When it comes to making pizza at home, you have a lot of decisions to make. Today on Epicurious Joshua Weissman explains his choices and process every step of the way as he makes his perfect pizza.
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00:00 When it comes to making an at-home pizza,
00:02 [sped up beeping]
00:04 you gotta make a lot of decisions.
00:06 You have to pick dough, sauce,
00:08 cheese, toppings, garnish,
00:10 and how all of that's gonna come together.
00:12 Some ingredients will lead you to ruin,
00:14 while others will lead you to the perfect pizza.
00:17 I'm Joshua Weissman, and this is every decision I'd make
00:20 to make the perfect at-home pizza.
00:22 Let's talk about dough.
00:24 [sped up beeping]
00:26 A great pizza dough is chewy,
00:28 it has a nice salt level, it's nicely colored,
00:30 and it's bubbly.
00:31 We have a lot of doughs here, let's see.
00:33 We have a cauliflower.
00:35 Smells like a saltine cracker.
00:37 There's no salt, it's not chewy,
00:40 and there's no flavor in it whatsoever.
00:42 [sped up beeping]
00:43 All right, next up we have Bob's Red Mill.
00:45 Look, I love Bob, he's a good guy.
00:47 Another gluten-free pizza crust.
00:49 It tears like a shortbread, almost.
00:51 There's just not enough salt in this,
00:53 there's not much flavor to it.
00:55 There's zero chew.
00:56 There's almost like a gummy, slimy quality to it,
00:58 and it's obviously from the gluten-free flour.
01:00 Look, not everybody can eat gluten, and I respect that,
01:02 and I understand it, but it's just not the same.
01:04 Trader Joe's, gotta respect it.
01:06 This looks kind of like pita.
01:07 It even has a pocket, hello.
01:09 This is a big step in the right direction.
01:12 It's still a little dry, but not as dry.
01:13 This is closer to pita than it is a pizza dough.
01:15 A pizza dough, to me, has like almost a salty,
01:19 creamy quality while you're chewing it
01:22 that this just doesn't have.
01:24 Market Pantry, I've never in my life
01:26 ever eaten one of these, and boy am I not excited.
01:30 Holy fudge.
01:33 Yeah, yeah.
01:35 We can stop there.
01:38 It's a tortilla vibe.
01:40 The worst tasting dough I've ever put in my mouth.
01:44 It's got like a vinegary quality to it.
01:46 Super dry, zero salt.
01:48 It has so many additives that are made
01:50 to stabilize this thing and keep it good for years.
01:53 I'm sure that this is great in a nuclear fallout,
01:55 but not right now.
01:56 Now, moving on to Pillsbury Doughboy.
01:58 Ah, childhood nostalgia.
01:59 If you know, you know.
02:01 It smells like Pillsbury Doughboy crust.
02:04 Oh, okay.
02:06 It tastes exactly like their biscuits.
02:10 Oh, it's burning my mouth a little bit.
02:11 Is that normal?
02:12 You can literally taste the leaveners in it.
02:13 There's about five different kinds of oils
02:16 and fats in here.
02:17 You don't even need fat or oil in a pizza dough.
02:19 Frankly, you don't want to take away from the nice flavor
02:21 of good toasted bread.
02:23 Frozen pizza dough.
02:26 The frozen pizza dough, I don't know what brand this is,
02:29 is the closest in taste to what I want.
02:31 Again, it's missing a little bit of the salt that I want,
02:33 but that's an execution thing.
02:35 They could just add more salt to the dough
02:37 and it would be where I want it.
02:38 That being said, it's too dense.
02:40 These are all pre-made.
02:41 If I were to pick one,
02:42 it would be a resounding win for the frozen dough.
02:45 Now this, this is a homemade dough.
02:50 The salt I wanted.
02:52 Even in comparison to the frozen dough,
02:54 the homemade dough wins by a landslide.
02:56 It's just like a much more diverse experience.
02:58 The outside is super lacy, thin, crispy,
03:01 but the inside is chewy.
03:03 It's got a nice pull and a stretch when you bite it.
03:05 Let me show you how to make it.
03:06 Flour, salt, water, and yeast.
03:09 That's it.
03:10 So that means that every ingredient counts.
03:12 Get the best double zero type flour you can get
03:15 and ideally the highest quality water.
03:17 Evian tends to work really well,
03:18 especially with a sour dough, high mineral content, right?
03:21 Yeast, whisk that in until it's dissolved.
03:24 Double zero type flour, fine sea salt.
03:26 We're gonna pour all of our yeast water into there and stir.
03:29 All right, so now you can see the flour starting to hydrate.
