Pro Chef Reacts.. To The WORST Pizzas! (Epicurious)

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Hope all of you enjoy this video! Be sure to checkout my other videos about pizza! @JoshuaWeissman New York Style Pizza: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJSsnmacqr-CpNU @aragusea 10-year Pizza: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHjKhoisqNdrfpY @aragusea 10-year Pizza 2.0: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqXVl3ula6t5p80 @RanveerBrar Tawa Pizza: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIqwmqRsZsinoa8

[@aragmarverilian8238]

I will make a simple home pizza soon! I use lutenica for sauce and fresh Bulgarian salami, with lots of grated Kashkaval cheese in the end.

[@clevermedea8541]

Hello, can you review to Sorted Food pizza battle?"The ultimate Pizza hybrid challenge cooking battle"

[@keithdavies52]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6q3laSNbLF0prc

[@keithdavies52]

Stumbled upon this, I bet it's good

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

@@clevermedea8541 I can have a look

[@MrHitmancheg]

The Level 3 chef is ALWAYS the weird one in the Epicurious videos. They almost never do the "prim and proper" version of a dish. It's always something weird because they either wanted to or felt compelled to show off. Usually the home cook is the most well-rounded one, but in this case the "I bought everything pre-made lmao" guy clears the competition with ease.

[@HoshikoStarz]

That's why I don't trust the process when epicurious has 3 level cooks. The professional chef just... Speechless

[@okerkojak3965]

Apart from chef Frank and chef Saul, the other chefs' dishes do look weird.

[@VerhoevenSimon]

Frank and Saúl usually deliver nicely, some of the others indeed...

[@dragonbretheren]

Yeah, especially with something like pizza, K.I.S.S. it - Keep It Simple, Stupid.

[@HoshikoStarz]

@@dragonbretheren chill for a bit bro.

[@callmeandoru2627]

I’m a firm believer that there is something called a “ceiling level” to a dish. Basically it means every dish has a point where adding more things to it would not make the dish any more delicious

[@Faelinor]

Absolutely. I used to work at Domino's and when you have the chance to add as much topping as you want, you realise that there's definitely a point where it's just too much and the flavour is just blended together and not nice to eat.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

😉

[@flowertrue]

If cooking is an art, then Stephen's simple pizza is like Bob Ross. Simple, pretty good, pleasant. Beth's makes me think of Mondrian. It doesn't look like there's much there, but she put a lot of thought into the elements she has. Sim's reminds me of Hieronymus Bosch. Brilliant, chaotic, controversial, but made exactly as he meant to.

[@Jesse-qy6ur]

@@flowertrue I would agree that Sim's pizza bears some resemblance to the final panel of The Garden of Earthly Delights.

[@dlevi67]

@@Jesse-qy6ur Particularly the monster with the 'satellite dish' on his back at the bottom of the Hell panel.

[@loisavci3382]

After watching an actual chef spend 3 days to make a burnt pizza I feel better about my (pretty bogus) homemade pizzas.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

😂

[@sinchrotron]

Lol, agree

[@JamieAubrey]

but did it have a LOT OF FLAVOUR ?

[@sinchrotron]

@mr.dr.profstonerman a real pro chief can burn a pizza with any kind of oven

[@hbg8418]

That wasn't badly burnt and pizza that's a bit burnt tastes better.

[@SlCKNESS_]

They all eat pizza. Steven: Mmm good. Beth: Hmm it’s good. Sim: This has the characteristics of a wood fire oven.

[@WiewiurTV]

you can taste the charcoal.

[@tedarcher9120]

Yes the coal

[@cookiesandstreams]

i can't fault beth for anything, she's such a friggin sweetheart. i love that she didn't make the pizza for me or the viewers or even you, but for her husband. what a welcome bit of warmth.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

😉

[@Sotanaht01]

I feel like that was more of an excuse. "I can't make a pizza that looks halfway edible so I'm just going to claim that this is how my husband likes it". But if any of these chefs offered to cook me a pizza I'd ask for digiorno

[@Jiglias]

@@Sotanaht01 to be fair it would look way better if it had more toppings which she was specifically avoiding

[@ryuuraga1619]

@@Sotanaht01 well, Beth's pizza looks edible enough. Aside from the lack of toppings and weird shape, it is a fine looking pizza. Her process has flaws, but not as much as the other two. I would rather eat a weird shape topping less plain pizza than a pizza made from pre-made ingredients nor a burned over the top to the point of comedic pizza. Pizza doesnt need to much decoration just to be edible.

[@EvaHoshizora]

@@ryuuraga1619 considering "real" italian pizza is just tomato sauce and cheese, that's totally fine lol

[@Psianth]

It always goes this way with them. 3 Levels of Apple Pie! Level 1: A frozen apple pie. Level 2: A homemade apple pie. Level 3: Lobster ravioli. Oh sorry, 4 levels. I forgot the 4th level who makes nothing but says says things like "Our level 3 chef decided to use lobster instead of apples for added umami."

[@NikoBellaKhouf2]

That sounds exactly like how all the episodes go. Also level one will probably add ketchup😂

[@shoyuramenoff]

I'm pretty sure the food scientist used to be a lot more detailed in analyzing the parts of the dish and explaining why the decisions worked. It was a lot more interesting than it is now.

[@SatieSatie]

Epicurious manages to find the worst chefs for Level 3. We all love Frank but the rest... nah.

[@MahiMahi-yu5jo]

​​@@SatieSatie No, I refuse to listen to any Chef Saul slander. He's a level higher than Frank

[@kahopukehau]

Honestly Beth’s pizza doesn’t look the best but the simplicity of her recipe and ingredients sounds amazing. Plus the thinness of her pizza looks crispy and fantastic. I’d grab a slice of hers in a heartbeat

[@doodoodoodadada7872]

It does not look good, and real Neapolitan pizza isn't even meant to be crispy...

[@justinjakeashton]

I'd like to know how you intend to slice that thing.

[@cryofist]

@@justinjakeashton in rectangles from the outside in. its not hard to cut hers at all lol

[@FroggerbobT]

The other two made American pizza. She made Sicilian flatbread pizza.

[@doodoodoodadada7872]

@@FroggerbobT Well, that's not even how sfincione looks, which is supposed to be soft...

[@Raiden_N7]

As a Brit I felt an immediate sense of distrust when I saw that the "pizza expert" was a fellow Englishman. It turns out that it was not misplaced... 😂 Beth's wins for me because I like my pizzas simple. Margherita all the way.

[@DepDawg]

Same here. As a native New Yorker, this is the kind of pizza I grew up eating.

