Starting a pizza place, Part 3: CRUST SECRET, toppings, t-shirts
video description
Date: 2024-10-18
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 20
crimroc
looks like the oven you are using is sadly a single conveyor belt oven. If you had an oven with 2 conveyor belts, you could have them on different speeds/temps. This could help with the thinner vs thicker pizzas and on pizzas with more or less toppings.
If the pizza is good and y'all get busy enough, I'd think that you would end up needing a double conveyor oven eventually.
this isn't a horrible thing, but I do think you may be overthinking the formula when it comes to the temp and speed. If you are only using one temp and speed, it is impossible to make every pizza perfect. People are going to order all different kinds of pizzas, and if you are only using one temp and speed they cant ALL be perfect.
Find something that works good for the basic commonly ordered pizzas, like cheese, pepperoni, and maybe a few other common styles like Margherita or spinach alfredo. once you have that, don't worry so much about the deviant pizzas that people will definitely order.
This is only my opinion, but I think there wasn't NEARLY enough pepperoni on the pizza, I think I only counted like 8 or 9; as a customer, I'd be disappointed. When I have a pizza with ONLY pepperoni, I want it to be BLANKETED in pepperoni. When other toppings are included, I'd want less pep. I think the extra grease and flavor from tons of pep is something that pepperoni lovers seek and enjoy.
It is so cool to see you get into the commercial pizza business, because I have always loved your videos and I'm a major pizza enthusiast. I'm 24 years old with 6 years of experience in the pizza industry, and I love it so much. One of the best feelings ever is to cut and box a pizza that you know will make the customers eyes widen when they open the box. What you are doing is so fascinating and I hope that someday I have the opportunity to take a role similar to what you are doing at your spot. Thank you so much for your hard work!
reply
looks like the oven you are using is sadly a single conveyor belt oven. If you had an oven with 2 conveyor belts, you could have them on different speeds/temps. This could help with the thinner vs thicker pizzas and on pizzas with more or less toppings.
If the pizza is good and y'all get busy enough, I'd think that you would end up needing a double conveyor oven eventually.
this isn't a horrible thing, but I do think you may be overthinking the formula when it comes to the temp and speed. If you are only using one temp and speed, it is impossible to make every pizza perfect. People are going to order all different kinds of pizzas, and if you are only using one temp and speed they cant ALL be perfect.
Find something that works good for the basic commonly ordered pizzas, like cheese, pepperoni, and maybe a few other common styles like Margherita or spinach alfredo. once you have that, don't worry so much about the deviant pizzas that people will definitely order.
This is only my opinion, but I think there wasn't NEARLY enough pepperoni on the pizza, I think I only counted like 8 or 9; as a customer, I'd be disappointed. When I have a pizza with ONLY pepperoni, I want it to be BLANKETED in pepperoni. When other toppings are included, I'd want less pep. I think the extra grease and flavor from tons of pep is something that pepperoni lovers seek and enjoy.
It is so cool to see you get into the commercial pizza business, because I have always loved your videos and I'm a major pizza enthusiast. I'm 24 years old with 6 years of experience in the pizza industry, and I love it so much. One of the best feelings ever is to cut and box a pizza that you know will make the customers eyes widen when they open the box. What you are doing is so fascinating and I hope that someday I have the opportunity to take a role similar to what you are doing at your spot. Thank you so much for your hard work!
reply
WeerdBeard
Those last 50 degrees are a super big deal if you have a thermometer in your oven. From Room Temp to 100 Degrees is a quick hop, as is to 250 for when I do oven BBQ similar to yours. I turn the oven on, and it's ready in a flash. Getting up to 400 takes a lot longer, and cooking at these temps you really need to turn on the oven before you even start getting out the cookware and ingredients you intend to cook with. I personally don't see the point for your hour-long pre-heat of your steel. I find that if I put my pizza stone in the oven when it's cold and let the oven AND STONE come up to temp the results are the same as if I was doing a longer pre-heat, and I often make multiple pies, and the last comes out as good as the first. But this means I'm sometimes watching the thermometer, and that time from 500 to 550 is an ETERNITY just because you're pushing things so hard against entropy. By the time my oven is pre-heated my kitchen is hot, the outside of the oven is very warm to the touch, and the exhaust out the back of the oven is SCORCHING. The home pizza ovens either use MASSIVE burners or are huge earthen ovens with thick walls to keep the hot fire inside. So yeah the energy it takes for your conveyor oven is exponentially greater than my fancy convection oven. Good luck with the restaurant!
