Soggy bottoms, sour sauce, and tough crusts? Making pizza at home may seem like a good deal, but spending your dough on take out might be more worth it.
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00:00Soggy bottoms, sour sauce, and tough crusts? Making pizza at home may seem like a good deal,
00:06but spending your dough on takeout might be more worth it.
00:09It's undeniable that a brick oven produces some of the smokiest,
00:13rustic, and most mouth-watering smells known to mankind.
00:16According to Inside Science, using a wood-fired brick oven is what's best for pizza.
00:20Restaurants use these ovens because the key to a well-rounded, savory tomato pie
00:24is for both the toppings and the dough on the bottom to finish cooking simultaneously.
00:28For this to happen, the temperature needs to reach about 625 degrees Fahrenheit,
00:33something most conventional ovens can't do.
00:35The hollow chamber of a brick oven allows for high heat to bake the top of the pizza,
00:39while its bricks take on thermodynamic qualities,
00:42ensuring a thorough, even heating from one end of the crust to the other.
00:46Inside Science tells us that by exposing your pizza to such high heat,
00:49it only takes about two minutes to cook — and that's thanks to the
00:52consistent amount of heat being produced by the small fire in this type of oven.
00:56The overall quality of a pizza improves when cooked in a brick oven,
01:00with crispier toppings and a perfectly charred crust.
01:03You may think that transferring your raw pizza to a baking sheet and
01:07popping the pan into an oven is enough to create a high-grade pizza,
01:10but that's far from the truth. First off, you'll need a pizza peel,
01:13which is a large, flat spatula with a long handle, to properly transfer your pie into the oven.
01:18Mama Kuchina says that utilizing a wood or metal peel also helps pizza makers place
01:22their uncooked creation directly on a hot surface.
01:25Flour dusted on metal peels helps to avoid any sticky dough residue.
01:29This tool also helps ensure even heating by allowing you to rotate the pie as it cooks,
01:34something that cannot be done as easily in a conventional oven due to lack of space.
01:38Home cooks could buy their own peel with a shorter handle,
01:40which would be better than not having one at all.
01:43Some at-home chefs assemble a pizza directly on a peel so the fully-loaded
01:46pizza can be shifted into an oven more carefully than without one.
01:51Ever see professional pizza makers ladle on a nice, thin layer of red sauce on a soft,
01:55fluffy pizza dough and think it wasn't nearly enough to suffice? Well,
01:58there's a reason this method works and makes for a well-balanced bite of tomato pie.
02:03Too much sauce adds unnecessary weight to a pizza, and dough won't do well under its pressure.
02:08Stellar pizza makers know how to keep soggy crusts from happening.
02:11According to Pizza Planet, sauce should be spread so that there's just enough to mask the dough,
02:16making sure it doesn't outshine its toppings. The sauce will also cook along with the dough,
02:20so having a thinner layer will heat it through more effectively.
02:23Look, there you go, no tip-sag.
02:25No tip-sag.
02:26Yeah, cheers.
02:26It's worth mentioning that at home, your instincts might tell you to go ahead and
02:30use up that leftover pasta sauce for the pizza dinner you plan on making.
02:34While you might be tempted to use the two interchangeably, Webster on Store tells us
02:38they're different enough and should only be used for their respective purposes.
02:41Why?
02:42Pizza sauce is typically a little thicker in consistency than pasta sauce.
02:46Hence the reason a thin layer does the trick for pizza, whereas with a thinner pasta sauce,
02:50you might desire a larger portion to fully coat your spaghetti.
02:54When it comes to cheese, one trick pizzerias do that you might be missing out on at home
02:58is pairing the right kinds together. According to Insider, topping a pizza
03:02with the appropriate cheese blend offers advantages over letting just one cheese perform solo.
03:07David Kaye, a former restaurant cook who started operating a pizza business out of his home in
03:11New York City in 2020, told Insider he uses a blend of cheeses low on moisture.
03:16Topping a pizza with too much wet cheese will make for a damp pie, and who wants that?
03:20Kaye also points out that using fresh cheese often creates excess liquid.
03:24The secret? Kaye uses low-moisture mozzarella, along with a small batch of fresh mozzarella
03:30mixed in with a couple of hard cheeses he gets shipped in from Wisconsin.