03:31 It's turning into more of a dough.
03:33 Slap, fold, just until it starts to soften up a bit
03:36 and then we're gonna let it rest covered for 15 minutes.
03:39 All right, we're rested, softened up.
03:41 You hear that?
03:42 And we're gonna do more slapping and folding.
03:44 We're gonna grease our bowl lightly with olive oil.
03:46 This is just to keep it from sticking.
03:48 Get it coated in the oil.
03:49 Now we're gonna wrap it in plastic wrap
03:51 'cause it's gonna take a little nap in the fridge overnight
03:53 for 12 to 14 hours, crucial for flavor and texture.
03:56 Okay, it's been overnight.
03:58 Get it loosened and you have a dough.
04:00 This is gonna get divided into five pieces,
04:02 which should be around 250 grams each.
04:04 One corner, the other corner, and again, corner, corner.
04:07 We're gonna fold over and we're gonna lightly
04:10 do the exact same thing that we did earlier
04:12 and eventually it looks like this.
04:14 So we're gonna cover these and let them proof
04:16 for three to four hours.
04:18 Our dough is done.
04:20 Wow, it's glossy, it's beautiful, it's smooth, it's perfect.
04:24 This is the perfect dough to make a pizza.
04:27 Next, let's talk toppings.
04:29 What makes a good pizza topping?
04:31 For one, it should not overpower the pizza.
04:34 For two, it should add good flavor.
04:36 For three, it should add good texture.
04:38 And for, you know, not optional, it should be fun.
04:40 Look, I know it's a big debate,
04:41 but I'm a big fan of pineapple on pizza.
04:43 Salty, sweet, the acidity helps cut the richness.
04:45 It's good.
04:46 Now, this isn't going on my perfect pizza
04:48 because my perfect pizza is very classical
04:50 and highly simple.
04:52 Black olives.
04:53 I hate black olives on a pizza.
04:58 It's more of like a watery, salty, briny taste
05:01 and doesn't really contribute much.
05:03 Anchovies.
05:04 These make a great sauce.
05:05 They're salty, they're briny, there's umami.
05:07 I would never put it on this pizza because,
05:09 well, a lot of people don't like anchovies.
05:11 I want to make a pizza that everybody could enjoy.
05:13 Next, I'm guessing this is Italian sausage.
05:16 It's a little too rich.
05:17 It's very fatty.
05:18 It makes the pizza a little too oily for my taste.
05:20 Now, spinach.
05:21 Okay, we're making a pizza, not a garden salad.
05:23 Typically, you would see this on a white pizza
05:25 and that's not what my perfect pizza is.
05:27 Now, mushrooms.
05:29 I don't really love them on a pizza,
05:31 but mushrooms are a little too boring.
05:33 I think the texture would pull away
05:35 from what makes my perfect pizza.
05:37 Now, the perfect topping for a perfect pizza
05:39 would be pepperoni.
05:40 We have a natural, properly aged pepperoni
05:43 and we have pre-sliced from the store.
05:45 You tell me what you want.
05:48 This tastes like, well, mass manufactured vinegary meat,
05:51 but this has like so many other things.
05:53 It's funky, it's almost borderline cheesy.
05:56 It's just more flavorful.
05:57 The properly aged pepperoni is what I would choose.
05:59 I cut these slightly thicker
06:01 because when this bakes,
06:03 it's going to curl up into a nice cup
06:05 and hold pepperoni fat in it.
06:07 Oh no, there's like a poorly sliced one I have to eat.
06:10 I'm going to set this other half aside.
06:11 This should be enough pepperoni for one pizza.
06:13 My choice is hand sliced proper pepperoni.
06:16 Now let's talk sauce.
06:17 A good pizza sauce needs to be flavorful,
06:21 not too watery and have a good color.
06:23 So this is Rao's or Rao's sauce.
06:25 They have a pizza and a marinara.
06:27 I'm going to be honest,
06:28 I feel like this is probably the same,
06:30 but we're going to find out.
06:31 I mean, there's a pretty clear difference.
06:36 The pizza sauce, not a fan.
06:37 It's got too much of a Chuck E. Cheese vibe.
06:39 Dried oregano.
06:40 It feels like a fake pizza sauce when you do that.
06:42 It's also a lot sweeter and less salty.
06:45 I don't think this is going to contribute
06:46 the right flavor we want for this pizza.
06:48 This on the other hand, it's saltier.
06:49 It's got a little bit of acidity
06:51 and it's more plain in its flavor,
06:52 but in a good way, it lets the tomato shine.
06:54 I don't mind it, but we need more tomato flavor.