[@mememan5466]

Noone wins here because most of them used rolling pins and the one who didn't had awful technique

[@alexcontreras8189]

At least he didn't boil it 😂😂

[@1Thunderfire]

No reason why the guy couldn't have been a pizza expert; nationality has no bearing on producing cuisine really. But in this case... I've had better-looking pizzas.

[@sebastianahrens2385]

" ...was a fellow Englishman." had me in stitches :D

[@francescorighini9303]

Beth's pizza seems to actually be the typical sicilian home made pizza. It's something different then neapolitan pizza, and it's squared, thin, and crispy.

[@archivethearchives]

I was thinking to myself that her pizza seemed the most recognizable.

[@emptysoul8462]

honestly i always end up liking the level 2 chefs the most in these videos. they keep it simple and effective, they dont get carried away.

[@lado8216]

I love how Chef James is becoming more and more unhinged with time. 😂😂 I love it.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Haha maybe in 6 months you'll see me at Uncle Roger's level

[@TheDkbohde]

@@ChefJamesMakinsondon’t tease us like that. We internet dwellers love our unhinged chefs

[@CarnivoreMomma]

​@@TheDkbohdeSome of the best chefs I've known ..(only two professionals, one being my husband) are unhinged.

[@MrYfrank14]

He started out so polite. I just watched him call a raw hamburger undercooked. And now the internet has ruined him. Soon he will be screaming donkey and donut ,too.

[@panther7748]

I'm not a pizza expert, but I think Sim's pizza is the equivalent of Jamie Oliver's Green Thai Curry.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

🤣

[@paradox31]

Yep, and Gordon Ramsay's peas carbonara 😂

[@mattbeckley9483]

@@paradox31 to be fair most american fast food italian restruants like fazolis put peas in the carbonara and bacon instead of gunachale or pancetta

[@SuperSarahbop]

@@paradox31 or Gordon Ramsey’s scrambled eggs

[@gianni_schicchi]

@@SuperSarahbop or Gordon Ramsey’s grilled cheese

[@-EchoesIntoEternity-]

even bad pizza is better than no pizza..... but that level 3 pizza is seriously making me reconsider

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

😂

[@TheVoitel]

Wouln’t say so. Bad pizza is a waste of resources. Better to have no pizza and use the resources for something good. I’d say it is quite hard to make really bad pizza. Still people manage to do it. On the other hand it is quite hard to make really good pizza. But still people manage.

[@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE]

​@@TheVoitel yep, I agree

[@flowertrue]

They say pizza is like s3x, even when it's bad, well, you still had pizza.

[@WickedPhase]

I'm gonna have to disagree, I've had some terrible pizza (school pizza whoopie...) I would rather not have any lol

[@jonasklose6472]

Just my 10ct: At 5:20, it's totally normal for a pizza dough to get from sticky to solid. That's because it's supposed to be kneeded for 10 minutes to activate the protein/gluten chains. The longer you kneed, the more the chains bind the dough and the more solid it gets. You want to avoid this effect with cookies and other types of doughs because it makes them chewy. But for a pizza, that's exactly what you want.

[@vaibhavmoudgal5142]

lmfao it's so funny watching chef James lose his temper rather get annoyed bc usually he remains so calm and composed most of the times

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

🤣

[@shigemorif1066]

NGL, Beth's Level 2 pizza looks pretty good. It's not pretty...you could call it rustic, but the ingredients and how she made it makes me think it would taste the best.

[@jamesstein5087]

She would have been better off making a grandma pizza (sheet pan pizza).

[@Scruffed]

It would've won if it had any toppings. But alas, it didn't.

[@jcohasset23]

@@Scruffed Yeah it's a little too plain. It's neat doing the cheese first and then the sauce but it really needed something more. Either it needed more cheese on the sauce or some meat or vegetable/fruit toppings.

[@eightcoins4401]

@@jcohasset23 a traditional margarita is actually only tomato sauce, cheese and basil. Quite good from a good pizzeria too. Alot of takeout type pizzerias mess it up and sell away too dry margaritta tho

[@XeroJin84]

I don’t even have to be Italian to be offended by that burnt pizza.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Haha 😂

[@Sniperboy5551]

I’ve seen far worse

[@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE]

Me as a half-Asian over here..

[@rebeccaconlon9743]

I've seen burnt pizzas in Italy, and I'm a descendant, I found it wrong lol😅

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

@@rebeccaconlon9743 🤣🤣

[@TMAX500WHITEMAX]

I feel the pain, that Vincenzo feels, when he watches this horror video. 🤣🤣🤣

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

😂 Hahaha I know what you mean!

[@drpri1836]

Yeah, he was literally crying when he saw the burnt level 3 pizza🍕 But again, Gordon Ramsay once said, "No colour, no flavour 😂😂"

[@leolaf6501]

I made better Pizza at age of 10, I cant belive it was real cooking, they did it to get all the Italian reaction videos 😂

[@TheDeathLove]

​@@drpri1836 Gordon says it for charring on meat not burnt bread

[@mikenotta7079]

@@drpri1836 Gordon is a donkey, he does and says whatever for showmanship. Not impressed!

[@SonOfNone]

I assumed the level 3 chef would prevail, but after seeing _[seeing]_ the finished products, level 1 _looked_ most appetizing.

[@bdoeden64]

I worked at Dominos, and then Pizza Pit - a Dominos competitor in the south central Wisconsin region, for about 10 years, and the thing that always bugs me about people, even pros, making pizza is how uneven everything is. Sauce should be evenly spread, not ridges or canyons of sauce. There should be pieces of every ingredient that is ordered in every bite of the pizza, or very near to it. Cooking should be even and consistent, the crust should sustain the ingredients, not falling apart from grease or the weight of the ingredients. I understand there are preferences and differences in styles, but to me, if your pizza is uneven or falling apart, or if I have to look for the flavor of bacon, you failed. At my best, I could take a 16" pepperoni pizza from dough at room temperature and pat it out, roll it, put sauce on - evenly - cheese, and pepperoni in about 35 seconds or less into the oven - 10-12 minute bake time. Not bragging, but if I can do that, if you are taking days to make your pizza, it better be damn good. At home, I buy Tombstone frozen pizza and add Hormel Pepperoni, Onion, Johnsonville HOT Italian Sausage, Garlic, Crushed Red Peppers, Jalapenos or Banana Peppers, etc. Never disappoints.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Its been years since I last had Dominos, funny thing there is a Papa John's next to me haha I never thought I would see that here in Barcelona 😂

[@jonathont7866]

I can't begin to imagine how awful that bakers tomato sauce must have been after having that much fresh basil and dried oregano boiled for that long, not to mention the insane amount of garlic and Worcestershire sauce

[@tburgess3426]

Didn't you hear? Boiling the garlic for 4 hours gets rid of the acidity 😬

[@slXD100]

you wouldn't feel much of the basil and oregano after such a long cooking time.