reply
Those last 50 degrees are a super big deal if you have a thermometer in your oven. From Room Temp to 100 Degrees is a quick hop, as is to 250 for when I do oven BBQ similar to yours. I turn the oven on, and it's ready in a flash. Getting up to 400 takes a lot longer, and cooking at these temps you really need to turn on the oven before you even start getting out the cookware and ingredients you intend to cook with. I personally don't see the point for your hour-long pre-heat of your steel. I find that if I put my pizza stone in the oven when it's cold and let the oven AND STONE come up to temp the results are the same as if I was doing a longer pre-heat, and I often make multiple pies, and the last comes out as good as the first. But this means I'm sometimes watching the thermometer, and that time from 500 to 550 is an ETERNITY just because you're pushing things so hard against entropy. By the time my oven is pre-heated my kitchen is hot, the outside of the oven is very warm to the touch, and the exhaust out the back of the oven is SCORCHING. The home pizza ovens either use MASSIVE burners or are huge earthen ovens with thick walls to keep the hot fire inside. So yeah the energy it takes for your conveyor oven is exponentially greater than my fancy convection oven. Good luck with the restaurant!
reply
juanma4978
I dont mean to tell Adam Ragusea how to cook pizza at home but have you tried not using the convection of the oven and instead cooking in two stages I dont know how ovens work in USA but here in Argentina we have the fire in the bottom between the big, main oven and the small space with a door at the bottom. So when i cook pizza, i put it in the floor of the oven, as close as i can to the fire, and put the oven to medium max. This allows the bottom of the pizza to brown and starts melting the cheese, but not enough for it to break. Then when the bottom is almost as brown as i want it, i put in the small space under the main oven, and there with the fire from above the cheese melts and browns so fast it doesnt have time to break (at least i think that is what is happening. A little olive oil (or other) always helps when browning the bottom, I've found. I think you may already know all this, but well, it doesn't hurt to speak about it hahaha. Best regards, love your vids!
reply
I dont mean to tell Adam Ragusea how to cook pizza at home but have you tried not using the convection of the oven and instead cooking in two stages I dont know how ovens work in USA but here in Argentina we have the fire in the bottom between the big, main oven and the small space with a door at the bottom. So when i cook pizza, i put it in the floor of the oven, as close as i can to the fire, and put the oven to medium max. This allows the bottom of the pizza to brown and starts melting the cheese, but not enough for it to break. Then when the bottom is almost as brown as i want it, i put in the small space under the main oven, and there with the fire from above the cheese melts and browns so fast it doesnt have time to break (at least i think that is what is happening. A little olive oil (or other) always helps when browning the bottom, I've found. I think you may already know all this, but well, it doesn't hurt to speak about it hahaha. Best regards, love your vids!
reply
aragusea
Adam, it’s certainly not the case that all the knowledge you’ve shared with us about making the best pizzas has become irrelevant. Even if the real secret lies in having a very powerful oven, I believe that more than 90% of the people who are passionate about making great pizzas either can’t afford one, don’t have the space, or face other practical limitations.
Therefore, all the wisdom you’ve imparted is still incredibly valuable because most people will be cooking their pizzas in a regular indoor oven. You should be proud of your work, as you've not only taught us a great deal about making amazing pizzas but also about life itself. So, thank you!
reply
Adam, it’s certainly not the case that all the knowledge you’ve shared with us about making the best pizzas has become irrelevant. Even if the real secret lies in having a very powerful oven, I believe that more than 90% of the people who are passionate about making great pizzas either can’t afford one, don’t have the space, or face other practical limitations.
