Having words with Jonathan Schwarz: co-founder, Stone Hearth Pizza

At a time when many restaurant operators are caught between a rock and a hard place financially, Jonathan Schwarz and his Stone Hearth Pizza restaurants are chipping away at creating an additional revenue stream through retail sales.

Schwarz, co-founder of the two-unit, Boston-based gourmet pizza concept, has formed partnerships with Whole Foods and BJs Clubs to sell his pizza products in their prepared-foods sections. The pizzas also are sold at Legal Sea Foods restaurants. The restaurateur, who is also the son of one of the board members of Nation's Restaurant News' parent company, Lebhar-Friedman Inc., is focused on producing a high-quality, natural pizza that tastes as good at home as it does in the restaurants.

Why did you decide to sell your pizzas in the retail market?

We always knew there'd be an opportunity for this, but we weren't sure at what point we should reach for that. We first wanted to focus on the quality of our restaurant product. But the timing worked out serendipitously, and now we're committed to working both prongs of the plan.

Whole Foods and BJs both now offer your pizza products. How does a small concept join forces with giant retailers?

It's actually a pretty funny story. The opportunity presented itself in 2007 when we were working on the FarmAid concert. The concessions manager had asked us to make something like 5,000 pizzas in 10 days, and, having spent most of my career in sales, I didn't want to say no. I told everyone we had our largest carryout order to date. We did 1,000 pizzas a night out of our Needham restaurant, working four nights in a row from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. On the fifth day I pulled up [to the stadium] in a truck that said "organic" on the side, and a Whole Foods [representative] saw it. He'd heard about our pizzas and asked for some samples. I gave him some and my card and asked him to get together after the show. We did.

How did the partnership proceed from there?

We worked on how we could do a fresh, prepared product. They told us what varieties they were interested in, but we could only do [nonmeat] varieties because our Needham restaurant was not [certified as] a USDA wholesale facility.

What did you do?

We came up with classic cheese, three-mushroom medley, and roasted red and yellow pepper pizzas. They each have par-baked crusts and are blast-chilled, vacuum-sealed and polybagged. We bring them to Whole Foods, and the next day they are on the shelf. We do that three times a week. The cheese retails for $7.99 and the others are $8.99.

How did the BJs partnership happen?

They wanted a more organic, all-natural product, so we took over the pizza program. We currently are in the prepared-food section of 70 of the clubs, but soon hope to be in all of them.

And you work with Legal Sea Foods, too?

We have a very good relationship with them. They asked us to take over their kids' pizza program, so now we're in all 33 of their restaurants.

Is the quality of the product as good as you planned?

We started with a high-quality product to begin with, and no ingredients changed. We use a high-quality, all-natural mozzarella and provolone blend, and no additives or preservatives.

How lucrative is the retail side of your operation?

It probably will end up being between 15 percent and 20 percent of our gross sales at the end of 2010.

FAST FACTS

Hometown: Sherborn, Mass.

Education: bachelor's degree, Connecticut College; MBA, Boston University

Personal: married, three daughters, two dogs, two cats

Hobbies: reading, cooking, eating out, running, golf, skiing

Career highlights: starting Stone Hearth Pizza with best friend, Chris Robbins; living and working in France for 2.5 years with Timberland; growing an international business to $3 million

Author: Elissa Elan

Pizza

The pizza pie is an ubiquitous symbol of the two Italian cooking and Americana. Oven-baked, thin-crust or deep-dish, round or square, it is a common preferred throughout the United States, with a broad selection of regional variations.

The most classic pie is the pizza Napolitano, or Neapolitan pizza. Built of sturdy flour, the dough is many times kneaded by hand and then rolled flat and thin without a rolling pin. The pizza is cooked in an particularly sizzling wood-fired stone oven for only sixty to ninety seconds, and is taken out when it is soft and fragrant. Very common varieties of Neapolitan pizza consist of marinara, constructed with tomato, olive oil, oregano, and garlic, and margherita, constructed with tomato, olive oil, refreshing basil leaves, and mozzarella cheese.

New York was house to the to start with pizza parlor in the United States, opened in Little Italy in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi. It is not shocking, then, that New York-type pizza dominates in the Northeastern portion of the region. It is thin-crusted, and constructed with a thin layer of sauce and grated cheese. The dough is hand-tossed, making the pie major and thin. As a consequence, it is served minimize into slices, customarily 8, which are sometimes eaten folded in 50 %. It can be served with any multitude of toppings, which include pepperoni, the most fashionable topping in the United States, or as a �white pizza�, which incorporates no tomato sauce and is made with a selection of cheeses, these as mozzarella and ricotta.

