Pizza Chef Answers Pizza Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

Chef, author, and Razza owner Dan Richer answers the internet's burning questions about pizza. Why does pepperoni curl? What are the best cheeses for making pizza? What is the most important part of a pizza? Does a calzone count as a pizza? Are San Marzano tomatoes really that great? How much does it cost to open a pizzeria? Dan answers all these questions and much more!
Director: Justin Wolfson
Director of Photography: Rahil Ashruff
Editor: Shandor Garrison
Expert: Dan Richer
Producer: Justin Wolfson
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Paul Gulyas
Production Manager: Eric Martinez
Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila
Senior Casting Producer: Nicole Ford
Camera Operator: Cloud
Audio: Brett Van Deusen
Production Assistant: Ryan Coppola
Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell
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[@guillermoalcantara8608]

"What should never go on a pizza?" "If you can dream it, it should go on a pizza" Man just Bob Rossed us

[@justayoutuber1906]

I'm dreaming of ice cream

[@LimeEffy]

He actually have made a book titled "The Joy of Pizza", so he actually is the Bob Ross of pizza

[@shwabb1]

Mmm pizza with sand

[@pongtre568]

Those tide pods pizza, going to be famous again.

[@sine-nomine]

Soup.

[@-Ricky_Spanish-]

Glad to see someone who isn't a snob about pizza! Just enjoy it how you like and let others do the same, it's not a battle people.

[@deaaqua86]

I was thinking the same! Pizza snobs are silly. There's SO many varieties - no one pizza is correct.

[@Nillowo]

Agreed :)

[@MattSwain1]

I think the whole thing about what’s ok on a pizza etc started out as a bit of fun but has been taken beyond extreme to being plain moronic now. Completely agree with you, let’s all just enjoy our pizzas, the finest food there is!!!

[@ellifsyaa]

Scott weiner rn😭🤡

[@MusicLoverInTheSky]

@@MattSwain1 That's why I always roll my eyes at the "Chill out, it's just a joke!" argument. It ALWAYS becomes serious later. A L W A Y S.

[@dominiklukas4705]

I like how enthusiastic he is about the questions and helping people improve their pizza game.

[@mfkiess6356]

No joke! The whole time, I was like, "I wish I could be this excited about LITERALLY ANYTHING!"

[@Lambchops247]

This dude is insanely passionate about pizza. Respect.

[@paulengle5784]

I thought I loved pizza. This man challenged me to love it more.

[@yvesdakempo1]

This video shows how passionate and enlightened Dan Richer is, he answered all those questions lively and enthuastically without condescending any type of styles and weird ideas, and we can see how happy he is when he made those pizza dough although he already doing it for years! great video and great source person choice!

[@markryan9323]

What I like about professionals are their humbleness. This guy is literally a pizza professor!

[@nanoknots]

i watched every minute with no intention of ever making pizza

[@TheFlamingTrain]

It's pizza time

[@chasehedges6775]

Spider Man Reference

[@Synclon]

I missed the part where That's my Problem

[@Boringpenguin]

I'm gonna put some dough in your eye

[@eternalbeing3339]

Pizza pizza 🍕

[@thisscreensucks]

Hey everyone, he said the thing!

[@cloneclone5341]

you know the pizza is gonna be good when the Chef uses physics, AND HE DIDN'T IGNORE FRICTION!

[@MMircea]

My Italian uncle once told me that the dough in a pizza is everything. Good dough can save bad topping, but good topping can never save a bad dough on a pizza.

[@andreagv3]

This guy did a really good job of breaking it down, answering in a simple, informative, way without being a snob or condescending. But at the same time respecting the basics, traditions of different styles, ecc. Good information and great delivery.

[@jopo7996]

The more pizza information he gave me, the more I understood. It's sort of a domino's effect.

[@naxmerr7274]

jajajajajaja

[@gus473]

😢 I guess someone was going to do that..... 🙄😉✌️

[@MrFirsito]

better than taco bell after effect D:

[@christianhansen3292]

dont eat dominos if u have access to a good independent local joint that has good dough and tomato pizza sauce!

[@Omar-wq9dz]

I love the topic already, even before watching the video. I can’t imagine life without pizza

[@DimitriMoreira]

Life without pizza is not life, it's merely existing.

[@michaelchallis4129]

Try watching the video too.

[@alesbianweirdo]

All I can think of is I want to taste the pizza this guy makes

[@GM-cw1zr]

The pizza is phenomenal. If you're ever around Jersey City, I highly recommend it.

[@hanks0255]

Asking a pizza chef if he knows how to cook a pizza is the best question ever.