Therefore, all the wisdom you’ve imparted is still incredibly valuable because most people will be cooking their pizzas in a regular indoor oven. You should be proud of your work, as you've not only taught us a great deal about making amazing pizzas but also about life itself. So, thank you!
reply
hidarling641
I mean, you personally have shown it IS possible to get good browning on a home pizza. I get that it's a lot HARDER to do at home, but you have shown it can be done, so i'm not sure why you're trying to invalidate your most popular recipes by saying just get a commercial oven or super overpriced pizza oven lul.
If i had to guess, you're saying this because you want people to support local pizza places which. is probably a good idea if said places are really good. But if people want to make it at home: they're either doing it for fun or because their local options aren't great and they don't wanna travel hundreds of miles to knoxville.
reply
I mean, you personally have shown it IS possible to get good browning on a home pizza. I get that it's a lot HARDER to do at home, but you have shown it can be done, so i'm not sure why you're trying to invalidate your most popular recipes by saying just get a commercial oven or super overpriced pizza oven lul.
If i had to guess, you're saying this because you want people to support local pizza places which. is probably a good idea if said places are really good. But if people want to make it at home: they're either doing it for fun or because their local options aren't great and they don't wanna travel hundreds of miles to knoxville.
reply
finickybits8055
Any consideration for the steel mesh thing vs pan
In baking, don't dark baking pans = darker finished goods Maybe take that pan from the commercial oven scene, and preheat and use it in your home oven
Watching the sausage part made me cringe a little; hold raw sausage in one hand, use other hand to pinch off appropriate sized piece, press it to pizza one time, one motion, with your thumb, sticking it to the dough. Get good at it, you can sausage an entire large or XL pizza in seconds. Pepperoni should be even faster. Pinch and drop would have gotten me smacked in the head by Marco and Mama Tenuta!
reply
Any consideration for the steel mesh thing vs pan
In baking, don't dark baking pans = darker finished goods Maybe take that pan from the commercial oven scene, and preheat and use it in your home oven
Watching the sausage part made me cringe a little; hold raw sausage in one hand, use other hand to pinch off appropriate sized piece, press it to pizza one time, one motion, with your thumb, sticking it to the dough. Get good at it, you can sausage an entire large or XL pizza in seconds. Pepperoni should be even faster. Pinch and drop would have gotten me smacked in the head by Marco and Mama Tenuta!
reply
Nicksonian
Conveyer oven Really! Conveyers are for factories. I used to cook pizzas at a MOD SuperFast Pizza in a 700 degree, gas-fired, brick oven. We cooked them by hand. You had to know what you were doing. You had to know the hot spots in the oven and how to use themor not. Ledo Pizza, local to Maryland for decades, features a pastry-like dough. Nothing new here. It’s okay for once in awhile, but for me, I prefer traditional, basic pizza doughlike MOD does, or your local pizzeria. That’s why your local pizzeria is usually better.
reply
Conveyer oven Really! Conveyers are for factories. I used to cook pizzas at a MOD SuperFast Pizza in a 700 degree, gas-fired, brick oven. We cooked them by hand. You had to know what you were doing. You had to know the hot spots in the oven and how to use themor not. Ledo Pizza, local to Maryland for decades, features a pastry-like dough. Nothing new here. It’s okay for once in awhile, but for me, I prefer traditional, basic pizza doughlike MOD does, or your local pizzeria. That’s why your local pizzeria is usually better.
reply
wobblysauce
1: 06 This must be an old video. You sir are a Musician with a cooking side hustle.
8: 00 Yes had quite a few who want extra this and that. it kills the flavour and some don't cook properly being too thick even put back in again.
Peppers that have been cut get a good washing until the water comes out clear. They cook, taste, and look better than fresh-cut unwashed peppers.
Mushrooms can be hit-and-miss seasonal, most times a little sprinkle of herb mix over the top perks up the taste better than pre-cooking.
reply
1: 06 This must be an old video. You sir are a Musician with a cooking side hustle.
8: 00 Yes had quite a few who want extra this and that. it kills the flavour and some don't cook properly being too thick even put back in again.
