Pizzas

[number8]

Why can't I ever make a pizza like the professionals. I buy the best ingredients you can get your hands on, but they never bear any resemblance to a professional pizza (Pizza Express/Dominoes etc...). As far as I can tell, the only thing I don't have is a pizza oven, but surely that is not the difference?

[bobbobley]

do you through the base around in the air for a few minutes before putting it in the tin? this will help.

[number8]

No I dont - but will give it a go. Thanks

[abfandango]

I'm pretty sure the stone produces a different type of pizza. I think you can now buy stones for the very purpose, for home ovens. Don't use normal stones from the garden, like we tried. The pizza collapses, the topping falls off, and the stuff you can salvage often has moss and bits of soil on.

[brawburd]

most certainly to do with the stone oven!

[BadBob]

Also do you make the pizza bough or buy a ready made base. As with all things in cooking a small variation in the ingredients or ther proportion can make all the difference, for example pizza hut, pizza express and dominos all have very different bases but ever base from each shop is the same. Not much of an answer but as above the overn has a lot to do with it, I believe the temprature in a pizza over is higher than is achievable with a house hold oven.

[BadBob]

As you can see here they are talking 450 - 500 C when using a proper pizza oven.
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/SaraElzeftawy.
shtml

[Starman 2112]

The secret is definately the pizza oven, a convential kitchen oven just doesn't do the job.

[melody2002]

I always - when buying pre-made pizza's - (although I know your asking about making one from scratch) take all the ingrediants off and re-put on (so no 'packing/squashing down) and then finally and VERY important, put on the top covering ALL the chicken/spicy beef/onions whatever goodies your having, mozzorella cheese. VERY, VERY important. Pizza outlets always do this and insures that NONE of your topping is burnt/dried up, so make sure it covers your intire pizza (even if your not too keen on cheese, mozty is fairly tasteless).

[aloha]

All other advice plus: Pizza sauce is very different than spaghetti sauce. I've made quite alot of pizza at home, and also find that the taste is quite different from pizzerias. Commercial sauces are sweeter and thinner. I'm sorry, but I'm too tired to look it up on the internet right now. The other thing that I do is to sprinkle a bit of cornmeal on the stone which adds an essential 'uhn' to the crust. As an aside, I love my 'customized' pizzas, but my god they turn out to be expensive!