speed. Trying to roll or pat out a 17 inch pizza would be very time consuming.
Consistency. Was easier to make the crust a consistent size and shape.
Space. Rolling or patting a person needs the table space 100% of the time. When tossing you can step back from the table and let another person get in to prep (or finish) their toss.
Job marketing. People wanted to work there just to learn how to toss, and it helped maintain that "authentic" vibe.
And as you pointed out, the show aspect of it. Kids loved to watch our staff toss.