Peppers that have been cut get a good washing until the water comes out clear. They cook, taste, and look better than fresh-cut unwashed peppers.
Mushrooms can be hit-and-miss seasonal, most times a little sprinkle of herb mix over the top perks up the taste better than pre-cooking.
reply
flacid0ne
On mushrooms on pizza- at the shop I used to work at, we would quarter the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and par bake them in our pizza oven, then let them rest. After they cooled we'd put them into third pans with holes in them to let some more liquid come out. The mushrooms went wonderfully on the pizza and weren't dry because they weren't sliced so thin. And they were visually substantial without leaking excess moisture and ruining the structure of the whole pie.
reply
On mushrooms on pizza- at the shop I used to work at, we would quarter the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and par bake them in our pizza oven, then let them rest. After they cooled we'd put them into third pans with holes in them to let some more liquid come out. The mushrooms went wonderfully on the pizza and weren't dry because they weren't sliced so thin. And they were visually substantial without leaking excess moisture and ruining the structure of the whole pie.
reply
zacksheppard8091
Love this series! Also, I wish every pizza place in California would listen to what Adam says about the best pizza being about the pizza, and toppings should be minimal. CA has such a more is better’ culture around pizza toppings, and I have yet to find any pizza place that competes with an even a mediocre pizza place on the east coast. They all load so many toppings that the pie turns to soup if you get more than one topping type.
reply
Love this series! Also, I wish every pizza place in California would listen to what Adam says about the best pizza being about the pizza, and toppings should be minimal. CA has such a more is better’ culture around pizza toppings, and I have yet to find any pizza place that competes with an even a mediocre pizza place on the east coast. They all load so many toppings that the pie turns to soup if you get more than one topping type.
reply
camerica7400
I am disappointed that Factor is now owned by hellofresh, I live in Michigan and every HelloFresh I had ever received in a years time always came with multiple spoiled produce. It was so bad that I started deconstructing every meal upon delivery to see what was already rotten/spoiled. That being said I am still interested in factor and home delivery meals! I love following your pizza journey Adam, keep it up the amazing content!
reply
I am disappointed that Factor is now owned by hellofresh, I live in Michigan and every HelloFresh I had ever received in a years time always came with multiple spoiled produce. It was so bad that I started deconstructing every meal upon delivery to see what was already rotten/spoiled. That being said I am still interested in factor and home delivery meals! I love following your pizza journey Adam, keep it up the amazing content!
reply
FallenRawToast
Adam, I used to work in the pizza industry. Dont know the model Middleby Masrshall you have, but some of them allow you to move around the fingers that heat/flame enters the cook area. You can change to be heavier heat from the top or bottom at certain times in the belt. Not something one normally wants to play with, but I do recall I time we did because we went with a difference cheese blend for awhile.
reply
Adam, I used to work in the pizza industry. Dont know the model Middleby Masrshall you have, but some of them allow you to move around the fingers that heat/flame enters the cook area. You can change to be heavier heat from the top or bottom at certain times in the belt. Not something one normally wants to play with, but I do recall I time we did because we went with a difference cheese blend for awhile.
reply
crabby5yt
I think that the reason your home oven pizza did not brown at the start was the addition of the pizza screen, but I get that taking it away may burn the crust from the steel, it is extremely tough. IF min gets that hot, I wait and slide it under the pizza about 3/4of the way until the end. But you are the person who got me into pizza making, so I'll shut up now. P. S: Really Love this series BTW.
reply
I think that the reason your home oven pizza did not brown at the start was the addition of the pizza screen, but I get that taking it away may burn the crust from the steel, it is extremely tough. IF min gets that hot, I wait and slide it under the pizza about 3/4of the way until the end. But you are the person who got me into pizza making, so I'll shut up now. P. S: Really Love this series BTW.
reply
henrrryyy
Hey Adam, i worked in a pizza place making pizzas for quite some time. We had a very, very, very similar oven. There are many different settings but the ones we employed with the best results was setting the temp at the start of the conveyor higher than the temp at the latter stage. In practice this very high heat for the first 2/5th and a slightly lower heat for the rest. Give it a go!
