Your Pizza Questions Answered By Experts

Hi, I'm Stephen and I'm a level one chef.

This is a store bought sauce that we're looking for.

Hi, I'm Beth, and I'm a level two chef.

I really don't think that if you're eating pizza

you need to worry about a diet.

Hi, I'm Frank, a chef at the

Institute of Culinary Education and I've been cooking

for 24 years.

Of course you've gotta have garlic, it's Italian food.

It's funny because I come from an Italian-American family.

My grandmother did not like garlic at all.

I'm Rhoda, I'm the video food director

for 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 gets soggy 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 crust

just a little bit thicker.

And it's really really easy to roll out.

[Stephen] [laughs] It's not working.

Make sure your oven is turned up as high as it will go.

Hopefully 500 degrees.

Use a low moisture cheese.

Also if you are able

to preheat your pizza stone

or pan or whatever you're using, that will help as well.

I start with my pan, are we using a pan with those

multiple holes, like I used in the video?

Because that could be the problem right there.

I made most of the pizza dough for

the entire season of Making Perfect Pizza

for Bon Appetit.

I know everyone's making sourdough bread right now,

but that experience, making pizza dough

for months and months made me 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 oil dripping out the back. So good.

Chef Frank, I think he might fold.

Rhoda. I'm going to say Rhoda is not a folder.

I'm definitely a folder when it comes to

New 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 know I'm from Philadelphia.

How about that?

[bells ring]

How to get the perfect crust,

In home baking conditions.

It all depends on what you mean by perfect crust.

What do you want your crust to look like?

I've always had a little trouble

with making pizza at home.

I constantly tried, I constantly change it up.

I hope that you guys can give me some advice on this one.

Crank your oven up as high as you can

without it being dangerous, of course.

And use preheated surfaces like a pizza stone

or a preheated baking sheet.

[bells ring]

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 gluten a 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 edge

on the pizza, all around the sides.

Well, it does for traditional style pizzas,

but the fact of the matter is,

you can make a pretty delicious pizza

with a non-leavened dough.

You can make almost like a cracker type of crust,

so that it's super thin and crispy.

I don't really like pizza to be too crunchy on the bottom.

Certainly letting the dough rise

is going to give you that, that, that

softness that you like around the edges.

[bells ring]

Tomato sauce,

Or canned tomatoes?

I would suggest making tomato sauce from canned tomatoes.

It's really really easy. 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 believe you use canned tomatoes.

Here's the thing about canned tomatoes:

Canned tomatoes are picked at the peak

of ripeness, right?

They might not make it to the market in good shape,

so they pick them and they put them in sauce,

and they can them.

So canned tomatoes, for me, are better

than 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 that throw-it-on mood right now.

I'm tired. [laughs]

[bells ring]

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 should only put enough sauce

to kind of dress the pie.

Always leave a little bit of an edge around your pizza,

and make sure that it doesn't feel too heavy,

so you can actually lift up the edge a little bit.

Make sure that it's not being weighed down

by your sauce.

Because if it does, you're going to get a very-

Soggy

Soggy

Soggy pizza, and it's also going to be more likely

to burn the roof of your mouth if you can't wait

to eat a piece when it comes out of the oven

like I do.

I like to use maybe a small ladle

and 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.

[bells ring]

After the sauce,

Do we put cheese first or topping first?

I would say the right way

is crust, sauce, cheese, seasoning, delicious.

Good to go.

I think it's nice to have a little bit of cheese

on top of the toppings

because it helps to hold them to the pizza,

and it just gives you more of a chance

to have more cheese

so I would probably do sauce, cheese, toppings,

and little bit more cheese on top.

You can get a pie, and all you see is cheese,

you got to dig for the pepperoni, nah.

On top of the cheese, right?

That's why you put it there. 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.

[bells ring]

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, Chicago deep dish pizza all the way.

The Chicago slice, it is not pizza, people.

It is a casserole.

I'm totally a New York slice person.

As someone who's lived in New York for almost 20 years,

I got to go with the New York slice.

[bells ring]

[laughs]

Do Americans, oof.

I think we need to stand together right now.

Really put ranch dressing on their pizzas?

[laughs]

Do Americans really put ranch dressing

on their pizza? I have no idea.

I have never actually seen anyone

put ranch dressing on a pizza.

I've never had ranch on my pizza.

I wouldn't be surprised if Americans

put ranch dressing on their pizza

because Americans love ranch,

and Americans love pizza.

Yes, Americans do put ranch dressing on their pizza, okay?

Ranch dressing goes to pizza,

like pineapples go to pizza.

I kind of believe you see ranch dressing

where the pizza isn't all that good, right?

The crust isn't good. It probably tastes like cardboard,

so you need that ranch dressing

to get it down, right?

You get a good piece of pizza with a good crust,

you don't need ranch dressing.

[bells ring]

[laughs]

What kind of cheeses

Result in the best texture for a pizza?

Mozzarella.

Mozzarella.

Mozzarella.

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 is

not pizza.

Oop.

[bells ring]

Next question.

Which cheese would you recommend,

For lactose intolerant people?

Bonus points if Emily gets her own

segment on the subject?

Follow your heart. I love Emily'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 welcome

to 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 super ripened, like older cheeses,

like a super old Parmesan,

is also going to be pretty low lactose

because the age helps break down the lactose in it.

So if you can get like, a real fancy-ass Parmesan,

go for it, baby.

And just keep your Lact-aid pills on you

and 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.

[bells ring]

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 pizza

is really, really good.

It's really good.

One thing I got turned onto was

a drizzle of hot honey on pizza.

That's not something that I ever tried before,

but I definitely have seen that trend happening

in the Epicurious, Bon Appetit Test Kitchen.

And it's actually a really nice way to top a pizza.

I'm a little more of a purist when it comes to this.

I want it to be a pizza, not a flatbread.

[bells ring]

[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 hammer this 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 grave

without having pineapple on pizza.

You're getting fruit

while 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 validity

with him today.

[bells ring]

Can someone please breakdown the 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 how to break that down for you.

My man Frank is going to have to take this one

because, yo no se. [laughs]

Wood and coal fired ovens tend

to give you a more kind of like bubbly crust

whereas, a gas oven would give you kind of a more

flat kind of slice pie crust.

But usually wood and coal ovens tend to be brick ovens.

[bells ring]

And that's everything.

That's everything.

Everything

There is to know

About pizza.

Well, almost everything.

[upbeat string music]