[@jonathont7866]

@@slXD100 boiling basil for a long time gives a sauce a nasty herbaceous taste

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

😂 you can loose the flavor of the tomatoes with all these ingredients

[@martinpallmann]

Why would you ever cook the tomatoes that you put on the pizza? Just crush the tomatoes, add some salt and you‘re done.

[@hollish196]

Beth really puts her heart and her knowledge of what people like into her cooking. We'll see how she does with pizza. I refuse to fuss with prestarts. And tomato sauce of any kind can be made in large batches and frozen to make life easy---EVERY kind can be made in advance. I am sure that Vincenzo would have a heart attack at about 8 minutes---all the garlic!

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

she means well

[@SuperSarahbop]

@@ChefJamesMakinson regardless of all 3 pizza’s I bet hers tastes the best.

[@DepDawg]

I’m a native New Yorker. I’d definitely choose Beth’s!

[@RainyDays2790]

also native nycer gotta agree with ya. just needs more cheese for me @@DepDawg

[@CarnivoreMomma]

@XootrFoot as another New Yorker (not the city though) I would too

[@thebuggymancer4155]

I actually have to say it, you have the potential to grow even more than other food content creators. I like you more than guys like Vincenzo bc I feel you are an actual trained chef, with several years of training, not attached to culture or some conservative tradition, capable of being creative and professional with proper gastronomic technique. You are amazing, James. Hope your trip to Benidorm was incredible and I hope you the best!

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Thank you so much! I have a lot of stories as well but I can't tell all of them on YT haha

[@stefanmayer3128]

@@ChefJamesMakinson I'd like to add how I love your "matter of fact" attitude. No unnecessary drama and exaggeration as with other chef's/culinary commentors. To me if feels like you genuinely care about the food and cooking instead of the show. Example here: the Pizza is burned, but you explain oven temperature etc. instead of insulting the level 3 chef. Or all Pizzas are oddly shaped. You comment why you should shape them well instead of attacking the chefs.

[@poppythecat454]

I find it amazing when they all say different things, even to opposite things. Thank goodness you are reviewing these and explaining over the video because sadly many people think they are cooking dishes correctly, when they're not or making incorrect decisions. Thank you James!!

[@BruceEverett]

I've never licked the inside of a wood-fired oven, but I'll take Sim's word that his pizza has all the characteristics of one.

[@SefricFrampus]

I really wanted to taste those. All of them seem really questionable, but the level 1 is the least disappointing... I guess?

[@momon8738]

agree.. especially knowing he's a level 1

[@okerkojak3965]

Level 2 is quite nice as well but her sauce is too little.

[@WhoStoleMyAlias]

@@okerkojak3965 That's proper Italian. If you can't identify whether or not there's even a pizza underneath al that topping, either visually or in taste, it's an American rip-off.

[@Shadowsunsi]

Judging off looks I would say level 2 chef tasted the best and her's seemed to be the most authentic as well even though it wasn't round

[@okerkojak3965]

@@WhoStoleMyAlias At what part did I say it wasn't Italian?

[@phillipcummings3518]

"I don't put oil in my dough. I put oil on my dough" is basically "I don't season my steak. I season my cutting board."

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

😂

[@anca2348]

Adam ragusea in the house lol

[@meodrac]

If you don't understand, just say so. Don't presume to know better to try and be funny. I seriously hope you understand that there's a huge difference on oiling the dough surface vs adding oil in the dough.

[@erueka6]

​​@@meodracif you don't understand don't say anything don't presume you know better and try to be a POS pretentious know it all.

[@mids5854]

incorrect, applying oil to the outside of the dough is the correct way to do it. it adds a little flavor and makes stretching the dough much much easier.

[@Ca55per]

I wish they could taste and rate each other's dishes. Thanks Chef James! You are killing it!

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

You're welcome!

[@ADRIAN-zh4ti]

I find it interesting that many chefs try to counteract acidity with sugar. In reality, sugar does not increase the pH of a sauce or liquid. In fact, it may even slightly acidify a solution.

[@sese8976]

Yeah salt is better to neutralise it

[@rangergxi]

Chefs just do not want to say "I want a sweeter pizza". Adding white sugar for sweetness is seen as unsophisticated and unhealthy.

[@ADRIAN-zh4ti]

@@rangergxi i think you are 100% right

[@Yeraus]

It's for mellowing the flavor, not for neutralizing the PH level.

[@angelface925]

My friend worked at our local pizza place. Hands tossed to order. She broke her wrist in an industrial dough mixer. She removed the guards because she had been working there for over ten years. This day, however, she dropped a small bowl and reflexively reached for it. She never made that mistake again, and I was alert to how dangerous a kitchen can be. We are basically meat, so... Lol

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

You have to be careful

[@stanleyhape8427]

My first real job was at a pizza place. I worked there from 16 till after college. Just about everything was made in house . All the dough, dressing , sauces, sliced/grated cheeses , all the vegetables and meats cut daily, fresh made sub rolls. I think the only thing we didn't make fresh was the spaghetti and lasagna noodles. One day, a girl got her elbow dislocated by reaching into the Hobart before it fully stopped. It's a serious machine.

[@KibaSnowpaw]

What I love to do when making pizza is to incorporate tomato sauce into the crust. This prevents it from becoming too hard and dry. I've noticed that many people tend to leave the crust untouched after eating their pizza. By adding sauce to the crust, there's a chance they'll eat it as well, thus reducing the amount of leftovers

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

I only leave the crust if it's burnt which it is most of the time when you eat out

[@vast9467]

You can dip it in sauce

[@KibaSnowpaw]

@@vast9467 you can if you order/making a source with it. But more or less do l. I eat the crust unless it's burnt.

[@lluisg.8578]

If the pizza borders become a hard and dry crust means that the pizza was not properly made. A really good pizza border is fluffy, full of air and aroma from the fermentation. And you'll have no issue to est them all.

[@KibaSnowpaw]

@@lluisg.8578 there are a little more to it than that like how thick you make the pizza to begin with and how much filling you put on or if you precook the dough or not and so on.