03:33Certain cheeses provide a pie with more gooey meltiness,
03:36which is why mozzarella and provolone are often coupled together, per Webster on Store.
03:40Another option used in restaurants is Gruyere, and though it's a hard cheese,
03:44it contains a great melting ability. Varieties like Parmesan and cheddar
03:48do not endure heat well and have a lower amount of elasticity.
03:52You must know that pineapple on a pizza is something like devil for Italian pizzaiolo."
04:00Soggy toppings on a pizza can be one reason to skip the homemade attempt altogether and
04:04walk down to your nearest pizza parlor for a better pie. The problem? When prepping pizza
04:09toppings at home, it's easy to forget that vegetables hold in moisture and will release
04:13water while your pizza is baking. This can cause potential crispiness in your crust to get lost
04:18completely. According to Crust Kingdom, sauteing vegetables first so they shrink allows for their
04:23moisture to evaporate before you put them on your pizza. It's essential to cook root vegetables like
04:28carrots and onions first before putting them on your pizza, as their natural sweetness comes
04:32through as they are heated. Draining your vegetables and patting them dry is also helpful.
04:37NA Pizza tells us using ingredients with more of an oily consistency can help avoid this issue as
04:42well. Because pizzerias are able to use higher oven temperatures, their toppings cook efficiently
04:46rather than too slowly, which allows for moisture release. Pizzeria owners shared via PMQ Pizza
04:52magazine that some restaurants pre-cook toppings like sausage for food safety. Heavy toppings may
04:57also create a wet layer between them and the dough, causing bare, no-sauce patches, and that
05:02isn't what you'd want either. If it's all in the dough, a pizza crust must start with great flour.
05:08How do so many expert pizza chefs achieve that delicate, perfectly balanced dough to create a
05:12heavenly crust? Well, it takes a bit more elbow grease than simply purchasing your favorite dough
05:17at the grocery store. Bleached flour doesn't compare with flour sourced from a mill, according
05:21to Food Republic. Sean McClain, chef and managing partner at 550 Pizza Bar, for example, said he
05:27uses only fresh-milled flour for his dough. Other pizza experts, such as Kraftwerk's Restaurants &
05:32Breweries senior director Mike Tom, whose company operates the Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom chain,
05:37agree that having a quality flour is key. According to Food Insight, flour containing
05:42less protein will carry less gluten, whereas more protein means added gluten. Too much gluten will
05:48turn pizza dough into a dense ball of not-so-goodness. Tom said the chain uses a lower-protein flour for
05:53thin-crust pizzas, while a higher-protein flour is used for Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas and
05:58pizza-adjacent foods like calzones. Will Bingham, owner of The Pizza Peel & Taproom, said he combines
06:04high-gluten white flour with wheat flour to add volume to his dough, per PMQ Pizza magazine.
06:10Unless you're a chemist, achieving this balance at home takes great patience.
06:15It's safe to assume that higher-quality water will make for better dough. According to Fortune's
06:19Kitchen, some pizza chefs believe using filtered water will improve the texture of pizza crust.
06:24Although not every chef agrees, many say that it's at least one step above
06:28using a potentially disastrous unfiltered alternative.
06:35The acidity, purity, and hardness of water are all components that affect dough,
06:39according to Pizza University. The water's pH level, which determines how acidic it is,
06:44can either work for or against a pizza crust's elasticity and overall weight.
06:48In addition, water high in chlorine content runs the risk of affecting the cultures in pizza dough.
06:53As a remedy for that, some pizzerias will leave water to sit out uncovered overnight so that the
06:57chlorine slowly releases itself. The amount of mineral content in the water must also be enough
07:02to help the yeast as part of its fermentation process, Pizza University explains. Some
07:07pizzerias opt to use bottled water in their pizza dough, which can get pretty expensive.