[@eternalbeing3339]

I thought he was going to say no. I am surprised that he knows how.

[@onkelpappkov2666]

[challenge accepted]

[@dillpickle9550]

I wish I loved basically anything in life as much as this guy loves pizza.

[@dillpickle9550]

With that said, what's the nacho and chicken wing version of this guy? Asking for science.

[@joseph_b319]

Pizza is one of those foods that even when it is bad it is still pretty good.

[@Dayvit78]

Domino's enters chat

[@xJDMWaRRi0Rx]

@@Dayvit78 dominos consistency is unmatched so you gotta give them that. Local pizzerias all depend on which day and time of the week you buy. You either get fresh ingredients made by the better pizza maker or you buy on a slow day where the ingredients are a day or 2 old made by the new pizza guy in training.

[@j_c_93]

Celeste pizzas in the microwave are legitimately bad

[@neurodivergentpixi6736]

I don't know mate. My mum made some pretty dreadful pizza when I was growing up. She's a pretty amazing cook, but her pizza was just not. Pizza night was my least favourite night.

[@xwarockx3959]

This is honestly such a good youtube channel. The videos are insanely high quality, both with the staffed personell and the video editing

[@koane]

Dan owns Razza in Jersey City! He's just as passionate in person if you decide to pick his brain about the process. Some of the best pizza (and especially dough,) I've ever had. 🍕 🍕

[@DrakonIL]

That smile at 8:30 is everything. You can see how excited he is that someone asked such a basic yet vital question.

[@sven_86]

Even better is to grow your own tomatoes and basil. There is nothing like literally the freshest ingredients possible on a pizza.

[@obviouspseudonym2407]

"absolutely don't microwave the pizza" he says as I am eating my microwaved pizza

[@krystic8160]

The pizza dough water temperature calculations are mind-blowing. My pizza game is definitely going to level up

[@7752]

Always a pleasure to see someone who loves what they do!

[@thermann9]

His enthusiasm is contagious

[@demokratpaja8024]

This man is a pure madness. He speaks about pizza like a poem. Briliancy

[@prapanthebachelorette6803]

His overwhelming insight is totally admirable. I appreciate the chemistry part a lot 😊🎉

[@trevorjensen2706]

What I learned is, there is a LOT more science to making a pizza than I ever imagined.

[@shadenox8164]

Just to add onto it, yeah it wasn't named because of where it was made, its called Hawaiian because pork and pineapple is a notable combination in Hawaiian cooking.

[@odiewan67]

This is awesome. Just straight up knowledge. Thanks Chef Richer and Wired. Save video to my favorites.

[@jeffhardysoul]

Love, passion, knowledge... It shows, he even gave a chemistry lesson to it, never knew you can calculate the optimum water temp for the dough

[@joeymorris4589]

Crust makes the pizza, 100%. Best sauce or cheese in the world can’t save a poor crust.

[@jnels2007]

That is a HARDCORE fact. The sauce and cheese could be amazing but if the crust taste like cardboard, I don’t want it.

[@jbk2466]

I've yet to have a frozen pizza with crust that is remotely as good as even mediocre pizzeria pizza's crust.

[@eternalbeing3339]

@@jbk2466 try a Giordanos deep dish frozen.

[@pedrobaeck1541]

i fell in love with this man, he talks of everything i belive in about pizza in a single video, is just beautiful

[@DonOblivious]

If you ever want to know how much cheese is too much, visit the Minnesota/Wisconsin area. It's almost, but not quite, it's own style and "too much cheese" is a typical amount. We also tend to add more spicy pepper in the sauce, in addition to the additional cheese, than a lot of "tavern pies." One of the reasons we cut it in squares or "party cut" is because full slices don't have enough structure to hold up to that much weight.

[@KPMindfreak]

I worked at a pizza place for eight years and my boss explain to me like how different flat how the four water ratio works but I learned a lot of new stuff and even sent this video to him. Maybe I’ll post a link to a blog post about that water, flour ratio.

[@punchtothemind7582]

This guy is great, would really like to see him do more!

[@ManiacalV]

Love this video! I'm not a huge deep dish fan, but in Chicago, Pequod's is my favorite. The deep dish with caramelized crust is amazing, but we usually got pan with meats, veg and always, always, their giardiniera.

[@DreamGamingS2]

There was some genuine gold in there. I had no idea about controlling temperatures of the dough!

[@brianng8350]

such a positive and encouraging guy. There is no wrong topping or regional pizza. Any pizza oven is fine; then he goes to tell how great his oven is... hahaha...

[@Aeronaut1975]

I never thoght about pre-cooking mushrooms to remove their moisture before putting them on pizza, thank you!