[@kernelpaniq]

I love the video's honesty. That professional chef knew his pizza was badly burned. No do-overs! "The basil is not the first thing that the table will smell" lol

[@jamesstein5087]

Even if it not burned this pizza just had a strange look to it.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Hahaha 😂

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Yes it did!

[@BlueCrimsonFire]

The reason he didn't do it again is because it took like 5 days to make

[@cespinar]

Pro-tip for home chefs: if you are making pizza at home and dont have time to ferment your dough. Find a local pizza joint you have enjoyed and go and buy some dough from them. Should be 5 dollars or less and they might even roll it out for you. Make your own sauce, and go from there. I do this for all my home pizzas or calzones

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

interesting!

[@coryray8436]

I used to work at a pizza place and sometimes customers would ask for a raw doughball. The manager was cool with it, so you might as well ask.

[@yoshi6421]

Every time I go to a new pizza place, I always order a plain cheese pizza. If they can't make THAT taste good, no amount of toppings can save it.

[@Zave85]

italian here. whenever i see people doing italian dishes they tend to go over the top with the ingredients. for a lot of italian dishes the magic is all in using quality ingredients and good technique.

[@MultiCommissar]

The craziest thing about Italian food is that extremely few sources outside of Italy can instruct you in making it authentically. God bless Italia Squisita.

[@WhatIsItToBurn]

To be fair, most people who go over the top in my experiences are Americans. Italians (real ones, not those Americans who pretend to be Italian) always seem to be a much better job.

[@Nyx_2142]

Lol, I see the desperate Italian circlejerk is starting here. "Italian dish." Lol. There are probably more pizza places in New York City than the entirety of Italy. It's not yours anymore, despite your desperate nationalistic clamoring for relevance. But hey, if it makes you feel better about your stagnant conservative (regressive) culture, declining economy, and having a Mussolini worshipping fascist as a leader.. go for it. You idiots cling to your food elitism and dogma harder than the Spaniards do with paella.

[@NikoBellaKhouf2]

​@@WhatIsItToBurnwhat do you mean "Americans pretending to be Italians?" An Italian is an Italian, no matter where they are born

[@smokeyson]

I knew the level 2 cook would do the best job. Her pizza looks nice, great color on the crust and I enjoy a simple pizza myself.

[@_bats_]

This video and comments section makes me feel like I'm going insane, because the level 2 pizza made by the old Italian lady was quite obviously the best one and looked great to me.

[@juggernauttv2863]

@@_bats_ It definitely looks the best out of the options, but the way she did the dough is going to be super thick and burnt on one side or raw on one side. I am still 100% sure that it taste the best out of the 3 though. If she stretched out the dough properly, I think it would have been near perfect. Also, maybe got the sauce a bit closer to the edged. Again though, she is the clear winner out of the 3 IMO.

[@EarlHayward]

I have not finished the video, but I was already thinking the same thing…

[@DepDawg]

Same here.

[@Mojova1]

I have been a Cook for 10 years in Finland and I started working in an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria in Finland and I'm quite excited to learn new things after 10 years of doing burgers, steak and fish, you know the stuff in normal À la carte restaurants. Going great so far. :) Also I have never heard of these calamari olives, calamata I know. 😁😁

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

I'm glad to hear that! :) I would ove to visit Finland one day! I have been to Denmark and Sweden.

[@Mojova1]

@@ChefJamesMakinson You should visit dat the summer. It is almost 30C during the day at the moment. :)

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

30c really?!😲 its only 27c here in Barcelona right now! haha

[@adrianbrave6044]

Pizza is one of those foods that is especially easy to over-complicate because every self-proclaimed chef wants to add that extra little touch that separates them from the crowd, then that little touch becomes a PUNCH. xD

[@JeffO-]

Touch of burnt carbon.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

🤣

[@lluisg.8578]

That mostly happens with non-Italian chefs. Italian chefs always ensure that the basics of pizza are well preserved and they stand out by the ingredients quality and their technique.

[@kravcio]

I live in Poland and I prefer to use canned tomatoes / passatas. They are usually grown in Italy or Spain, where the intense sunlight allows them to ripen properly. Same thing goes for grapes - that's exactly why Italy, Spain, France, and Balkans are known for their wine. They have perfect confitions to grow sweet and flavorful fruit.

[@LibertyDino]

Same in Austria. In Germany a lot of the tomatoes come from the netherlands. I only noticed once I moved to Austria because I was surprised how flavorful canned tomatoes were 😂

[@brdrnda3805]

@@LibertyDino Yep, it hardly makes sense in Germany to make tomato sauce yourself as you can't get tomatoes with taste (for sure not now in winter)

[@LibertyDino]

@@brdrnda3805 msg is your friend

[@SteveHan-ii1us]

i use passata on my pizzas too

[@ellec3747]

Gotta be Beth's pizza. Most of the weirdness of it comes from wanting the cheese under the sauce, which is weird but not a dealbreaker for me. Level 1 dude's sauce level was an absolute crime and was piled with uncooked veg, so it's soup. And the pro? We have a woodfire pizza oven where I work. Our pizzas definitely cook in three minutes and have dark spots, but they aren't black. The inside of the oven itself can be, and he's free to lick the boiling hot soot if he wants. Also the pretentiousness of making rings of different cheeses absolutely sent me. Especially since they were all giant globs that didn’t have time to melt. Plus I do worry it may have gotten soupy with the amount of oil he kept piling on there.

[@CuriousBoyGeorge]

Best looking pizza was easily Beth's, but the level 1 pizza looked good as well. The level 3 pizza genuinely looked like someone's first attempt at making a pizza.

[@KarenCurr]

Or first attempt at using a new oven they got for their birthday! (All of my tools and appliances I really like to test and figure them out before the "grand introduction" of meals to my friends.)

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

🤣 hahaha

[@joshf-w9602]

Beth’s pizza had literally zero rise in the crust, and is a weird shape, might taste good but not sure how you can say it was the best looking pizza

[@CuriousBoyGeorge]

@@joshf-w9602 It looked like a flatbread or thin crust pizza, which is what I like best.

