One with ricotta, Romano, and basil added after the bake. One mozzarella, green pepper and onion. And one mozzarella, jalapeño, and pineapple.
Only question: how do do I prevent the mozzarella from browning so much? It was good but I'd like it a little less browned.
I shredded a block of mozzarella between the two pies. Granted, it was an Aldi mozzarella block. Higher quality cheese? Thicker shreds? Or is a par bake the best way?
Obligatory recipe link: https://www.seriouseats.com/foolproof-pan-pizza-recipe
by mxbrady
14 Comments
Have you tried putting the mozzarella on when there’s 3-5 minutes left? I think that’s what I usually do since I like my cheese a little less crispy
Edit: more specifically, usually when the pizza is pretty much done (like 12ish minutes in) I’ll put on the cheese, let it melt a little and then hit the broil on high until it gets a little color. But I’m no serious cook,, there no reasoning behind it anyway
For less browning, I’d lower the temp. If you’re using a normal home oven, you could also try moving the pan one rack down.
I typically preheat my oven to 500 instead of 550. I pop them in the oven for 10 mins at 500 then turn it up to 550 for the last 5 mins or so.
When I had an oven that let me do heat from top, bottom or both I would preheat the oven using both and when it was time to cook the pizza I would switch to just using heat from the bottom.
I moved and don’t have an oven that does that anymore, but if my cheese is getting too dark I just tent it with foil same as any baking. Take a piece of foil, create a vent (I rip a slit or two in it) and then just loosely place it on top of your pizza. It’s loose and vented because we’re not trying to keep steam in, just trying to protect against the direct heat
I like the cut of your jib, and by jib I mean post
I would put the pan on top of the stove and heat it that way. This way the dough cooks without messing much with the cheese
Is it low moisture mozz? That’s what you need
I just made 6 of these today for a pool party. I make the crust and sauce and prep the toppings the day before and let everyone top their sections as they please. I bake on the lowest rack possible at 500F, and if things start browning too soon I’ll set a piece of foil on top.
I do foil covered then remove for the last 5 min or so
Add in the mozz halfway through the bake.
Love this pizza and we make it on the regular!
Definitely don’t par bake. Mozz splitting and turning into a grease pile, or a mozz burning, or both is indicative of mozz that isn’t ready for a pie in a home oven without the right setup.
For a home pizza, as Kenji suggests in other videos, invest in a baking steel to make sure you get the crust to match the cheese melt so that you don’t have to force an over bake, and then find good cheese. Even in the foolproof cast iron style, the baking steel helps firm the crust quicker. Rip the baking steel and throw the cast iron on top. Crust will get crispy and puff faster than just your oven and the cast iron itself
Also check online sources if you can calibrate your oven to over temp it. My home oven maxes at 550, but I can calibrate it +30 degrees, and that extra boost helps a huge deal for me.
Cheese is the harder part to source honestly, but Grande cheese is the one worth looking for. For me, the Grande East mozz works best for how hot I can get my steel and oven.
More importantly than that, find some great canned tomatoes, and don’t cook the sauce at all. 28oz of sauce, 3 cloves of garlic minced, tsp of sugar, tsp of dried oregano, 2 tbsp fresh basil, salt and pepper to taste and give it a few hours to come together. The best tomatoes I’ve used so far from research is Sclafani crushed (https://a.co/d/j1BipO2). Super juicy and sweet. Game changer
Regardless, the pizza looks great. Kenji’s version started me down a huge rabbit hole of discovering recipes and techniques for pizza. His is way above average given what I’ve learned about since starting with his.
Freeze the low-moisture mozzarella cheese. Put it on frozen. Trust me.
You can freeze the mozz beforehand + finish on the burner on low to get the bottom browned