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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Your Pizza Questions Answered By Experts

Credit: epicurious
Duration: 11:32s 0 shares 2 views

Your Pizza Questions Answered By Experts
Your Pizza Questions Answered By Experts

Our panel of Epicurious experts returns, this time to answer all of your questions about making pizza!

Join Chef Frank Proto from the Institute of Culinary Education, director Rhoda, food scientist Rose, home cook Beth, and level 1 mad scientist Stephen as they respond to your user-submitted questions.

What does it take to turn yourself into a professional pizzaiolo?

Find out on this episode of Epicurious FAQ.

- Hi, I'm Stephen andI'm a level one chef.This is a store bought saucethat we're looking for.- Hi, I'm Beth, and I'm a level two chef.I really don't think thatif you're eating pizzayou need to worry about a diet.- Hi, I'm Frank, a chef at theInstitute of CulinaryEducation and I've been cookingfor 24 years.Of course you've gotta havegarlic, it's Italian food.It's funny because I come froman Italian-American family.My grandmother did not like garlic at all.- I'm Rhoda, I'm the video food directorfor Bon Appetit and Epicurious.- Rhoda Boone,- Come on in, Rhoda.

Yeah.That one's tangier.- Starter.- And I'm Rose, I'm a food scientist.[bell dings]- My pizza always getssoggy at the center.- How do I keep my crust- crispy all the way through?- Hmm.- Couple of ways to solve this problem.- Make sure you roll out your crustjust a little bit thicker.- And it's really really easy to roll out.- [Stephen] [laughs] It's not working.- Make sure your oven is turnedup as high as it will go.Hopefully 500 degrees.- Use a low moisture cheese.- Also if you are ableto preheat your pizza stoneor pan or whatever you'reusing, that will help as well.- I start with my pan, arewe using a pan with thosemultiple holes, like I used in the video?Because that could bethe problem right there.- I made most of the pizza dough forthe entire season of Making Perfect Pizzafor Bon Appetit.I know everyone's makingsourdough bread right now,but that experience, making pizza doughfor months and months mademe never want to do it again.[bells ring]- To fold,- Or not to fold?- I fold my slices.

I'm like a New Yorker.I fold it in half, and eat it like that.You get the little oildripping out the back.

So good.- Chef Frank, I think he might fold.Rhoda.

I'm going to sayRhoda is not a folder.- I'm definitely a folder when it comes toNew York City style pizza.- Stephen, I'm going go fold.- Depends on where you are.If you're at a fast food joint,Pizza Huts of the world, fold that.- Beth, I would say is not a folder.- It's not really a fair question,because if you're a New Yorker,you have to fold.- I do not fold my pizza.But If I'm in a super hurry, like,I'll curve it a little bit,so it [chuckles] fits in my mouth.- You got to fold.

Come on, folks.- That's why, you knowI'm from Philadelphia.How about that?- How to get the perfect crust,- In home baking conditions.- It all depends on whatyou mean by "perfect crust".- What do you want yourcrust to look like?- I've always had a little troublewith making pizza at home.I constantly tried, Iconstantly change it up.I hope that you guys can giveme some advice on this one.- Crank your oven up as high as you canwithout it being dangerous, of course.- And use preheatedsurfaces like a pizza stoneor a preheated baking sheet.- Why does the dough need to rise- Before making the pizza?Dough needs to rise because you're adding- Active dry yeast.- Yeast.- If we don't let it rise,you won't give your glutena chance to start forming.- The yeast will give your dough flavor.- Unless you want it to be a flatbread,you really need it to rise,because you want that puffy edgeon the pizza, all around the sides.- Well, it does fortraditional style pizzas,but the fact of the matter is,you can make a pretty delicious pizzawith a non-leavened dough.You can make almost likea cracker type of crust,so that it's super thin and crispy.- I don't really like pizza tobe too crunchy on the bottom.Certainly letting the dough riseis going to give you that, that, thatsoftness that you like around the edges.- Tomato sauce,- Or canned tomatoes?- I would suggest making tomatosauce from canned tomatoes.- It's really reallyeasy.

All you need to do,buy a can of tomatoes,- Add some garlic, oil, salt,you're good to go.- As a chef, people are like,"Oh my gosh, I can't believeyou use canned tomatoes."Here's the thing about canned tomatoes:Canned tomatoes are picked at the peakof ripeness, right?They might not make it tothe market in good shape,so they pick them andthey put them in sauce,and they can them.So canned tomatoes, for me, are betterthan fresh tomatoes on pizza.- I'm in the canned tomato category.- Team tomato sauce.It already is pre-fixed.You don't really have to worry about it,you just have to kind of throw it on.And I'm in thatthrow-it-on mood right now.I'm tired.

[laughs]How much sauce,- Is the perfect amount of sauce?- Jeepers, that's hard.That's a hard question to answer.- Another great question.You guys are very insightful.Really thought about your pizza.

