Smooth and Elastic. The appearance of your dough will be smooth and elastic. When you first start working the dough it uneven and scraggly. As you work the dough it becomes smooth and elastic. It’ll Bounce Back. Gently poke your dough with a finger, if it bounces back then your pizza should be ready! The Window Pane Test The Window Pane Test. This is generally considered the gold standard of checking if the dough is ready. What you are really checking for is elasticity and gluten development in your pizza dough. The test is simple, tear off a small chunk of dough. Pat it into a small flat round and gently stretch it. You should be able to stretch it thin enough that you can see light from a window or even your fingers as they gently pull on the dough behind it. If it passes the windowpane test then your dough has developed enough gluten to support your pizza as it bubbles and gasses expand in your dough as it bakes.