Almost everyone loves pizza. And what do customers love more than pizza? A well-made, crispy crust pizza. Crusts that are soggy or not flavorful are a recipe for disaster. Our own Mike Colligon has some tips to help ensure your foodservice is serving the best pies in town.
When making the pizza, everything from the toppings to the sauce to the dough used for the crust should be as fresh as possible. While using frozen might seem like a better investment, not going with fresh ingredients can change the flavor profile of the pie. Causing customers to be dissatisfied and not return. And for cheese, always choose a ball of fresh mozzarella. If you can find a locally produced cheese, even better! Pre-shredded cheese has additives to keep it from clumping, but that also affects the melt flavor and taste.
On a similar note, ensure all the ingredients, including the flour, are of good quality. Mike likes to use 00 flour. Also called double zero flour, it's finely ground and made from soft wheat. Using 00 flour instead of all-purpose flour for your dough could help increase profits with repeat orders.
Lately, there's been a trend toward using unique toppings to set restaurants apart from the competition. And while you may get a buzz out of doing that, too much can end up not being a good thing. Especially if your clientele isn't interested. Mike suggests keeping the pizzas simple and traditional. Pizza is one of those dishes that don't need a lot of fusing. That said, Mike does confess to loving a conveyor-cooked pizza topped with pepperoni and pineapple!
Having the right ingredients also includes using cornmeal at the prep station for the bottom of the dough. Not only does it help get the pizza on and off of the peel, but it also doesn't burn inside the oven, so the bottom of the crust ends up as the top.