[@vast9467]

@@joshf-w9602 there’s more than one type of pizza

[@Buzzcook]

You can buy frozen bread dough at the grocery. It makes a passable pizza dough. But if you have a good stand mixer making pizza dough is a breeze and it lets you add herbs and garlic into the dough. Good stuff.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

😉

[@kaibaiarrio1299]

My family usually uses store bought sauce because we cant afford many of the tools that are used for "easy" sauces and theres also a bit of a disability aspect, it is way easier (and cheaper for us) to take a jar of tomato sauce and heat it up, maybe add some extra spices, and use that as is than it is to try and make everything from scratch

[@mostafahassan6909]

Level 1: not the worst pizza Level 2: not a pizza Level 3: burnt pizza Winner: level 1

[@mhicaoidh1]

I make pizza dough regularly. I don't use a starter/poolish. I've thought about it. What I do is make the dough, let it autolyse for 20, then let it rise for a few hours, give it a quick kneed, and then let it sit 2 days in the fridge. Then use it. Pro tip: Freeze your mozz for about 20 ~ 30 min before grating it. It will make it MUCH easier to deal with and gum up far less. Based solely on appearance, and sauce hands aside, I'd give it to the Level 1 ... though, I'm pretty sure my own would blow all three of theirs away.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

good tip!

[@rebeccaconlon9743]

The mozzarella tip is really good, will use the next time I do it.

[@rezesion1381]

Hey James , Sunday wouldn't be the same without your videos now.☺☺. You look happy in your new room, glad for you!

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Thank you! 😃

[@rezesion1381]

@@ChefJamesMakinson i think the pizza from the pro chef is too complicated even for a pizzeria.🤣🤣

[@phillipcummings3518]

I literally just add some flour, water, dry yeast, oil, salt, and vital wheat gluten for more protein. Let it rise for a few hours and bake. It tastes great.

[@jjacks50]

I always feel like the gap between level 3 and level 2 is much greater than the gap between 2 and 1. I'd like a level 2.5 chef that elevates the home cook made from scratch ingredients, but doesn't feel the need to milk the cow to make fresh cheese or grow the wheat for the dough. Anyway, I enjoyed the commentary. Cheers!

[@seanspartan2023]

You can add minced carrots (for sweetness) to tomato sauce, but never processed sugar!

[@mukhtaralbahlani5273]

I do agree with Beth... pecarino romano is literally my favourite hard cheese and I tend to use it a lot more than parmigiano whenever I want to make an Italian dish

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

I wish I could get it more easily

[@supernoobsmith5718]

I like Pecorino more than Parm also. Except in soups.

[@mukhtaralbahlani5273]

​@@ChefJamesMakinson maybe try using parmigiano along with manchego

[@mukhtaralbahlani5273]

​@@supernoobsmith5718 oh yeah, thats a valid point. In soups you'd need a neutral flavoured cheese that doesn't impact the flavour of the final dish.

[@bryansplain4162]

I would have to go with Level 1 cook even though he used his hands putting the sauce on. Great video and a good laugh. Yes as a cook you come home your not really wanting to cook anymore. Enjoy Spain.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Glad you enjoyed it! no you don't want to make anything haha

[@moneyboy503]

that only really matters on the application of serving said pizza. If he washed his hands and it's going to just him or him and family? it's not the worst, im sure home cooks do things all the time that would send a restaurant owner to culinary prison. now if this was served to people at a business? then i'd get the frustration, hell as a friend i'm coming over to demolish the hand pizza if he's a relatively clean guy in the kitchen

[@lluisg.8578]

This is not a great offense. Most of the greatest Italian pizzaiolos crush the tomatoes with its hands. As soon as you preserve your kitchen and yourselve clean it should'nt be an issue. With the amount of manual processes in a professional kitchen I dind't understood chef James comment here. He should know it better than anyone.

[@xBrokenMirror2010x]

Lv1 had the best looking Pizza, Lv2 definitely had the best tasting Pizza, Lv 3 Had the most burned Pizza. Imagine spending 3 days making your dough only to burn it. It'll taste good to you simply because of sunken cost falacy. The lv2 Pizza absolutely doesn't look good, however, its definitely the best "base" Pizza. Not evenly distributing the dough isn't too bad when you're not using a Pizza Oven because you're cooking for longer at lower temps, so the uneven cook is less noticable. The thing about cooking Tomato Sauce taking the edge off of the Acidity is also true (though it isn't the sole reason you do it). Sugar can be used to hide it, but if you simmer it for a long time, the acidity is covered up by the natural sweetness of the Tomato. My grandfather used to make his own tomato sauce all the time like they did in his hometown in Italy. There is no sugar in a good tomato sauce. But the thing that bothers me is that he spent 3 days making dough, but decided to use sugar as a shortcut to make sauce, seriously?!?

[@Aivas1]

He didn't just burn the pizza, he stuck a ton of toppings on it which probably masked most if not all of the flavor gained by doing that multi-step process for the dough.

[@CarlGorn]

My wife and I make pizza sauce once a year. Around the middle of September when garden tomatoes _really_ start coming in here in Minnesota, we spend about $50 at farmer's markets on tomato seconds (the less-than-perfect tomatoes that you have to ask for) and accept gifts from friends of ours with huge backyard garden plots. It usually comes to about 1-2 gallons of sauce after cooking and reducing. We let it sit in the fridge for a day so all the flavors can meld, then freeze it in 8-ounce blocks, wrap the blocks in Press & Seal (accept no substitutes), and then take out blocks of homemade sauce to thaw as needed for the rest of the year. Tastes better than anything we've gotten in any jar or eaten in any restaurant.

[@drchops]

The lvl3 chef has serious "Brick Top talking about a pig farm" vibe

[@recordatron]

It's weird how all that needed to happen was for one of them to make the dough, flatten it, put sauce on and then the cheese but they all somehow managed to not do that and make some of the weirdest looking pizzas I've ever seen haha. Like the bare minimum would've been fine, how did they screw it up? 😂

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

🤣

[@thecompanioncube4211]

For the content my boi

[@ivanlimzg]

"A little bit dark"? That's burnt!

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Haha yeah it was😂

[@HoshikoStarz]

😂😂😂

[@tommasoragghianti7735]

As an Italian who loves making pizza and had bought the ooni koda pizza oven, I must say the level 3 chef made the worst one. I would eat the level 2 pizza any day (despite it not being "good" pizza) or even the level 1. It's really not hard to make decent pizza, it's just that it takes a lot of research and practice

[@Subvenio]

Agreed, the level 3 chef over complicated things with the toppings.

[@MultiCommissar]

My brother in Ooni, how hot do you usually get your oven before its ready to bake Neapolitan style? I have an Ooni Karu, and my pizzas come out a little dry when baked at 350c, 70% hydration.