Chicago is also household to a serious range of pizza.The Chicago-design pizza is deep dish, meaning it is built in a pan with the crust shaped up the sides, or even with two crusts and sauce amongst, a so-described as �stuffed� pizza. The elements are �reversed� in a Chicago pizza, with cheese likely in to begin with, and then sauce on high. This unique type of pizza was invented in 1943 at Uno�s Pizzeria in the River North neighborhood of Chicago.

The Midwest also plays host to the St. Louis fashion pizza. This thin-crust delicacy is created utilising local provel cheese instead of mozzarella, and is rather crispy. Greatly seasoned with oregano and other spices, with a somewhat sweet sauce, it is complex to fold merely because of the crust and is many times cut into squares, alternatively of served in slices.

A Hawaiian pizza is an American creation that has very little to do with Hawaii help save that 1 of the essential substances is pineapple. The pineapple is set atop the pizza, along with Canadian bacon, supplying a fairly sweet taste incredibly completely different from pizzas closer to the Italian original. Hawaiian pizza is extraordinarily popular in the Western United States.

In fact, a selection of esoteric pizzas are well known on the West coast, and �gourmet� pizza is usually referred to as �California-style� pizza. This is an instance of fusion cuisine, and a large amount of of the pizzas go significantly outside of the frequent tomato sauce and cheese. Thai pizza, for illustration, can involve bean sprouts and peanut sauce, even while breakfast pizza, as the identify implies, will probably be topped with bacon and scrambled eggs. As a �gourmet� meals, California pizzas are nearly always specific sized, serving two customers at most, and are not cut in slices like other everyday types of pizza pie.

Pizza is as varied as The usa alone, with close to infinite versions � all of them mouth watering.

Author: Kirsten Hawkins

Stoneware Cookware Ideal For Cooking

Cooking with stoneware has been around sense man discovered fire. Early man would heat up flat stones in the fire and cook on them. When man started to farm and settle in one place, they needed to evolve their cooking methods so the stone fireplace was born. Clay and stone cookware were what was used before people knew how to forge metals. Once metals were being used in almost every house, stoneware went out of favor with most people. However, with resurgence in everything old stoneware is making a huge comeback. Pampered chief is only one of the companies that sell stoneware. You might have seen pizza stones but there is more than that. Casserole, bread and muffin pans are just a few of the possible cookware you can get.

As with any cookware you get you will need to take care of your stoneware, to do this you need to a couple of things. Don't use metal utensils they will scratch the seasoning off and you will have to start over, so make sure you use plastic utensils. When you first get your stone you will have to rub it with cooking oil like vegetable oil, put it in the oven at 250 degrees overnight. Then let it cool on the top of the stove. After that, you will have to use oil every time you use it until it is seasoned. Stoneware is porous, seasoning it makes it non-stick, and helps close the pores. The more you use you stoneware the better it gets. When its nicely seasoned it will be black do not try to scrub this off this is normal and will not affect your food. When you store it do not store it in the oven I did this and after a few years my stone broke. Some companies have a lifetime guarantee but others do not you will have to check on this before you buy.

Depending on what type of stone cookware you choose to buy depends on what you can cook in it. If you have a pizza stone, you can cook more than just pizza you can bake cinnamon rolls, biscuits, dinner rolls and cookies among others. Having a loaf pan, you can make a small lasagna, meatloaf, or bread. With a casserole pan, you can make anything you can think of. I use to love making homemade pizza on my stone the crust would come out nice, crispy and golden brown. The cheese would be melted and bubbly, but best of all the toppings would not be burnt. The metal pan always burnt the bottom of my crust. Having a 9"x13" pan was great for pork chops and chicken they cook so much more evenly then any pan I have had.

Want to be eco-friendly then cooking with stoneware is a good idea. Stone is a renewable resource, going green is the in thing but do not do it because it's in vogue do it because you want to. Using renewable resources helps the earth and helps teach kids that even little things help. Stoneware does not leach anything into your food so your food comes out tasting like it should. Cooking is not the only thing you can do with your stoneware; making ice cream layer cake does not require any cooking and comes out looking great.

You need to keep in mind that there are some things you should not do with stoneware. I would not put it in the freezer for a long time, you can put it in the freezer for a couple of hours but I would not put it in there for a couple of weeks. Another thing I would not do is keep it in the oven it just might crack in two. Using it in the microwave is another thing I would not do unless the directions say you can. There are other things you should not do with your stoneware so my best advice is if in doubt do not do it. Some of the things you can do with your stoneware are cooking sweats like cookies and brownies. Cakes come out really moist and perfectly done. I have not cooked anything in my stoneware that did not come out perfectly cooked.

