Tested: Cooking the Perfect Pizza at Home

Scott Heimendinger of Modernist Cuisine and SeattleFoodGeek invites us into his home to show how he makes his perfect pizza from scratch. Learn how Scott tweaks his dough recipe and then cooks his pizza in a hacked backyard grill-oven. Plus, learn the only appropriate way for scientists to cut pizza!
Watch more from our trip to Modernist Cuisine at www.tested.com/
Learn more about Scott's creative cooking techniques at www.seattlefoodgeek.com/

[@MrMZaccone]

Pizza dough is utterly simple. Make a fairly wet dough from water, bread flour, yeast and salt. Let it rise once to get some body, form dough balls and let them proof, covered, at least over-night in the fridge for flavor ... done.

[@sirhamalot8651]

OR... put a cast iron skillet upside down on the top rack of your over, set it to broil and let the skillet get rocket hot. Slide your pizza on the skillet cook under the broiler for 5 minutes. Perfect pizza. (not really perfect unless you put fresh basil under the cheese before cooking, though)

[@dannydebonis]

I don't know what that is, but I was told there'd be perfect pizza...

[@thePowerPlant]

Haha! Awesome man. I was in Naples a few months ago and concur completely with everything you just said. We, Americans, call it "Pizza Napoletana" but that still mostly just means regular pizza but thinner and with only mozz, basil, and tomato sauce. I have to say though, there are a few places here in the US that do pizza right. They get certification by AVPN, you know this organization right? And they're pizzas are amazing!

[@evnerbinko]

Scissors for pizza slicing.... GENIUS!

[@nesagwa]

400-425 is what most frozen pizzas recommend on their packaging. They get plenty crispy on the middle rack without having to fiddle around with changing the heat or moving the pizza around.

[@slappy76]

How far were come from this in just 9 years.

[@peterjoseph2387]

Those split screens in the beginning 8) - video production value ramping up! Awesome!

[@Jatzu]

Growing up in an Italian neighbourhood has taught me that associating with people who think that is the best way to cook pizza is a bad idea.

[@deinse82]

The whole "under two minute" thing is unnecessary. It's meant to keep the dough from drying out, but you can achieve the same result with a wetter dough (up to 70% water) and lower temperatures. For instance, you can put it into a regular oven, on a pre-heated, large piece of metal (a big, heavy skillet is fine, a 30 pound steel slab is more epic though), for 5-6 minutes. The quality of the oven matters, of course, because even temps are important. But if you're into cooking good food, you probably have a good oven. And that's all you need. Not sure about the broiler suggestion, in other comments. I'd rather cook for longer with even temps...I can't imagine how you could get it right every time, with a broiler...something's bound to go wrong, and then you're eating charcoal instead of pizza...but I haven't tried it, so I might be wrong. Maybe it's doable. P.S. wood/coal is better than gas, of course...that's the only downside of a regular oven. But you can use smoked toppings (including smoked olive oil, which is easy to do), to help with that. Not the perfect solution, I admit, but you don't have to build yourself a 19th century locomotive engine in your back yard, and then hope for nice weather, before you can make pizza.

[@WiZeR911]

Is there any more info on the modified BBQ anywhere? Great idea.

[@89Martyr]

perfect pizza and a rolling pin are not compatible notions!

[@smoll.miniatures]

Lucali has entered the chat….

[@Tarrosion]

1) Isn't most baking powder "double acting" i.e. much of the rise is heat activated? 2) Why add gluten when you could just knead more?

[@UnethicalBurrito]

"Plus, learn the only appropriate way for scientists to cut pizza!" I was expecting lasers...

[@1pcfred]

If you have to eat frozen pizza, not that anyone really does, because making pizza at home isn't that hard, then at least pick a better brand than Red Devil pizza. Lots of supermarkets carry a generic store brand pizza that is likely better. Often it isn't in the frozen pizza section though. It'll be packaged in shrink wrap, on a cardboard disc. I've had better luck with DiGiorno and Paul Newman's isn't too terrible either.

[@ThePantheons]

.. FUCK THAT LOOKS GOOD.

[@fishburt7913]

cutting pizza with scissors. blew my mind

[@TheMartinandLuisShow]

Baking Soda in Pizza dough?

[@_Majoras]

0:18 oooh lets apply a teaspoon of pizza sauce in the center of the dough then spread that paper thin over the entire surface!