[@tommasoragghianti7735]

@@MultiCommissar I think it's a matter of letting it too much time in the oven maybe? The less you leave it there, the better. I don't think it's a matter of hydration. Classic neapolitan style pizza has pretty low hydration (60% max) but really high temperature. Try getting your oven at 400-450° (should be easier with the ooni karu, I have the koda) and cook your pizza for 1 minute/90 seconds. If there are still some uncooked spots, take it out with your pizza peel and finish cooking the undercooked parts on the oven's opening (I can't explain it better, English is not my first language). Try looking "cooking a bocca di forno" up on google. It literally means cooking on the mouth of the oven, which I think gets the idea across

[@DrTolis]

"somewhere there is a chef screaming watching this" Vincenzo from Vincenzo's Plate has entered the chat

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

🤣

[@nyromath2195]

absolutely agree on the pre-shredded cheese point. I made chicken parm at one point for my family because I wanted to try Babish's recipe for it (turned out great aside from this one thing), and I used pre-shredded mozzarella. The anti-caking agent just gave the cheese a really weird and unpleasant flour-y grainy flavour and texture, and it wasn't pleasant. It didn't totally ruin the dish, but it did detract quite a bit from it. Definitely the first thing I'm changing if I ever try it again.

[@FracmentalMusic]

I use the premade pizza dough. They are fine, but my oven isn't really hot enough. Alternatively, a naan bread does a really good pizza base.

[@pissedoffdude1]

+1 on that. Naan does a good enough job, especially when you don't feel like the time for whipping up some fresh dough

[@Attyraxia]

I'm gonna share my random internet opinion (lol) and actually disagree with not cooking your fresh vine ripe tomato puree. The process of cooking the tomatoes accentuates the natural sweet flavor of tomatoes and really concentrates that tomato flavor a bit more. It also gives that deeper reddish-orange color people come to expect from a pizza sauce. I would say it almost does feel like a necessity unless you're in a hurry.

[@keithdavies52]

I'm going to ask my wife how she makes the dough. I generally just cut all the firewood and get the oven to temperature. I think she just makes it in the morning, and it's ready by dinner, but she might call me an idiot for thinking that.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

😂

[@Barakon]

I’d use fresh herbs & add extra sugar to compensate for a lack of homegrown tomatoes.

[@rickardpeder]

Love your videos man! Only started with the reacts video, but I'm gonna watch your recipes next and try out some of your food!

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Awesome thank you! I hope you like the recipes!

[@sotetsotetsotetsotetsotet2379]

I'm confused by the margarita complaints. Sauce, cheese and basil is a perfectly valid pizza type.. Pizza IS just flatbread with a bit of sauce and cheese, even if she messed it up by not using just moz and with not enough basil.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

You'll see many different types of Pizza in Italy

[@sotetsotetsotetsotetsotet2379]

@@ChefJamesMakinson Sure, but that's exactly why I was confused by your response to it. Surely, fresh basil, good mozzarella and a good sauce is the most quintessentially simple pizza, which is what you advocated for with your old teacher.

[@TheTKPizza]

Yeah, I agree. For my liking, the level 2 pizza looks like the best of these three by far.

[@ryanturner8577]

@@sotetsotetsotetsotetsotet2379 He was pointing out the lack of sauce/cheese in comparison to the dough. She was very skimpy with it.

[@TheVoitel]

In fact dough, sauce, mozzarella and basil is one of the highest form of neapolitan pizza, because it is not some mediocre bread with lots of stuff on top, but because it depends on the quality of the parts and the harmony of the composition. Sometimes more "complicated" ingredients can be a way to hide lack of skill.

[@Every_Day_islike_Sunday]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video! I love making pizza but i do mess up quite a lot! I always put too much sauce and my dough is different each time depending on my mood. Dough is moody! Honestly, the Italian woman couldn't shape up her dough a little? Anyway thanks Chef James! I learn so much from you. ❤

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

You are so welcome! haha I don't know but it did look a bit strange.

[@jamess7140]

Honestly, even with using store bought tomato sauce, I’d definitely go for the one Stephen made. I never found that much difference between using store bought dough vs making my own either.

[@tophatsntales]

I've noticed a difference....but if i can choose to spend $1, or 0.20c but have to do all the god damn labor and wait 24 hours and.... yeha no i'll pay the 80c for convenience and slight lack of flavour.

[@Dungeon47]

17:26 Me: "All of these look awful." Morgan Freeman: "It was at this point that he realized it was a lost cause, and the desire to make a video showcasing his own pizza method grew ever the stronger."

[@joeldykman7591]

8:37 To the claim that cooking the tomato sauce down will reduce acidity: Probably not, in fact its most likely going to make it more acidic why? What you are doing by reducing the sauce is removing the excess water content which intensifies and thickens the sauce leaving you with more tomatoes. As the acidity of water is basically neutral at around 7, tomatoes on the other hand are anywhere from 4.3-4.9 on the pH scale. For a little reference, the pH scale is a logrithmic scale that begins its neutrality at 7 with anything lower than 7 considered acidic and anything higher basic. As pH is a Logrithmic scale, that means that for each whole number interger change is actually a factor of 10, so Tomatoes are anywhere from 700-200 times more acidic on average than water. The more water you evaporate, the more acidic the sauce in general. What actually makes the most difference when choosing tomatoes to go into a tomato sauce is the other ingredients added.Canned US tomatoes will typically contain preservatives like calcium chloride or citric acid which are more acidic than tomatoes while EU imports like San Marzanos from Italy are usually packed in tomato puree keeping the overall acidity level mostly what it would be otherwise if you werent using canned tomatoes. Oh, and sugar does little to nothing to change the actual pH, but rather effects the flavor by making it sweeter. Hope i clarified some things.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Thank you for the explanation! it makes sense. Tomatoes contain a certain amount of sugars as well and it is possible that the sugars concentrate and mask the acidity when reducing.

[@pandap0i]

I will personally be waiting for the video on knives! Personally i prefer the Japanese ones because they are light(i have a favourite gyuto) but i do sometimes use the heavier German ones(my moms) Hopefully the knife video will come soon! 😊

[@KarenCurr]

I have my mom's Japanese knife which used to be my favorite until I got a Global. I love it!