06:57 Now, since we're on tomato sauce,
06:58 let's talk Prego.
06:59 Hate.
07:00 Smells like a foot.
07:01 Way too sweet.
07:06 You can barely taste the tomato.
07:07 The ketchup of pizza sauce.
07:09 We got another Rao's.
07:10 I'm a fan of the brand.
07:11 I've never had their Alfredo though.
07:13 That's awful.
07:16 This tastes nothing of cheese.
07:17 Even if it was good,
07:18 a white pizza sauce does not belong on my perfect pizza.
07:22 All right, Pesto.
07:23 Pesto tastes good.
07:25 But you know, I do feel like a Pesto pizza
07:27 for some reason is a specialty pizza.
07:29 It's not an OG pizza.
07:30 Not everybody's going to be in the mood for this,
07:32 but the one I'm making, everyone will be.
07:34 If you don't have time to make your own sauce,
07:36 I would go with this.
07:37 But for my perfect pizza,
07:38 we're going to make the sauce from scratch.
07:40 We have a little bit of our pepperoni that's been diced.
07:42 That's going to go in the pan.
07:43 You can see already immediately the red streaks,
07:45 and that's what I want.
07:46 Sliced garlic and a little bit red Fresno chili
07:48 for a little bit of spice and a little bit of pepperiness.
07:51 Now we add our crushed San Marzano Italian tomatoes.
07:55 A little bit of salt to taste.
07:57 Tiny pinch of sugar just to curb the acidity.
07:59 And we're going to simmer this
08:00 and cook it down until lightly thickened,
08:02 about three to five minutes.
08:03 Okay, so this is reduced down.
08:05 Now we're going to add a touch of extra virgin olive oil.
08:08 And now the sauce is ready.
08:11 Really fresh, high quality, straight tomato flavor,
08:16 but it's cooked.
08:17 It's not raw tomato.
08:18 It's everything that I want for my perfect pizza.
08:20 Now for my favorite part, cheese.
08:23 When it comes to cheese, there's really three things.
08:25 Cheese pull, texture, and of course, flavor.
08:28 Okay, so let's first talk mozzarella.
08:29 We have three variations of our mozzarella.
08:32 First, burrata.
08:33 Okay, it's very soft.
08:35 You cut into it, it's creamy, it's smooth.
08:37 It's very rather liquidy.
08:39 And while it's nice,
08:40 it's going to take away too much from this pizza.
08:42 I don't want this on my pizza.
08:44 This is a specialty pizza item.
08:46 Next, we have our fresh mozzarella.
08:47 Now, while it's nice, it's a little bit softer.
08:49 You can see that it kind of tears a little bit.
08:52 If you were to wring this out,
08:53 there would be literal liquid dripping from it,
08:55 which is cool, but it doesn't quite lend itself
08:58 to as toothsome of a cheese as I want.
09:00 I don't think that it's going to work
09:02 on this pizza in particular.
09:03 And finally, we have our low moisture mozzarella.
09:05 It's the exact same concept as this,
09:07 but the difference is it's extremely dense.
09:10 It's got a nice toothsomeness,
09:11 and it's going to be able to retain its strength
09:13 once it's been baked
09:14 at the highest possible temperature in your oven.
09:16 It'll still have that texture we want.
09:18 Cheddar.
09:19 I'm not sure I've ever seen a scenario
09:21 where cheddar did a good thing for a pizza.
09:23 We already have a flavor in our mind
09:25 of what a pizza should be,
09:26 and the sharpness of a cheddar just doesn't make sense.
09:29 Provolone is a sandwich cheese.
09:32 A sandwich-inspired pizza is a specialty pizza.
09:35 This is a classical pizza.
09:37 Now, on to ricotta.
09:38 I think ricotta's fun on a pizza,
09:40 but honestly, I don't really like ricotta on a pizza.
09:42 It just kind of adds a little bit of texture,
09:45 but it's too quiet.
09:46 It's not rich enough.
09:47 It's not fun enough.
09:48 Monterey Jack.
09:49 Now, this feels like it might be a Provolone scenario.
09:51 It almost borderline is,
09:52 but it makes the most incredible cheese pulls.
09:55 I mean, it looks beautiful,
09:56 and also just watching it pull away
09:59 as you're eating your pizza,
10:00 it's an experience.
10:01 Now, Parmigiano-Reggiano.
10:02 This is the most flavorful thing on this entire board
10:05 by 100x, so perfect for this pizza.
10:08 Monterey Jack for the perfect cheese pull.
10:11 Low moisture mozzarella for the perfect texture,
10:14 and Parmigiano-Reggiano for maximized flavor.
