Forget what you know about Hawaiian Pizza. At Hydraulic Hearth in Larkinville, chef Maxwell Smith is doing things differently. He’s using fresh pineapple and a blazing hot oven to improve the battered reputation of this sweet and salty pizza. Dig In, Buffalo is brought to you by Milk For Health.

Many people said, “Don’t put that on the menu.” And I think I’ve awakened the pineapple on pizza lovers because it’s become one of our betterselling pies. It’s a testament to the fact that we’re doing it right. Welcome to Digin Buffalo, brought to you by Milk for Health. I’m Maxwell Smith, the head chef here at Hydraulic Hearth. And I love these things where you can take something that people see as not worthy of focus or care and take it and give it that focus and care. When I first started here, I was the kid tasked with making the dough cuz no one wanted to do it. And uh you just get to know it so well. And it was always my goal to make a like balanced, more cuisine forward Hawaiian pizza because I grew up on Hawaiian pizza. My mom loves Hawaiian pizza. The original Hawaiian pizza, so far as I know, was made in Canada. And the guy who made it was a Greek pizzeria owner and he was playing with a sweet and sour combination. And I think one of the most important things in all of pizza is the balance of the actual slice you’re picking up. And then mozzarella. Look for mozzarella that does not contain corn starches or the separating materials. Mozzarella should be very light when it’s melted and very pulley and stringy. We’re pretty much operating 835 to 850 right now and it it is the perfect temperature in my opinion. You’re looking for these black spots, small bubbles spread that char flavor. That is the main flavoring of the bread, of the crust. And I encourage everyone to eat the crust, please. And that’s the whole wine. It’s few ingredients but maximum flavor drawn and maximum balance given to those ingredients. [Music]

Dining and Cooking