Most of your high-end kitchen stores will have some stoneware, you can get stoneware from Pampered Chief, and you can even get it at discount stores. The difference is the quality of the stoneware. You are going to have to do some research to find what is best for you. If you want your stoneware to last a long time then you need the best you can afford. After you have done your research on stoneware, choose one pan and buy it you want to make sure that you like it if you like it then you can buy a set of them. You might even want to buy a set for a friend or family member. Believe me when I say they will love it. If you know a Pampered Chief consultant then you can ask them all about their stoneware.

Author: Elaine Smith

By no means Burn up The Bottoms of Your Cookies Once again!

If you are like me, you absolutely adore to bake cookies, but detest the all-also-familiar obstacle of burning the bottoms. All through the prior couple of many years, I have found out some techniques that have ended my burnt cookie bottoms frustrations. I know these strategies will labor for you as clearly. Comfortable baking!

Oven Temperature

The very first step on how not to melt away cookies is to make guaranteed your oven temperature is correct by checking it with an oven thermometer. I bought 1 fairly recently at a low cost shop for below $four.00. If your oven thermometer does not match your oven temperature setting, you will want to have your oven calibrated.

Oven�s Center Rack

Bake cookies on the oven�s middle rack only. By implementing the oven�s center rack, your cookies will receive the exact volume of warmth on each sides of the cookies.

Baking or Pizza Stones

Bake cookies on flat baking or pizza stones. Baking stones are accessible at most specialty kitchen area shops or using the net. They are a great deal improved for baking cookies than any metal pan considering they are porous and allow air to circulate evenly by way of your cookies despite the fact that they are baking.

Scoops

I propose implementing scoops as an alternative of spoons or your hands for placing cookie dough onto the baking stones. These are also available at most specialty kitchen retailers or web based. The scoops ensure your cookies will be the same exact size and will be beautifully round when they are baked. They also make releasing the cookie dough onto the baking stones better than by using spoons or your fingers.

Parchment Paper

At all times use parchment paper when baking cookies. Implementing parchment paper keeps your baking stones clear for better clear-up. Even more importantly, it permits you to comfortably take away the cookies from the stone to the wire cooling racks while not messing up the splendid round form of the cookies. Once the cookies are absolutely cooled, they very easily peel from the parchment paper. No added scraping cookies!

Writer: Monica Brooks

Why Key phrase Analysis Is So Very important

Key phrase groundwork is a really essential factor of any being successful marketing campaign. It is crucial to the good results of search engine online site page optimization, managing shell out per click on search phrases and reaching best lookup motor rankings. There are hundreds and hundreds of search engine marketing equipment on the market for key phrase groundwork. Keyword study is a person of the most integral, precious, and great return routines in the investigation marketing and advertising field. Through the detective labor of puzzling out your market's key phrase need, you not only know which terms and phrases to target with Web optimization, but also realize a lot more about your consumers as a full.

Keyword exploration is most likely a single of the most important and vital methods you will consider when you start out your on web-site optimization for your ınternet site. Keyword homework when performed correct can have your ınternet site running like a effectively oiled inbound internet marketing machine. It is a crucial factor of Search engine marketing, or search engine optimization , and is used in purchase to identify the most beneficial keywords to use on a provided optimization venture. If you work from residence, this kind of as if you operate an e-online business or make dollars blogging, then you can benefit by performing a small keyword groundwork of your very own. Keyword research is the method of acquiring out the phrases and phrases that your prospective shoppers use on the net. We're all creatures of practice and what we variety into the research containers is just not random, it is influenced subconsciously by our language and culture.

Successful keyword analysis can make or break a campaign. But how can you make certain that the investigate you do is efficient and a stage above the relaxation? Successful key phrase investigate is an essential part of any online marketing campaign. While not currently being ready to discover the keyword(s) our target market is browsing for, we would purely have to guess at their intentions.

Setting up with some keyword phrases that have reduced competition and a smaller selection of monthly searches can be a high quality place to begin by enabling you to test your success. It could get a number of days for your written content to get indexed by Google, but you can notice that you can rank for some simpler phrases, but increased importantly, over time you can begin the process of to compete with greater aggressive phrases.

Google "clean grease off pizza stone" and you will see this system in action. Google presents Loads of absolutely free related information about search phrases. You can sort in a seed phrase and get tons of associated phrases and synonyms. Google won't hand out their investigation keyphrase volumes) but that's just the first action.

Writer: Frank Breinling

Supermarket sampler: Weight Watchers pizza is mixed bag

Weight Watchers Smart Ones Artisan Creations Stone-Fired Crust Pizza. Four Cheese, Pepperoni, and Fajita Chicken. $2.22 per 6- to 7.25-ounce pizza.