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

I will make one! but I need to get a few more knives haha

[@pandap0i]

@@ChefJamesMakinson i will be patiently waiting then! 🫡

[@leidarstjarna8132]

I personally wouldn’t mind a bit charred pizza. Looks to me like there were these air bubbles in the dough and the raised parts got charred. If that’s the case, then they could be also very easily scrapped off. But yeah, it is not exactly the leopard spotting. 😅 Beth’s seems like a family recipe that suits their tastes and is somehow also sentimental. I respect that and would love to try some if somebody wished to share such dish with me. 😊 Stephen’s pizza annoys me a bit, because I think it could be much improved with very little additional work. But hey, even seeing the comments here - preferences in this area differ a lot. Maybe universally acclaimed pizza is just an unachievable ideal and we should focus on having just what we personally like? (Like, for example, flammkuchen instead. 😅)

[@An4lAvenger]

All the true wood fired pizzas I have had do look like that. But that is imitation. I have had pizza from those wood fire-like ovens (commercial ones, not just a home one) and it really doesn't taste like wood fired pizza. It was just burnt without all the smokey flavor.

[@AbsWrld885]

How many of you noticed that Chef James is starting to speak more openly ✨✨✨

[@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE]

I think that this is the very third video in a row where he said "bloody", which I do have no memory of in his earlier ones. But it still is nice to see that in him I personally think.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

yes I am haha

[@MaquiladoraIII]

@@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE I'm very much looking forward to a "sorry, children" in next week's video.

[@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE]

@@MaquiladoraIII 😁

[@iamnoona5425]

I'm watching this video now after making pizza yesterday. I left my home country 5 years ago so the only way I'm able to connect with my family is through video call. I bond with my niece every Saturday by cooking whatever she wants over video call as she follows me & does the same at home. We made the dough & the sauce from scratch as per usual (I don't like buying ready-made stuff). My 11 year old niece followed well & her pizza looked better & I'm certain it tasted better than that level 3 chef. There is no need to make something, so simple, to be difficult. My 11 year old niece could follow well from a video call.. a pro chef should be able to do better. Also, a tip for those home ovens that don't bake evenly.. toast the base in a frying pan very lightly. Then add your sauce & toppings. Pop into the oven at a reduced cooking time. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn. My oven is like this so I had to pre-toast my base. My niece was using my parents oven which conducts heat evenly so she didn't need to. Her pizza came out looking better than mine.

[@DapperDubuOT9]

Pizza Dough Dry active yeast or starter or 1/2 & 1/2 of both Sugar Salt Oil Very warm water Flour (Either 50/50 or AP) That’s it. Takes no more than 30 minutes to make in a Globe mixer or maybe 30-45 by hand. You can let it proof once if you want to but not necessary. Don’t add too much flour while mixing because you’ll be using bench flour when cutting and forming dough balls later so the dough will get thicker depending on how much bench flour you personally use. Lightly oil the dough balls and either loosely wrap in plastic wrap or set on trays or a bowl and cover and place in the fridge for a minimum of 20 minutes before using or else you’ll end up ripping the dough while stretching. Pizza Sauce We use Full Red tomato sauce and I add olive oil, dried mediterranean oregano, dried basil, garlic powder and a little black pepper then mix with your ladle. That’s it. Keep it simple. It doesn’t take 2 or 3 days to make pizza. From start to finish it can be done in 90 minutes.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Thank you for the recipe!

[@DapperDubuOT9]

@@ChefJamesMakinson Yes sir. You’re welcome

[@VerhoevenSimon]

I recall Vincenzo reacting to this one. I can always appreciate Frank and Saúl, but some level 3 chefs really overdo it. Generally I like to see dishes they will feasibly make at home after a long day at work and that just wasn't it. Steven really won this one in my opinion.

[@undertakernumberone1]

Reminds me of the Pulled Pork episode. When i made my own, i mainly used hte level 2 chefs recipe and modified it. I would've loved to try Saul's recipe, but i just don't have the stuff for it :D Saul and Frank are great (even though Vincenzo reacting to the Carbonara swap episode was a bit rough, since he didn't quite understand the rules of the Ingredient swaps) and some of the others also can, at least at times, make good stuff (i remember that Chicken Parmesan is looking quite decent...) but at times they either go "what?" or just overdo it.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

😉

[@nicholasricardo8443]

I really prefer the taste of raw sauce on pizza, and letting it bake in the oven. As Adam Ragusea says "It makes pizza taste more like pizza and less like Lasagna"

[@sophiaisabelle027]

Keep up the good work, Chef James. God bless you.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Thanks, you too!

[@mojave3571]

Hey, Chef James! Amazing video as always! I was wondering if you could make a video about kitchen essentials, you mentioned in this video a chef knife, but what other essentials would you mention? Thanks in advance, and keep on the great work!!

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

I have one about kitchen essentials but I need to make some more!

[@TkevTV]

In university I started doing pizza myself, as I saved much money and it was delicious. Best tips are: Mix a dough and let it rest, from 20 mins to a day - through the waiting, it'll autolyse and gets more gluten without the unnerving kneading If you want some semi-sour-dough mix a bit flour with sugar/honey and water, let it rest outside 1-3 days max prior - it's at least got similar flavors as sour dough, is really nice actually When a sauce - only blend the tomatoes (at least a tip I got from Italian Grannies - and tastes better imo) or cook a part with alcohol (wine, vodka, whatever you like), tomatoes have flavours that mix well together with alcohol flavours and I heard as well, some flavours solely develop with it Use lots of cheese Is also simple, especially when you let the dough rest for the whole time, you need to start earlier, but it's really passive for me And tastes delicious Also I always hear "don't roll out the dough", which I can understand But I personally like them more rolled out and it's easier, faster

[@nerots7076]

never been to early before

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

😉

[@eshwars1446]

Too*

[@andrewmaughan1205]

Initially, I was pulling for the level 1 home cook, just to root for the underdog. However, all 3 of these cooks did things that made me cringe, because I've made pizza for a living in my late teens.

[@greed94]

Hey, at least level 1 can always admit to his mistakes and tells you what not to do. Level 2 and 3 are way off their rockers thinking what they made looks good.

[@andrewmaughan1205]

@@greed94 , 100% and I'm sure that the level 1 is always looking to find ways to improve.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

🤣 I think the level 1 made the closest to what you could make at home with little skill and still trying to make it nice.

[@jonasklose6472]

At 8:00, yes cooking sauce is done pretty often nowadays but if you can go for authentic and aromatic you don't want to push so many ingredients in the tomatoes. Because at the end, you will loose tomato flaver. Also, canned tomatoes are often even better than ripe ones from the plant because the tomatoes actually naturally *continue to ripe* in the can. Also, completely ripened tomatoes / decent canned tomatoes (no added citric acid!) don't have acidity.

[@missvintagedolldollface6543]

So beautiful where you are currently. I appreciate the ending and I'm looking fwd to looking into those travel videos!

