Docking (Baking)

Docking is a baking technique in which small holes are pierced into raw bread, cracker, pizza or pastry dough before it goes into the oven, to stop large air pockets from forming and to keep the dough from over rising or blistering as it bakes. The dough is commonly pierced with a docker, a utensil shaped like a small spiked rolling pin or a small rotary tiller, though any tool that pokes small holes through the dough serves the purpose. Docking is more common in professional bakeries than in home baking.