Ask the Test Kitchen (PIZZA EDITION) with Lan Lam and Andrew Janjigian from Cook’s Illustrated

Byamazingfoodstv


On this episode of Ask the Test Kitchen, Cook’s Illustrated editors Lan and Andrew answer all your questions about making pizza at home.

Disclaimer: This video was filmed earlier this year and our team is currently working on exciting new content at home for the foreseeable future. Stay healthy and hope you enjoy!

Follow Lan on Instagram:
Follow Andrew on Instagram:

00:55 – @marleymaginnis: When does pizza dough become over proofed and can you still use it?
01:52 – @PoniesRevil: Sometimes I don’t roll [pizza dough] out too well and I get thin spots in the middle. If I try to fold it back up and reroll it, it doesn’t reincorporate. Can this be fixed?
04:11 – @SarahSandler: What’s the best way to clean a baking stone?
08:30 – @witnesstoevents: What about using parchment to get a pizza from peel to oven?
12:24 – @mdalena_bresson: What exactly is cold fermentation and should I be doing it to my pizza dough?
13:49 – @KevinHullinger: I used a pizza stone for years based on your recommendation to use the bottom rack. Now you say the top rack is best. Which is it?
15:15 – @sylvanair: I want to know how to get a thin crust that doesn’t sag under the weight of the toppings!
16:48 – @JHenderson333: All things equal, is wood better than gas for pizza? Have you done a blind taste test to confirm?
18:13 – @masmith93: New Jersey Pie — Why is it so good?
18:49 – @SarahSandler: How do you easily grate a fresh ball of mozzarella?
19:36 – @thedarkwolf: What’s a better upgrade from mushrooms and pepperoni: Sopressata and Morels or bacon and baby bellas?
23:29 – @Kattsrags: I love pizza but gluten doesn’t agree with me. Any ideas on gluten free pizza recipes please?
25:55 – @drlanaperez: What’s the trick to making pizza in an airfryer oven?

ABOUT US: Located in Boston’s Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, America’s Test Kitchen features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.

If you like us, follow us:

source

Similar Posts

44 Comments

  3. Get a mini pizza oven. Mine (Ferrari g3) cost 100€ and makes and HUGE difference, as it heats to 750F. No oven+stone or steel combo can even compare. Also preheats in 10 minutes instead of 30-40.

  8. The tip of making more dough to practice is really great. ♥️

    As the peel is metal: Can you prime it with oil like a pan to prevent sticking?

    If you have a tear in your pizza dough and no toppings on ball it up again without adding more flour and try again. This will be your individual pizza, of course. Not for a guest. 😉

    You could also make little pizza rolls or pizza bread to save the dough.

  14. I found the discussion about ordering cheese, sauce and topping fascinating. About 30 years ago, I worked at a local pizza shop that started with sauce, added a layer of mozzarella for the gooey cheese pull, then added toppings and finally a layer of cheddar cheese for a really crispy brown cheesy crust.

  17. No stone?
    Method From Mario Batali – I have made my Pizza with a Round Pizza Pan – in the bottom of the oven and a regular rack about 3/4 the way up at highest temp (550 degrees) I cook the Pizza on the Pan Just until it is set enough to be slid off the Pan – and I slide it onto the Regular "OPEN" Oven Rack which allows the bottom to get DIRECT heat. MY Question – I note that as I have lived they put less and less sauce on the pie – some of them are just too dry (I am from NJ – and I grow my own tomatoes) – But – to prevent the SLIDE OFF – put some Sauce below the Cheese and some above the cheese. Also helps prevent sausage or pepperoni from turning into Hockey Pucks too.

  21. 13:55.: Everyone seems to forget you can have two racks in your home oven. I start my pizza with the stone bottom(not rack but the sole) and move it to the top after the crust has set and started to brown on the bottom(about 2-3 minutes). Then move just the pizza to the top rack to brown the top. That extra air around the bottom crust will get it nice and cripsy.

  28. I'm shopping for pizza steels and I was wondering if there was a sweet spot for thicknesses. A lot of the commercial models are unavailable during quarantine, so I was also considering buying an A36 Steel plate and seasoning it myself. Since I can choose whatever thickness I want, do you think there is any downside to going with a thicker plate, maybe 1/2 inch?

  35. The cheap alternative to the steel/stone combo is bricks wrapped aluminum foil – thermal mass is your friend.
    my indoor setup for NY or Neapolitan style (electric oven):
    top rack has bricks wrapped in foil, 2+/- inches from the top element, and four inches+/- above the top of the bricks on the bottom rack
    bottom rack with bricks wrapped in foil (pizza will land on this if you use a peel, if you don't use a peel just drop your cookie sheet onto this).
    let the oven and bricks preheat for an hour at your ovens highest setting before landing a pizza in there.

    getting to the point though where I'm just going to build a wood fired brick oven in the yard – we make pizza every other week, it's worth it for us at this point.
    let the bricks cool down completely before you try to remove them

    general stuff:
    Doesn't matter what your heat source is, as long as it gets HOT.

    Chicago style is more forgiving/adaptable to electric ovens, because it will cook well at a lower temperature (compared to a pizza oven) – use a spring form pan, it's way easier to remove and serve from
    "grandma pies" are also more forgiving in an electric oven

  37. I wanted to like this but there are so many science questions about pizza making that have already been answered that these people seem not to know or did not discuss. For instance, a seven day ferment is great if you turn it once a day. There was no discussion about flour protein levels and hydration, or of Maillard reactions of the crust and the flavor enhancement that contributes. The fact that they only took one bite of their slices, and waited a long time to do so also indicates that they are not that serious about pizza,

Leave a Reply