[@Niveum]

14:28 Fun fact: The centrifugal force isn't really a force, but rather it's an illusion that makes objects in a curved/spinning motion feel like there's an outward push. So the pizza dough is trying to move in a straight line, but is constrained to follow a curved path which gives the perception of an outward force.

[@genultz4866]

4:34 there is an acronym we used to use back when I worked in the kitchen, it was K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid, and it's something I've used for quite a lot in my life.

[@Barakon]

Why don’t people use pre sliced low moisture cheeses like Muenster or Colby Jack? Got no anti caking agents & they’re in a convenient shape that really covers up the pizza.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

mozzarella is pretty standard for pizza

[@Barakon]

@@ChefJamesMakinson yeah but that one isn’t usually precut, it’s either whole, ball, string shaped or preshredded.

[@Siddich]

thanks for being so professional 🤗 love your no bullshit videos. your videos are about the content, not ur ego. enjoying that. 🤗

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Thank you so much! :)

[@thesausage351]

I bought a heap of old Japanese knives and a couple of sizes of cleavers, cleaned them up, sharpened them and rehandled them and they’re beautiful. I love working with a cleaver, I have big hands so the extra ground clearance is good, plus I’m quite strong in my wrists and forearms so a heavy knife is my preference. They’re all beautiful to use though. It’s funny how more enjoyable cooking is when you’re not fighting your knife and struggling to cut every second thing, and your knife isn’t destroying what it is you’re cutting.

[@herothebard]

The dough recipe I use most often is 1tbs active dry yeast (a whole packet if you use those) 1tbs sugar 1 cup warm water let yeast proof (you want to see it bubbling) 1 ½ cup flower Pinch of salt (1ts if your particular about it) Cover in oil and put a cloth or clingfilm over the bowl. Let rise 1 hour or overnight in the fridge. Once it has risin you can roll it out to make 1 large 12' - 9' square pizza for a party. Or a 3 small round pizzas (about the size of a dinner plate.) If you want to be extra fancy and like a little bit of a bite you can roll out the dough is cornmeal or flower.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Thank you for the recipe!

[@speedevil22]

i still remember vincenzo losing his mind at this video hahaha. good to see that you and him are in basic alignment that the level 1 chef was the only one here to effectively make an actual pizza haha

[@roginafloyd2403]

I so love watching your videos...on a lot of them I can't stop laughing. Thanks for all the hard work you do for us.

[@ChefJamesMakinson]

Glad you like them!

[@christophlange5053]

Dough: No fresh yeast used, using a rolling pin destroys bubbles from forming, you don't have to add oil to the dough (a good pizza dough consists of flour, water, fresh yeast, salt). Sauce: You can just crush canned tomatoes (unless you live in a region, where you can get fresh, ripe tomatoes) and add a few herbs, salt and pepper, but you can also cook a good tomato sauce (takes about 45 minutes) with a good red wine. Cheese: Yeah, pre-shredded has the problem of an anti-caking agent, it's way better when you grate it yourself but beware of the more watery ones, which could make your pizza soggy (like mozzarella balls). Toppings: yes, some toppings has to be pre-cooked, because it want stay long enough in the oven, though mushrooms are not that problematic, if you have the capabilities to let your pizza bake for only a few minutes. And yeah, the bit with the utility knife.. please, the chefs knife is kinda of an all arounder, so versatile to use, if you have a good one. If you are too scared to buy a knife like a Wüsthof for a start (because you have to sharpen it from time to time), buy yourself a ceramic knife. They will keep the sharpness for a while, are not that expensive and will give you a great entry into the world of cooking knives!

[@kezif]

I like to make my pizza dough in planetary mixer, just mix every thing together cover and let it wait some time. If I’m busy and dough waits for several hours I’ll occasionally mix it more, then divide it, preform and put it on baking tray. While its chilling I’m preparing fillings. Then forming pizza shape and covering with sause, baking and then baking again with fillings. Also I tried to freeze baked dough with sauce. Don’t know yet if it works but if it does, then it would really convenient. Just batch prepare all pizza bases beforehand and defrost when needed

[@The-Anathema]

Keeping things simple I definitely agree with, I have two doughs I'll use depending. One that's ready in less than an hour, the other that can be chucked in the fridge for up to a few days, depends what time I have. Other than that it's just simple stuff, cheese, tomato sauce, toppings of choice and bob's your uncle.

[@justinwhite2725]

13:08 that happened to me with Greek Salad at OPA! once. I was always very careful about salads from there since but that never happened again.

[@mukkaar]

My basic pizza sauce is just some peeled canned tomatoes, salt and then I blend it. If I make more neapolitan style pizza, I crush them, but most often I just make generic pizza with more lower quality ingredients and less work. If I want some extra flavor, only thing I do is add some hand crushed garlic into the sauce night before, and fish them out before use. This gives nice garlic fragrance without any harsh or overpowering flavors. Cooking the sauce is kinda weird, since it means those tomatoes will essentially be cooked three times, once in canning, once on stove, and final time in oven. If you want thicker sauce you could just use the peeled tomatoes and not use the juice in the can. Basil in sauce is also quite redundant, since you can just add fresh basil on the pizza before or after the bake, flavor will be more fresh and intense. Same with stuff like oregano. Oregano is best just after the pizza comes form oven, spice will instantly activate and you get that amazing oregano smell + taste. Other dry spices work the same. And yeah, all these pizzas kinda suck :D

[@sadhuskerfan7830]

If you ever like to play around with natural fermentation I found a trick for great pizza sauce. Ferment a pint of cherry tomatoes for 2-3 weeks. Drain and put it in a blender with a bit of oregano and garlic powder. Simple and tasty

[@gamzecarsamba6273]

I hate anything burnt. I dont even like smoked flavours. I would rip and throw that burnt parts of that pizza if I had to eat it.

[@CheddarCheys]

I rarely ever buy tomato sauce. If I do, it's canned Hunt's with no sodium so I can add some seasonings and salt and pepper to my taste. If I want to make my own sauce, I get canned crushed tomatoes or fresh pick from my garden and crush them myself. I always make my own dough and let it rise from the morning until an hour before dinner. Cheeses, I usually use a combination of jack, muenster, and provolone. Often, I'll swap one for swiss or mozzarella and occasionally I'll use a goat cheese and ricotta. Always grate my cheese. Toppings vary depending on what kind of pizza I want to make, but usually bell peppers, mushrooms, red onions, basil, sausage, pepperoni, etc. My favorite is goat cheese and ricotta on a well-seasoned dough with spinach, mushrooms, and artichoke on top. I can't make it often because it's really hard to find goat cheese where I live, but when I do the family goes wild for it.