[@circleroundthesun1]

Mouthwatering TedTalk. Thank you so much! I'm having pizza today for sure.

[@kevinmencer3782]

Huh. I never actually thought about cooking the mushrooms I put on my pizza. That must be why my pizza always comes out a little bit soggy.

[@_mickmccarthy]

Always a great thing when people have the opinion of "enjoy it whatever way you want"

[@ljy8123]

his detail to pizza is just extraordinary.

[@Dexy83]

The support I didn't know I needed! 😂

[@geducam]

Amazing how passionate he is about pizza

[@CurlyCross]

I could listen to this guy talk about Pizza for hours

[@AndreJHoward]

I've never seen someone so passionate about pizza. I love it.

[@atsine1072]

I love his energy

[@ricomichel]

This guy is all out awesome. Best food video ever!!

[@xJDMWaRRi0Rx]

Pineapples on pizza is something I just recently started getting as my usual. It goes great with hot red peppers. It balances out the heat perfectly and if you have a crispy slice it’s just amazing all combined

[@supdawg_27]

Yessir!!

[@GuyWithAnAmazingHat]

Tomatoes and peppers are fruits therefore all pizzas are fruit pizzas, not just pineapple; Heck blueberry sauce pizzas are valid fruit pizzas as well

[@malloryg4251]

I am convinced that there are two types of people- the ones that just "get it" when it comes to pineapple pizza and the ones who think it is a food crime.

[@RPKD88]

It's not a food crime but it makes it sweet which is odd if you want a savouy pizza. Like why not just add oranges as well?

[@shadenox8164]

@@RPKD88 I'm sorry your sense of taste can't differentiate between sweet and tart. Pineapple has a culinary history of being served with savory things especially pork for a reason. Even if pineapple was just pure sweet, it's very silly to just say why not this other thing that tastes completely different. Why not oranges? Because oranges don't taste like pineapples. That shouldn't need to be explained.

[@benjaminsagan5861]

I love that you said of New York pizza, essentially, "If I can make it here, I'll make it anywhere."

[@kaiceeholloway8830]

Recent eat the best pizza I've tasted in a very long time. Glad I came across this video 😊

[@DahVeeDeeOh]

This is the best tech support yet. I want to be friends with Dan.

[@elainebelzDetroit]

His passion really comes through!

[@brianagruen2956]

I would love to take a cooking class run by him, that was so excellent! 🤓

[@fraliexb]

10:15 I don't mind microwave reheating but I also cover it (while having a watered papertowel under) to help steam the crust.

[@emmatorrillo5666]

i went to his restaurant and it was literally one of the best pizzas I ever had. so so good!

[@gus473]

🍕 Wow, thanks! Going to try to memorize that pizza formula! 😎✌️

[@bernice9155]

We need part 2.

[@matasa7463]

I actually do use the microwave for pizza reheating, but only to warm it up for a little bit, and then finish it on the pan to crisp it up again. This helps me avoid burning the pizza on the bottom, yet not have it be hot.

[@joaa89]

I do use it as well, to reheat dough-based thingies (pizza, cinnamon rolls, ...), but I put it always with a small glass of water in microwave. The dough doesn't dry out. Since I found out about it, been using this "method" always. Highly recommend.

[@Alice_Walker]

Same. I use the microwave on half power 🍕✨

[@TheLochs]

Chicago deep dish!! my fav. I also love NYC style if done right. Here in Boston we have some good pies. I'm hungry!

[@MrDoctorBryce]

We need part 2

[@johnwelter7081]

Neat trick with the dough ingredient temperatures. Maybe ill give it a try sometime.

[@SneetyPete]

I got really good at throwing and spinning the pizza. Only ever did it when I was joking around but if anyone asks you tell them its a vital part of the process

[@mindihunt1930]

I had some local sweet corn on a pizza when I was traveling in Peru and it changed my life.

[@emercycrite]

What a cool guy.

[@slyceth]

That was thorough

[@joaralvdal5717]

I really liked this one.

[@mikegodin8915]

Reuben pizza, honey mustard sauce, corned beef, cooked saurkraute, mix of Swiss and mozza cheese. Yum

[@beatchef]

'475 degrees' is 246 degrees Celsius for everyone in the world outside USA. Thank you for grams in the recipe :D

[@Alr1ghtyThen]

I had an Elote Pizza and it was AMAZING! Corn is definitely an underrated pizza topping.

[@DonOblivious]

My first "fancy" pizza had Feta (I had absolutely no idea what Feta was at the time) with some spicy sausage chunks. It's still a fun topping IMO, but only as a topping rather than the base cheese.

