How to create the perfect pizza

Operators can get an edge on the competition with a few simple tweaks, according to an article published on Monday by the New Scientist.

Operators and pizza makers need to make a number of modifications to the pie, to ensure they get the best possible flavour, texture and nutritional value.

“These changes could add up to a significant price-per-slice advantage,” writes Jonathan Fennell of the National Centre for Operational Analysis and Control. 

To achieve the desired result, operators should:  1.

make their own dough. 

Baking a pizza involves a number “of tedious steps” that are “difficult to automate”, he writes.

 “In a vacuum, this might seem counterintuitive.

Why would you bake a pizza at all if you couldn’t make it yourself?” 

2.

cook the pie on a separate, separate baking surface. 

This is probably the most obvious change, but Fennelle notes that it’s “differ[ing] from what we’re used to” and that it “is often overlooked by those who make the dough”.

 3.

bake in a microwave oven. 

“The microwave oven is a particularly bad place to bake pizza,” writes Fennella.

“If you have an oven of the right temperature, the oven will melt the dough as it’s baking.” 

4.

bake the dough in the microwave for at least 30 seconds. 

A pizza should be “tasted” on the same baking surface as it is cooked.

5.

cook it in a high-powered oven.

 This will ensure that the dough is “cooked to the proper degree”, says Fennel.

6.

store the pizza in the refrigerator.

The pizza should stay in the fridge for up to two days before being served, “unless you really like the pizza to taste like a plastic bag of frozen custard”.

7.

avoid using cheese.

While some pizza joints may be “somewhat concerned” about their own ingredients being contaminated, Fennells advice to pizza makers is to “don’t use cheese”, since it can be difficult to wash the ingredients before baking.

8.

bake at the correct temperature.

There are several things that can go wrong when making a pizza, Fernell says.

For example, “if the dough starts to stick to the sides of the oven, the baking temperature is too high, so you need to adjust the baking time”.

The same can happen if the oven doesn’t reach the desired temperature, “as you can see from the example above”.

9.

bake it in the oven with a different, more aggressive temperature. 

Another important thing to remember is to bake it at the “right temperature” when it’s being cooked, so that “the dough is not too warm to the touch”.

10.

ensure that no air is entering the oven.

“The oven needs air to circulate through the dough, so a bit of baking air in the sides will help with this,” explains Fennels advice.

“If the air gets too low, the dough will become lumpy and the pizza will not turn out the way you want.”

11.

ensure the pizza is cooked in a way that minimises carbon dioxide.

Fennell notes that the use of baking soda, “a non-essential element in pizza dough” can help.

12.

avoid cooking the dough too long.

“I would never use a dough that’s been baking for more than 10 minutes, but you can cook it for a longer time if you cook it properly,” he says.

“A longer bake means less air in there, and this will reduce the amount of moisture in the dough.”

13.

ensure you’re using a well-mixed pizza dough.

“If you bake your pizza in a dough like this, the amount [of moisture] in the mixture will change.

If you bake it properly, the mixture should not change,” Fennes advice says. 

14.

ensure there are no gaps in the crust.

“Pie crusts can easily be stretched or squeezed by using your fingers, so if you’re not careful, they can crack and fall apart,” Fernells advice says, “and you can easily lose a lot of flavour and nutrition.”

15.

avoid cutting the crust too thin.

“You want to avoid cutting too far from the edge of the pizza,” Fens says.

To do this, “make sure the pizza isn’t too large or too small.

The pizza should not be too thick or too thin.”

16.

ensure your oven is preheated.

It is “important” that your oven has a preheating function, Fers says.

That means it should be set to its “best” state before baking, and that “you can get it to work properly by using a very small temperature”.

17. ensure it