9 Chefs Reveal 5 Key Steps to Making Restaurant-Quality Pizza at Home

People who love to cook at home might be hesitant in trying certain dishes and pizza is one of them.USA Today (USA TODAY) Writerrabbitry (Kylie Warren) stated that whether she must make her own or use commercially available dough, or lack a professional oven, she always felt that the dish was difficult and could not be perfectly reproduced in her own kitchen; However, during National Pizza Month in October, a large number of homemade pizzas appeared on the social platform TikTokrecipe piqued his interest in high-quality pizza. Some top chefs and cookbook authors even argue that restaurant-quality pizza can be easily made at home with the right tips and equipment. Here are 5 keys and essential tools for crispier, better-tasting pizza, suggested by 9 pizza professionals:

High-quality ingredients and a professional pizza oven can help enhance the flavor of homemade pizza, but according to professional chefs, these are not the most important factors; In fact, most people agree that the biggest difference between restaurant pizza and homemade pizza is patience. Chef Richard Hutton says his main advice is to keep it simple and give the dough enough time to rise. It only requires the basics of flour, water, yeast and salt, he says, but letting the dough rest and develop flavor makes a big difference.

Restaurant manager James Mitchell also agreed. He said that if the dough is processed quickly, the crust may become too tough; Dough that has been completely rested will have a very different taste and texture.

Although there is no specific resting time, many pizza chefs recommend resting the dough in the refrigerator overnight. Dough Chef Rich Labriola explains that one of the simplest tips for making pizza is to make a batch of dough and refrigerate it overnight; The next day, mix the partially fermented dough into new dough. As for the flour, the additional fermentation process helps create a deeper and richer flavor.

While the extra refrigeration time helps the pizza dough rise overall, it can make it more difficult to handle, so chefs recommend letting it warm on the counter before kneading and stretching refrigerated dough.

Chef Paul Szybielski explains that if you’re using refrigerated dough, let it warm for at least two hours before stretching; At room temperature the dough is loose and easy to stretch.

Although the dough should be allowed to rise, Pushilski said it’s not recommended to leave the dough out directly in the air. During the warming and fermentation process, a large bowl of dough can be turned upside down to prevent the surface from drying out and forming a tough skin.

But when is the dough ready? Chef Nick Swanson suggests letting the dough rise at room temperature for about two hours or until it has doubled in size and bubbles appear on the surface.

Contrary to popular belief, chefs agree that you don’t need an expensive pizza oven to cook perfect pizza at home. Chef Tal Baum explains that simply turning your home oven to the highest temperature and using a regular pan is enough, which is how all Italian families make pizza.

However, you need an oven with the highest temperature setting, and when cooking pizza, the temperature should be set to the highest setting. Pusilski says to leave plenty of time when preheating, especially when using a pizza stone or steel plate, because the hotter the surface, the better your chances of getting a crispy crust at home. Swanson says he turns his oven on to 500-550 degrees Fahrenheit and lets it heat for an hour.

The most important thing is not to drop or ignore the pizza once it’s in the oven. Mitchell said that at high temperatures, the difference between the golden layer and the burnt layer is often only a few seconds; Be sure to pay close attention to the condition of the pizza, especially in the final stages of baking.