Why this docker earns its place
Docking is the step that stops a base rising where you do not want it to. Steam trapped underneath rolled dough lifts it into bubbles the moment it meets oven heat, and a bubbled base means a topping that slides off it, a blister that scorches before the rest of the base is cooked, and a product that goes in the bin instead of the box. Putting a field of small holes through the dough lets the steam out evenly, and the base comes out of the oven flat. Done by hand with a fork it is a minute a base and it misses patches; with a roller it is one pass each way and the coverage is even.
At 200 mm across, one pass covers the width of most bases without walking the roller over in strips, which is what makes this a batch tool rather than a single-pizza one — you can dock a full tray as fast as you can rotate the bases under it. Plastic is the sensible build here: it is light enough to run through a long production session without tiring a wrist, and the spikes give slightly against a firm dough rather than taking the strain rigidly. Wash it as soon as the run finishes, because dough left to dry between the spikes is a long job to pick back out, and let it dry fully before it goes away.