07:11According to top pizza chefs via Fortune's Kitchen, another key to keep your dough from
07:16falling flat is to season it with salt. If you're wondering why it's so difficult making
07:20that perfect pizza dough at home, maybe this is why. If you're used to buying pizza dough,
07:26you may not realize what goes into a homemade batch. We want to let you in on a little secret
07:30about how some restaurants approach their dough, giving them the final crusty texture,
07:34and it lies in the proofing. Executive chef Matteo Schiavone of Pomo Pizzeria Napolitana
07:40swears by double fermentation, which is letting the dough rise twice, according to PMQ Pizza
07:45magazine. First, he lets his dough rise for four hours, then folds it into a ball and lets it rise
07:50for another 8 to 12 hours. He adds that dough raised with too little time results in a heavier
07:55pizza. He cautions chefs to be aware that warmer temperatures increase the dough's ability to rise
08:00faster, so he cools in batches for the first proofing and stores it at about 70 degrees
08:05during that second period. The goal of a great pizzeria is not to create bread dough, but rather
08:10a light and airy crust, but over-kneading leads to more bready dough, as reported by Cucina Dolce.
08:15Cold temperatures make pizza dough more compact and tight, resulting in the gluten holding together
08:20more and complicating the kneading process. Cooking cold dough is helpful if you prefer a
08:24denser crust, though a restaurant succeeding in the pizza department will have its dough
08:28double-proofed and unfrozen. Cucina Dolce recommends kneading for no more than six minutes.
08:34Hand-tossing and properly stretching pizza dough should probably be left to the experts,
08:39and that's because it takes practice.
08:40"...kneading dough. Oh! Kneading dough. Oh! Just gotta wait for it to come down."
08:49The importance of stretching dough, as opposed to, say, rolling it, lies in the final product
08:53you'll be left with. Top-notch pizzerias in New York City often structure their dough around
08:58texture so that components like air bubbles yield just the right balance. Another trick,
09:02the art of hand-tossing dough, contributes to a traditionally thinner crust,
09:06according to Fortune's Kitchen. It can also be easier for pizza makers to work with dough by
09:11hand. Take New York City, for example, where there are endless pizza options and types of
09:15crust to cater to every preference. By pushing air out of the dough when stretching it, you can
09:19create a thinner New York City crust. Restaurant Five-O retains air in its dough with a pulling
09:24technique that results in a chewable texture rather than a denser product.
09:29The choice of seasonings can truly make or break a pizza sauce. Ever experienced the sensation of
09:34an acidic tomato sauce or, worse, a flavorless one altogether? Whether you're attempting to do
09:39too much or aren't sure what goes in a pizza sauce, know that pizzerias typically keep things
09:43simple for results that are golden. The goal of a good sauce is to highlight the pizza's flavors
09:48rather than upstage them, kindly complementing already existing notes in the tomatoes.
09:53Practicing restraint helps a sauce have just the right amount of seasoning,
09:56especially when salty, flavor-packed toppings are involved. Fresh-grown basil,
10:01oregano, and garlic are flavors frequently used in pizzerias to do just that.
10:05Webster-Rant's store also recommends garlic salt, onion powder, Italian seasoning,
10:09and just a little sugar to create a great sauce.
10:13Another reason pizza from around the corner tastes better than what you make at home
10:17is that sauce is prioritized at successful pizzerias.
10:20Here, there you go. Thank you. This pizza is unbelievable. Thank you.
10:24What is in that sauce? Oh, I'm sorry. That's top secret.
10:28According to Fortune's Kitchen, a solid pizzeria sauce is homemade and should not run short of
10:33fresh-grown tomatoes complemented with fresh basil, oregano, and garlic. Whereas you might
10:37be inclined to cook a red sauce to a point of no return, many pizzerias realize this isn't the way
10:42to go. First, cooking at a lower temperature helps the taste of sauce by not obliterating
10:47it with too much heat. When temperatures run on the lower side, notes of freshness are more
10:51detectable, while the flavor of cooked tomatoes can overwhelm your taste buds if a sauce is
10:56cooked on high heat for too long. Pizza sauce is most commonly prepared with uncooked,
11:00pureed tomatoes, according to Webster on Store. It's all about preserving the natural compounds
11:05that give tomatoes both sweet and slightly acidic flavors. If overcooked, the sugars
11:10found in tomatoes will caramelize and offer that overcooked, unpleasant flavor. Should
11:15a sauce be overcooked, it'll brown in color and lose its vibrant red hue.
11:19Now that you know the basics, you can better understand why your homemade pizza doesn't
11:23taste as good as the ones you can find at a restaurant.