Flour, salt, water and yeast – what do these simple ingredients have in common? They come together to form the perfect foundation for any good pizza! Mix these ingredients together and you will have the best pizza base. That being said, to enjoy a soft, fluffy pizza filled with the desired toppings, there is more to be done than just kneading the dough to perfection. So, in this article, we will share some of the best secrets of making restaurant-style pizza at home.
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Here are 6 easy tips for making restaurant-style pizza at home:
Get the right content:
All you need is flour, water, yeast and salt to make the perfect pizza dough. The main ingredients for a soft and fluffy dough are active dry yeast, high quality all purpose flour and filtered water. Use cold, filtered water that is free of contaminants, salts and minerals.
Choose the Right Dough:
Flour is the most important ingredient in pizza dough, and the type you use can have a big impact on the final product. All-purpose flour will suffice, although Type 00 flour, the finest milled grade flour, is recommended for better hole structure and dough texture.
Knead, Knead, Knead:
The texture of a pizza is greatly influenced by how it is kneaded. Making the right dough requires the right kneading technique. So, once you’ve gathered all the necessary ingredients into a ball, knead the dough with both hands for 10 minutes, or until it becomes stiff and stretchy. To check whether the dough will rise, check it with your fingers. When the dough slowly bounces back, it is ready to rise. If it still doesn’t feel right, knead it for another 2-3 minutes.
Cold-Prove Your Dough:
The term “cold-proofing” refers to storing your dough in the refrigerator after it is ready. As the yeast begins to break down the carbohydrates, the flavor and browning properties will improve. Make sure you grease the bowl you are going to use to rest the dough.
Stretch:
Start with a round ball of pizza dough as this makes it easier to shape the base into a circle. Gently place the dough on a floured surface, flour your hands, and push the dough into a small, flat disc with your fingers. Spreading your fingers through the middle, push the dough outward, slightly protruding the disc. Continue until you have about 12 to 16 inches of pizza base. That’s whyNeapolitan-style pizza bases like pizza are so thin, you should be able to see through the basewhen you put them in the light. Take care when doing this – you don’t want to tear it. Don’t be discouraged if your pizza isn’t a perfect oval, the beauty of homemade pizza is its character, not its uniformity.
When it comes to toppings, less is more:
Especially tomato chutney should be used sparingly. If you add too much sauce your pizza dough may become soggy and difficult to transfer to the oven. Also, avoid pouring the sauce (or any other topping) on the sides of the crust. Another important element to remember is that using fresh ingredients is the key to preparing a restaurant-style pizza. Pre-cook the meats before adding them to the pizza as they will take longer to cook than the pizza.
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And finally, set your pizza oven to 500°C for restaurant-quality pizza. To achieve this temperature, we recommend using a portable wood or gas-fired oven. Why do we recommend this oven temperature? Because the hotter the oven, the better the pizza will be. 500°C is the ideal temperature for perfect pizza – crisp on the outside, airy on the inside. Because a home oven can only go up to 250 degrees Celsius, making an authentic restaurant-style brick oven pizza at home can be a challenge. As a result, an outdoor, modern, sleek and portable oven is your best option. They’re easy enough to set up, come at a reasonable price that won’t break the bank, and provide tremendous heat and fast cooking times. They manage to provide all the benefits of a traditional brick oven without any of the drawbacks. The flavor and texture that ovens provide are unmatched; It’s not possible to get them from a home oven or grill.
So, if you follow these tips, you’ll be amazed at how great your pizza making skills will turn out. You’ll soon find yourself reaching for your pizza stone and oven instead of ordering takeout. It takes a little longer to make restaurant-style pizza at home, but the results are well worth the effort!
Author Life: Priyamvada Agarwal and Karan Raj Agarwal are the co-founders of Pizza Pro (Authorized Oni Pizza Oven Distributor for India)
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