Hmm.- I believe that you shouldonly put enough sauceto kind of dress the pie.- Always leave a little bitof an edge around your pizza,and make sure that itdoesn't feel too heavy,so you can actually liftup the edge a little bit.Make sure that it's not being weighed downby your sauce.Because if it does, you'regoing to get a very-- Soggy- Soggy pizza, and it'salso going to be more likelyto burn the roof of yourmouth if you can't waitto eat a piece when itcomes out of the ovenlike I do.- I like to use maybe a small ladleand just kind of spread it all over.- I don't like a really saucy pie.I like more cheese.- There is such thing as too much sauce.- After the sauce,- Do we put cheese first or topping first?- I would say the right wayis crust, sauce, cheese,seasoning, delicious.Good to go.- I think it's nice tohave a little bit of cheeseon top of the toppingsbecause it helps tohold them to the pizza,and it just gives you more of a chanceto have more cheeseso I would probably dosauce, cheese, toppings,and little bit more cheese on top.- You can get a pie, andall you see is cheese,you got to dig for the pepperoni, nah.On top of the cheese, right?That's why you put itthere.

It's a garnish.Cheese, and then topping.

That's it.- Sauce, cheese, vegetables.The only way to go.- You should put your dough,then your cheese, then your sauce,then your toppings.As far as my family's concerned,as far as I'm concerned,the pizza is fabulous.- Ah, New York slice,- Or Chicago deep dish?- Only pizza is New York pizza.- I can't show my face after I say this,but I must.To tell you the truth, Chicagodeep dish pizza all the way.- The Chicago slice, itis not pizza, people.It is a casserole.- I'm totally a New York slice person.- As someone who's lived inNew York for almost 20 years,I got to go with the New York slice.- [laughs]Do Americans, oof.I think we need to standtogether right now.- Really put ranchdressing on their pizzas?Do Americans really put ranch dressingon their pizza?

I have no idea.I have never actually seen anyoneput ranch dressing on a pizza.- I've never had ranch on my pizza.I wouldn't be surprised if Americansput ranch dressing on their pizzabecause Americans love ranch,and Americans love pizza.- Yes, Americans do put ranchdressing on their pizza, okay?- Ranch dressing goes to pizza,like pineapples go to pizza.- I kind of believe you see ranch dressingwhere the pizza isn'tall that good, right?The crust isn't good.

Itprobably tastes like cardboard,so you need that ranch dressingto get it down, right?You get a good piece ofpizza with a good crust,you don't need ranch dressing.- What kind of cheeses- Result in the best texture for a pizza?- Mozzarella.- Mozzarella.

Mozzarella, I apologize.My Italian is getting away from me.I've been locked up in the house.- I mean, pizza is mozzarella, sauce,peccarino romano, basil.

That's pizza.Anything else isnot pizza.- Oop.- Next question.- Which cheese would you recommend,- For lactose intolerant people?- Bonus points if Emily gets her ownsegment on the subject?Follow your heart.

I loveEmily's segments.

[laughs]I agree with you.- FAQs, assemble!- Okay, Emily, opportunity knocks.- Emily, this is your chance to shine.- I always wanted to try this so,Emily!

Emily!- [Man On Computer]Okay, so go for it Emily.- Well hello, and welcometo my lactose intolerant kitchen.Here's the deal-io.I like buffalo mozzarella,and it is, I think it's low-lactose.I haven't had big problems with eating it.Also some of those superripened, like older cheeses,like a super old Parmesan,is also going to be pretty low lactosebecause the age helps breakdown the lactose in it.So if you can get like, areal fancy-ass Parmesan,go for it, baby.And just keep your Lact-aid pills on youand like, experiment, you know?Just try it out.I mean, what's your worst case scenario?A bad poop, right?All right, well thanks for having me.Have a great day.- Moving on.- Next, what are your favorite- Non-traditional toppings?- Non-traditional toppings, I don't know.- I love shrimp on my pizza,Fried, breaded shrimp on top of pizzais really, really good.It's really good.- One thing I got turned onto wasa drizzle of hot honey on pizza.That's not somethingthat I ever tried before,but I definitely haveseen that trend happeningin the Epicurious, BonAppetit Test Kitchen.And it's actually a reallynice way to top a pizza.- I'm a little more of apurist when it comes to this.I want it to be a pizza, not a flatbread.- [chuckles]- Pineapple on pizza?- Oh, there it is.I knew it was coming!- Oh, boy.

This is quite the debate.- Pineapple, no!

Absolutely not.Pineapple on pizza, no.Definitely not pineapple.- I couldn't even hammerthis home any harder:Yes!Yes, a million times, yes.- I do like pineapple on pizza.Don't at me.- For me, not really.- I've been cooking for 24 years,and eating my whole life,and I've never had pineapple on pizza.I would like to [chuckles] go to my gravewithout having pineapple on pizza.- You're getting fruitwhile you're eating something unhealthy.Why're you complaining?Just eat the pineapple.

You're being lazy.I'm judging you.- My director is shaking his head.I think I've lost some validitywith him today.- Can someone please breakdownthe difference between- Wood, coal, brick ovens,- And the different pizza results.Oh, that's a good question.- This question is a doozy.- I don't really know howto break that down for you.- My man Frank is goingto have to take this onebecause, yo no se.

[laughs]- Wood and coal fired ovens tendto give you a more kindof like bubbly crustwhereas, a gas oven wouldgive you kind of a moreflat kind of slice pie crust.But usually wood and coalovens tend to be brick ovens.- And that's everything.- That's everything.- Everything- There is to know- About pizza.- Well, almost everything.[upbeat string music]

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