[@BeTReZeN1]

Try also mix black olives with cheese layer on top. One of my favourite combinations with feta.

[@DonOblivious]

@@BeTReZeN1 Ok, hear me out. Gyro meat. It's an AMAZING meat topping for a pizza and feta + mozz is so, so good on top. There are basically 3 downsides and a million upsides to my latest relocation and "gyro pizza takeout" is one of the 3. Google "Ansari's Eagan Ali Baba Pizza" If I'm ever in the area again I'll definitely use your black olive suggestion. That sounds so good. Sometimes I just toss kalamata olives and feta chunks in a ramekin as a snack.

[@Nillowo]

What a nice guy

[@pablodelfin9181]

If you are going to do the dough recipe show in this video, keep in mind that is going to have a 75% of hydration which is considered a high level and is going to be quite sticky to maneuver if you are not very expirience, also the type of flour should be meant for this task ( in my experience the amount of protein in the flour has to be at leats 13% per 100gr of product, and also the mill has to be super fine) I like high hidration too, you can get a more fluffly and crispy bite out of it, the kind of crispy that is'nt hard to bite

[@allanturmaine5496]

Pepperoni temperature differential is my favourite new obscure consideration.

[@haleylux34]

For the New York water thing, there is a difference, it has a lot less chlorine in the water Watch Food Theory and Mat Pat has a whole video about it

[@kosukemiyake4095]

I like this guy just a super positive pizza dude

[@-Ricky_Spanish-]

Scamorza (unsmoked) is the best pizza cheese I've found. It melts beautifully and has a nicer flavor than mozzarella imo.

[@WhiskeyPapa42]

10:15 You can put a pizza box in the oven as long as you don't let the temperature go above 451*F (or 232*C). The box will catch fire at that temperature. If you're just reheating pizza and the temp is at like 350-375*F, it will *not* catch fire.

[@30andBoard]

Awesome video!

[@christineb8148]

Dan!!! Still the best pizza teacher out there.

[@Sharky857]

In my area there's a pizzeria that serves "pizza al padellino". It's your usual pizza coming with all kind of toppings, but instead of being baked in an oven it's cooked inside a small pan (the "padellino"), kinda like the Chicago deep pizza. We tried it once, but it turned out to be too greasy for our own taste (they probably used more oil so that the pizza wouldn't stick to the sides of the pan), even the simplest "pizza margherita" was literally dripping oil.

[@NorthS1deSold1er]

Sounds a lot like detroit style. You really grease the pan up so the dough and cheese on the sides crisps and doesn't stick. It's almost like fried bread with pizza toppings than crust.

[@dashamunch]

after watching this video I can say I am now very knowledgeable about pizza. Thank you

[@DontMockMySmock]

I've had New York pizza, and it is very, very good. Never seen it replicated anywhere else, but there was one place local to me that came pretty close. Sadly they closed down during the pandemic :(

[@chloescat]

This guy is the James Hoffmann of pizza, minus glasses.

[@user-mu8dm4rk7g]

Great video!

[@anonview]

It was a mistake watching this before lunch. Now I'm dying for a taste of pizza. 😅

[@BeastinOnLife]

This is the best pizza video 😀

[@Riokaii]

regular cheese pizza with cinammon sugar ontop is DELICIOUS. invented it as a kid

[@Zyxusum]

bro 75% hydration pizza dough is amazing, but i wouldnt recommend such high hydration to anyone who isnt experienced with handling dough.

[@wanderingshxt]

Awesome!

[@Veekmon]

caramelization isn't the browning of just anything, it's very specifically about sugars

[@eternalbeing3339]

You can find good pizza anywhere in the country, not just new york. The best detroit style i have ever had was in boise idaho of all places. Spitfire pizza was the restaurant.

[@ricrodriguez651]

Most underrated topping is artichoke hearts. Sounds weird, but it's pretty good!

[@Kaice88]

ive never tried anchovies in general but I can tell id like it. Ive always wanted to try it and the way he explains it being salty and umami definitely works for me lol

[@bcaye]

A lot of higher end recipes call for anchovy paste in a sauce. I can't specify because I don't cook that way (I just like watching cooking shows) but it really elevates my gumbo and beef stew!

[@KeepFeedingMeImStillHungry]

1:03 you can't just tell people to cook anchovies in oil for 45 minutes "until they're melted" 😅 i've made big mistakes early on because of vague instructions, and this one may take the cake

[@gamerperson6865]

i love pizza. i love you. i love this video. TY

[@AM1N4L]

Sick pizza tips

[@spencercoots]

Imagine how much practice this guy has to know all of this.