Why test the Vitella dough rounder?
If you need to round many dough pieces uniformly, bakeries and pizzerias often rely on rounders. In our showroom we tested the Italian Vitella dough rounder using customer‑supplied dough. Goal: taut, consistent pizza balls with a cleanly sealed underside — produced in reproducible quality.
Setup and test environment
For perfect balls the Vitella offers a range of settings and interchangeable plates for different ball sizes. In our test we used a 15‑portion plate: 15 dough portions are formed per rounding cycle. The photos from the test session come directly from our show kitchen and document the procedure step by step.
The three key settings
Top pressing pressure
The top pressure determines how firmly the dough piece is gripped and stretched from above. Too little pressure produces soft, uneven balls; too much can overstretch the surface.
Bottom pressing pressure
The bottom pressure affects seam formation and how cleanly the ball closes. Softer doughs (higher hydration) often need slightly more counter‑pressure here to ensure the underside closes reliably.
Rounding time
The duration of the rounding cycle provides the final shaping. A few seconds more or less decide whether the underside is sealed and the surface stays taut. In our test the optimal rounding time after several trials was 15 seconds.
Step‑by‑step: how we proceeded
- Weigh and portion the dough: distribute the dough pieces evenly across the 15‑portion plate.
- Slide the plate in: until the latch engages securely.
- Close the viewing window: for controlled, safe operation.
- Check the settings: set top pressure, bottom pressure and rounding time to suit the dough.
- Start and observe: run the cycle and inspect the result.
- Fine‑tune: if the seam on the bottom doesn’t close completely or the surface isn’t taut, adjust the parameters in small steps.
What influences the perfect pizza ball
Several factors interact and determine which settings work best:
- Dough freshness: Rounding immediately after kneading is often ideal. More mature doughs are more sensitive and usually require finer adjustment.
- Bulk fermentation: The length and temperature of bulk fermentation change structure and tension; as a result, pressure and rounding time may need to be varied.
- Hydration: Softer doughs (higher water content) often benefit from slightly more bottom pressure and careful rounding time.
Our practical conclusion: with careful adjustment of the three parameters the Vitella can be tuned quickly to your own dough. In our run, the combination of adjusted top and bottom pressure and a 15‑second rounding time produced cleanly sealed, uniform pizza balls. The guests present were very satisfied with the result.
Practical tip from the show kitchen
If you handle larger quantities of dough regularly, reproducible results and time savings pay off. The fastest way to find the right settings is to test with your own dough. In our show kitchen we offer test opportunities so pressure and rounding time can be matched under real conditions.