Mr. Boxy
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There is one thing you need to remember when making pizza:
PURISTS ARE WRONG
There is no "right" way to make a pizza, no matter what New Yorkers, Chicagoans, or anyone else says. A pizza baked at home with lunch meat and cheese left over from a deli tray is just as much pizza as something coming out of a brick oven. If you keep a few things in mind, you can make a pizza out of almost anything.
There are two things you need to consider when making a pizza: moisture and fat. Too much of either will create a messy pizza with a layer of cheese and toppings that will want to slide off. Low moisture cheeses like mozzarella work the best. Any meat put on a pizza should be cooked beforehand. If you like your pepperoni crispy or you want your pizza less greasy, pan-fry it or place it on a draining rack on top of a baking pan and bake at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes. This will render out some of the fat.
Anchovies should be soaked in milk for 30 minutes to remove the saltiness. Spinach, fresh basil, and broccoli should always be put underneath the cheese to prevent burning.
The pizza should be baked at 450 degrees. How long will it take? It depends on your oven and the pizza. Some ovens won't be able to quite reach 450, and since no pizza is exactly alike the cooking times won't be alike either. Check at about 8 minutes and time it from there: look at the underside of the crust and see if it's brown underneath. If you have a finished crust but the toppings and cheese aren't ready, put the pie under the broiler for a minute or two.
Once you remove the pizza from the oven, it should sit for a minute or two before you begin cutting so the cheese proteins have a chance to relax. This cuts down on stringiness and keeps the cheese on the pizza.
 Posted 5408 day ago
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