Ingredients For Homemade Pizza You Must Have

Who doesn’t love a great pizza? At New York Brick Oven, we do. One of the most rewarding things that someone can do is craft a homemade pizza masterpiece. From the dough to the toppings, the process of making your own pizza at home is a beautiful thing. Today, we’re going to tell you about ingredients for homemade pizza you must have. At New York Brick Oven, one of our favorite things to do is share our passion with the world. So, let’s jump in and talk about what you need to gather for the best homemade pizza ever.

4 Ingredients For Homemade Pizza

1.) Yeast

Undoubtedly the most important part of a pizza, aside from the dough itself, is yeast. This key ingredient is what gives pizza dough its fluffy texture through rising. People often ask what the best kind of yeast to use is, and we’ll say it depends. If you want to have pizza the same day, instant yeast is your best bet. For a more developed, stronger dough, active dry yeast is the ticket. The active dry yeast requires blooming and maturation in the dough which can take anywhere from eight to twelve hours. To see the best results for any pizza dough, the best bet is to allow it to rise overnight in the refrigerator. This will result in a fluffy, yet chewy, texture.

2.) Water

Water is important for pizza dough. Things that affect water quality include pH, purity, and hardness. The most important of these is hardness, though. Water that is hard tends to have a higher pH, and thus, is more alkaline. Hard water inhibits the yeast’s ability to activate. Some people prefer to use spring water and swear by its effect on pizza dough. The most important thing to consider is that pH. If it’s higher than 7, you should probably find a different water source in order to have the best yeast activation.

3.) Flour

We’ve talked about the best flour for pizza dough in the past, and our opinion is the same. Tipo ’00’ flour is the best for pizza dough. When you’re choosing what kind of flour to use for your pizza dough, the most important thing to consider is gluten content. If you have too much, the dough will be too springy. If you have too little, the dough will fall apart. The best percentage of gluten sits around 12 to 13%.

4.) Toppings

The most fun part of the homemade pizza-making adventure—toppings. We’re not here to tell you what’s best on top of a pizza. The reason this part is so fun is because when you have the dough down pat, the toppings are up to you. This is when true art begins, and you can let your imagination run wild. You may go classic and choose mozzarella, olive oil, and basil, or you might want to mix it up and add some pineapple. It’s all up to you!

Want To Learn More?

So, now you know the ingredients for homemade pizza you need. At New York Brick Oven, we’re pizza-making experts. Give us a call today with any questions about your pizza making. We also have a pizza school if you’re interested in learning how to make next-level pizza for your business.

Top 5 ways to succeed in the pizza industry.

There are several areas that are key to success and while all these areas are important any one is not the end all and be all to a successful formula. I’m sure you can think of that local chain that has the worst pizza in town and yet you see their delivery vehicles everywhere you go.
My own personal mystery was a pizza place in Brooklyn that was run by a guy with no personality that I am sure inspired the soup Nazi years later with his disrespect and rudeness to his customers. Aside from the pizza makers smoking while they made pizza, he would tell you to eat the unburnt part of the pie if you dared to complain.
How about the places that are so far off the beaten path you need a guide to find them or better yet they have no name on the joint? You can’t make this stuff up but it gives one hope that there is room for all of us to succeed.
I want to qualify this as my own personal opinion from working with, knowing and visiting with hundreds of pizza men and women all over the country. By no means is this THE BIBLE OF PIZZA or to be taken as law but it will give you a pretty good idea of what to concern yourself with if your new to the game, stale or in deep trouble.

Location, Location, Location-the best way is to be the only game in town or be in a tourist location where there are no other options available or the ones available are of no consequence due to being very expensive or a different and specialized category like a fish house. Some the most successful places specialized in malls, theme parks, schools, military bases or small town USA.

Make the best pizza known to man or there about. If you are making a really top notch product people will find you and not only that, people will talk. Word of mouth is the best advertising it has been said. The reason for this is that people will trust the opinion of friends and family over silly unfounded claims of the best pizza in town and such advertised in the local paper.

Be unique. Examples of this are everywhere but they may not seem apparent. Like making a Chicago pie where there never was one, having a wood burning brick oven, using insects as a topping or having a pizza drive through like OL Jose’s in Pineville West Virginia where they are using a revolving brick oven.

Be a social maniac. Take pride in being part of your community. Before there was social media, there were social men and women. These wonderful people actually cared about the people they met and considered customers as friends to share joys and sorrows with. One very moving example of this is when people would come to Goodfella’s Pizza in Staten Island on their way home from work in the days after 911 just to get out of the house and be with people who cared in a friendly and safe environment. There are many examples I can think of; like the guy who coaches the local little league, the girl who hosts local heroes with pizza parties, the place that supports boy scouts, the place that sponsors Special Olympics or the guys that collect donations for slices to feed the homeless. There are so many ways to build good will in a community and give back while earning respect and loyalty that I could write a book about it but you get the idea.

Service. Run a tight ship that gives service and shows genuine care for the customer’s experience. I don’t know about you but when I am ignored, the host is not pleasant, the server acts like he is doing me a favor, the table is dirty when I am seated or my unfamiliarity with ordering and the menu is treated with impatience, you have lost me, and more importantly, any future income my patronage may have brought. This may seem like a given but if you are not on top of this and setting a good example for your crew it will never happen. A little thing like a smile or help and directions can go a long way in building a relationship with your customers. One terrible example I won’t forget was having my little daughter with me in a new town when she had to use a bathroom so we walked into a place and we were treated so rudely I swore I would never visit that place. I understand the old “Bathrooms are for paying customers” routine but sometimes being human and having discretion can earn you a great deal of loyalty. In other words, if it isn’t costing you anything to be kind-always be kind. Believe it or not but this also includes salesmen wasting your time. Those salesmen are not only people but potential customers with family and friends that also eat.

While no list will guarantee your success, if you follow these points your odds will greatly be increased and if you earnestly follow point 5 you will contribute to a better world by treating your fellow citizens with courtesy. Happy pizza my friend and best wishes.

Monthly Archives - August 2021