reply
Hey Adam, i worked in a pizza place making pizzas for quite some time. We had a very, very, very similar oven. There are many different settings but the ones we employed with the best results was setting the temp at the start of the conveyor higher than the temp at the latter stage. In practice this very high heat for the first 2/5th and a slightly lower heat for the rest. Give it a go!
reply
junkjouster
I am not thrilled with those colors they work but it needs something. Consult an artist that specializes in color contrast and i bet they could brighten that up without it being weird looking with a look of the eye. I will never understand color contrast people they just have different brains. It just seems drab like if i were driving by that i would not think hidden gem.
reply
I am not thrilled with those colors they work but it needs something. Consult an artist that specializes in color contrast and i bet they could brighten that up without it being weird looking with a look of the eye. I will never understand color contrast people they just have different brains. It just seems drab like if i were driving by that i would not think hidden gem.
reply
Tetratronic
I gotta give a tiny pushback on the home oven conlusion. I have a normal home oven, goes up to 290c, so close to yours. I don't use fancy cookware or any stones, or metal plates. Just a thin pizza baking tray, with no holes. The crust is always nice and brown. I've made pizza at home for years and I've never had a better pizza at a restaurant than the one I make at home.
reply
I gotta give a tiny pushback on the home oven conlusion. I have a normal home oven, goes up to 290c, so close to yours. I don't use fancy cookware or any stones, or metal plates. Just a thin pizza baking tray, with no holes. The crust is always nice and brown. I've made pizza at home for years and I've never had a better pizza at a restaurant than the one I make at home.
reply
bidaubadeadieu
At the risk of stating the obvious--tastes differ! You may not like toppings on pizza, but I do! I like them piled high and thick! I do it when I make pizza at home, and when I buy pizza as take-out/delivery, because I'm too cheap, I'll buy a cheese pizza and fry up a quick pan of peppers, onions, pineapple and dump them on top, doctoring my pizza right at the table.
reply
At the risk of stating the obvious--tastes differ! You may not like toppings on pizza, but I do! I like them piled high and thick! I do it when I make pizza at home, and when I buy pizza as take-out/delivery, because I'm too cheap, I'll buy a cheese pizza and fry up a quick pan of peppers, onions, pineapple and dump them on top, doctoring my pizza right at the table.
reply
ianpisano
Hi Adam. Loving this series! Would it be possible to make a video on the admin side of things Hiring people (which you already mentioned at the end of this video, permits, delivery apps, inventory, ordering from suppliers, etc. I know it’s not as exciting as the food side, but I feel it can make or break a restaurant and I would love to learn more about it!
reply
Hi Adam. Loving this series! Would it be possible to make a video on the admin side of things Hiring people (which you already mentioned at the end of this video, permits, delivery apps, inventory, ordering from suppliers, etc. I know it’s not as exciting as the food side, but I feel it can make or break a restaurant and I would love to learn more about it!
reply
tjbbi
I'm a bit confused by the home oven comments in the beginning. why would you use convection if you're having trouble browning the crust before the cheese is cooked Get the steel as hot as it can over a long preheat, and _don't_ use convection to give the bottom time to brown and hopefully more align the cheese done-ness with the crust done-ness.
reply
I'm a bit confused by the home oven comments in the beginning. why would you use convection if you're having trouble browning the crust before the cheese is cooked Get the steel as hot as it can over a long preheat, and _don't_ use convection to give the bottom time to brown and hopefully more align the cheese done-ness with the crust done-ness.
reply
TheJensPeeters
I think t-shirts with a tiny pocket print with a doughnut and pizza and the whole motif on the back would be cute. I'd wear that, more than just the whole thing on the front. I think thats actually better because you would avert your eyes fatser if you would be looking at someone would sees you looking at them, than their back
reply
I think t-shirts with a tiny pocket print with a doughnut and pizza and the whole motif on the back would be cute. I'd wear that, more than just the whole thing on the front. I think thats actually better because you would avert your eyes fatser if you would be looking at someone would sees you looking at them, than their back
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