[@chrissnyder4439]

He likes a puffy crust with good chew yet uses a rolling pin. I don't know why I continue to watch anything cooking related on this channel as it takes what is a very simple recipe and complicates it while making it worse.

[@BenAM.Barron]

But what did pizza maker extraordinaire Joey think of it?

[@mjkelsey81]

Search Etsy for 'CondimentiumChef'

[@DanRichardson]

I'm still an advocate for tasted.com, guys. Do it.

[@chezprakticle5940]

I've eaten pizza in Italy...so sad...Red Baron might be a technically accurate description.

[@WheelieTruther]

The website being poorly designed may be the reason you don't go there as much, I'm fine with the new direction, allows for a wider variety of content.

[@nbenj100]

OK anybody that wants super good pizza dough authentic try THE BREAD BAKERS APPRENTICE BY PEATER REINHART i can tell you it is one of the finest bread baking books you will find.

[@creiij]

Since Tested got sold it's gotten less about gear and... well testing stuff and more about general geekery. Sure I love the Jamie and Adam parts and the Modernist Cuisine stuff but I rarely visit your site anymore. Just Podcast and KZbin and I guess you don't make that much money on those things. Oh the Podcast still owns, say hi to Gary and his baby =)

[@johnmthom]

They should rename this "Cooking the Perfect Hipster Pizza at Home"

[@mjkelsey81]

search Etsy for CondimentuimChef

[@skytoast]

what the hell...baking soda? a pretzel pizza?

[@xjtmskfk]

nah 400 is too much. you dont go up to 400 at the last 3~5min. set it up to 375~385 first then when the pizza is almost done you set it up to 400 and place the pizza on the bottom of your open so that you can get your crispy crust

[@xnamkcor]

Did he just use a rolling pin?

[@Jedicake]

I'll be honest, that does look extremely good.

[@king15060]

20 min at 450 cooks anything. ANYTHING

[@Eliphas_Leary]

"Perfect" pizza? Too much tech to be considered being a real pizza at all, maybe this can be called a "parody of pizza". The moment he started to cut that thing with the scissors I would have slapped him, even if it's not a real pizza it doesn't deserve that.

[@PaladinNasicom]

Suddenly... Cruella De Ville.

[@bmo14lax]

spoiler: you cant

[@aviratausend]

burned ffs

[@hornylink]

I think toasted.com sounds better, it keeps the same low vowel sounds as tested.com and is still a horrible food related pun

[@ZyklonB95]

Sorry, but that pizza looks like shit. Dough looks terrible, the crust doesn't look crisp, and the choice of toppings...

[@Reversefilms]

ZyklonB95 you didn't eat it, you can't say anything about it.

[@drackar]

Minus using a bbq to get the heat, nothing about this pizza is right. Just...what? So much micro chemistry detracts from "perfect" pizza. Pizza is simple. A yeast (or better, sourdough) crust. No...micro pockets of gel-coated chemical leavening agents. No chemically altered cheeses. And is that (not nearly enough) store bought red sauce?

[@heraclo12]

where does this Kid in an adult body take the courage to mention italy in this context.....If you are not able to make pizza on a stone in the oven with a simple dough, leave it, leave and dont try to overcomplicate it......and just as a sidemark, neapolitan pizza is about ABSOLUT simplicity.....and why the hack do they put a spanish goat cheese on a pizza......hidious and nothing else

[@seriousgamer64]

This seems incredibly over-complicated using unnecessary additives to solve problems that can be solved with technique

[@AsitorCorporation]

Or you could make a pizza that doesn't look like it was cooked in Chernobyl (but seriously what is with that green cheese on top, it looks horrible)

[@nesagwa]

Nobody gives a shit about the newest Android phone.

[@0ll2]

do people know what modernist means? this isn't 40's cuisine.

[@1pcfred]

You people on the west coast wouldn't know good pizza if it landed on your heads. I had to shut this video off when you started talking about the cheeses you put on your imperfect pizza. Fact is good pizza simply does not exist more than 50 miles away from New York City. Maybe it is the water I don't know, what I do know is all pizza further than 50 miles away from NYC is shit! NYC pizza itself is meh. I'll eat it when I'm hungry I actually like north jersey pizza better.

[@AriesSupertramp]

I am speechless... not in a positive way.

[@Terinigan]

You obviously have no idea how a good pizza tastes. -.-