10:17 These three will work together
10:18 to create the perfect pizza cheese.
10:20 And now, garnishes.
10:22 A great garnish doesn't need to be cooked.
10:24 It doesn't overpower the other ingredients,
10:26 and of course, it adds flavorful intrigue.
10:29 First, let's talk about arugula.
10:30 I think most people would add this
10:31 for some sort of a spicy note,
10:32 and if you want to add something spicy,
10:34 maybe like pick an actual spicy ingredient,
10:37 like a pepper.
10:38 Now, let's talk about ranch.
10:39 You know, if I was 13 years old,
10:40 this would be good.
10:41 While I think a homemade ranch could be good on a pizza,
10:43 on a perfect pizza, no.
10:45 It does not add.
10:46 It overpowers.
10:47 Let's talk hot sauce.
10:48 This is not just spicy.
10:50 It's also acidic,
10:51 and I don't want any more acidity on this pizza.
10:53 It's level, and it's already balanced.
10:56 Craft-grated Parmesan cheese.
10:58 This is like mostly potato starch
10:59 or like wood chips or something.
11:00 I would never use this at all.
11:02 Balsamic glaze.
11:03 It's so overpowering.
11:05 All you're gonna taste is balsamic glaze,
11:08 and that ruins all of our hard work.
11:10 Now, a lot of pizza places are gonna give you
11:12 dry oregano and crushed red pepper flakes.
11:14 The only way you're gonna get the true flavor of these
11:16 is if you somehow manage to actually chew on them
11:19 in your mouth,
11:20 which is pretty unlikely
11:21 with all the other stuff that's going on in there.
11:23 It's a distraction.
11:24 Chives.
11:25 Big fan of fresh chives on a pizza.
11:28 It adds a light oniony flavor,
11:29 and it lifts the flavor,
11:30 and somehow it brings all the flavors together.
11:32 I like this one.
11:33 Basil.
11:34 Yes, it's herbaceous.
11:35 Yes, it's fresh.
11:36 But somehow, it is arguably one of the most iconic ingredients
11:40 in pizza known to man.
11:42 I love it in a pizza.
11:43 Last, hot honey.
11:45 I love hot honey on a pizza.
11:48 It's not gonna overpower the flavor.
11:49 It's gonna come together to create a harmonious flavor
11:53 that's a little bit spicy, a little bit sweet,
11:55 but it's not taking away from what we worked hard on.
11:58 I'm gonna say yes to this.
11:59 My final choices are hot honey,
12:01 fresh basil,
12:02 and fresh sliced chives.
12:04 Finally, we're gonna put it all together.
12:07 We're building this on a pizza peel.
12:10 I have a mix of all-purpose flour and cornmeal
12:12 to help this slide around on the pan.
12:14 There's a lot of ways to shape a pizza.
12:16 I think the easiest way
12:17 is to work it around your knuckles
12:18 let gravity kind of do the work for the first bit,
12:20 and then stretch and turn, stretch and turn.
12:23 This is what they do at Domino's.
12:24 Sauce goes in the center, not too much.
12:26 Use the back end of your spoon.
12:28 Now, a little bit of our Monterey Jack,
12:30 mozzarella in equal portions,
12:32 and then just a little bit of Parmigiano for the flavor.
12:35 That's gonna go all over.
12:37 And finally, pepperoni.
12:39 And our pizza is ready for the oven.
12:41 Our pizza stone has been preheating with the oven
12:44 at its maximum temperature.
12:45 You need this hot.
12:46 In a pizza oven, you're normally cooking it
12:48 at like 700 degrees.
12:49 Your at-home oven's not gonna do that,
12:51 so get as close as you can.
12:52 Let it preheat for an hour, and then this goes in.
12:55 Our pizza is done.
12:57 Before we eat this, we garnish it, right?
12:59 Basil leaves, our chives, our hot honey.
13:03 And now we taste.
13:05 This is everything I want in a pizza.
13:10 The dough's salty, it's chewy.
13:12 I immediately get a crisp bottom,
13:14 but a nice, soft, cushy top.
13:16 The sauce doesn't overpower it,
13:17 but I immediately get that nice, vibrant tomato flavor.
13:20 The fragrance from the herbs on top.
13:22 A little bit of spiciness in the sauce
13:24 and spiciness in the pepperoni.
13:25 Balance this pizza out.
13:27 A nice, hot honey.
13:30 These are all the elements that make my perfect pizza,
13:32 but everybody's gonna have their own opinion.
13:34 That's fine.
13:35 But I would really advise that you give this one a shot.
13:38 (upbeat music)