Bonnie: Regular readers of this column know how much I dislike microwavable frozen pizzas. So you'd also probably know I wasn't looking forward to testing these new Artisan Creations Stone-Fired Pizzas from Smart Ones. Amazingly, these were a pleasant surprise. None of these had the telltale cardboard taste usually associated with microwave pizza.

I'm guessing the non-solid silver disk you bake these pizzas on might have something to do with that. That, or it could be because the crust was first stone-fired. Whichever, I found these a quick and low-calorie (if slightly high in sodium) option for those who regularly eat microwave pizza, though not quite as quick as the box directions indicated. To get a nice crispy crust and melted cheese, I had to microwave these twice as long as the package recommended.

Carolyn: The 18th-century wood carvers and bread bakers who inspired the word "artisan" would have drummed Weight Watchers out of the craft guild if they had ever seen these new Smart Ones "Artisan Creations" Stone-Fired Crust Pizzas. Weight Watchers claims to have pre-baked the crusts on stones, but they came out of my stone-less microwave tasting like the worst offerings from the early '50s frozen-pizza stone age.

The creatively named Four Cheese contains less than 2 percent of three of its four cheeses and is desert dry. The Pepperoni and Fajita Chicken are better, mainly because their toppings actually show up and give those varieties a bit more moistness. They're all still a perversion of the artisan and pizza names.

Mann's Snacks on the Go! Snack Packs. Broccoli, Carrots & Celery; Celery, Carrots & Grape Tomatoes; Carrots, Celery & Raisins; and Celery, Carrots & Stringless Sugar Snap Peas. $1.99 to $2.99 per 6.75- to 8.75-ounce trays featuring vegetables, fruits and dip.

Bonnie: Mann's Snacks on the Go! are my kind of snack. Each of Mann's new Snack Packs contains celery and carrot sticks with a light ranch dressing. What distinguishes each variety is its fourth ingredient -- broccoli, grape tomatoes, raisins, or my favorite, sugar snap peas.

Each is nutrient-rich with vitamins and minerals from the fruit and veggies, with 50 to 140 calories per serving, depending on the fourth item. I only wish Mann's had included a more natural dressing or, better yet, natural hummus or peanut butter as the dip. Then these could have been a lunch instead of just a good snack.

Carolyn: Anyone not aware of the caloric advantage of fresh fruits and veggies over snack cakes and chips need only put Mann's Snacks on the Go! Snack Pack with Celery, Carrots, Grape Tomatoes and Ranch Dressing beside a Little Debbie or Nabisco 100 Calorie treat. By comparison, this 100-calorie veggie pack and its sister 120-calorie varieties offer a huge amount of food. In fact, each Mann's technically contains two servings.

Were these specifically designed for couples or the 1.98 sibs in the average American household? Judging from the two boxes of raisins in the Carrots, Celery & Raisins (a variety not coincidentally containing more than twice the calories of the others, and so the only one I don't recommend), I'd say yes.

I agree with Bonnie that these would be even more appealing if Mann's would switch out the ranch dip for peanut butter, hummus or soft cheese.

Bear Naked All Natural Granola. Maple Pecan, and Peak Flax Oats and Honey With Blueberries. $4.84 per 12-ounce resealable bag.

Bonnie: Both of these new cereals from Bear Naked are minimally processed and made using recognizable ingredients such as oats, honey and maple syrup. They also contain no preservatives, artificial flavors, trans fats, hydrogenated oils or high-fructose corn syrup.

Each is an excellent source of whole grains, with at least 18 grams per serving -- the Maple Pecan granola contains 20. The Peak Flax Oats and Honey With Blueberries is also an excellent vegetable source of omega-3 fatty acids with 320 milligrams per serving.

I like the flavor of the Peak Flax Oats best, but either are good. Just don't fill up your cereal bowl, as a serving is a mere quarter cup.

Carolyn: Most college kids acquire the "Freshman 10" in the all- you-can-eat school cafeteria. I gained those extra pounds by daily snacking on granola after a college chum told me it was good for me.

I would expect obesity from snacking on ice cream or potato chips every day, but not from something made of flax seed, like one of these new Bear Naked granolas. But the fact is that a 2.2-ounce (a small half-cup) serving of either of these new granolas packs almost as many calories as a similar-weight, standard-size Snickers. And the one-cup bowlful most people will end up eating teeters on ice cream sundae indulgence.

I'm not saying these don't taste good. In fact, the dried blueberries in the Peak Flax Oats really taste like blueberries and are a nice respite from the ubiquitous raisin; the Maple Pecan, with its glazed pecan sugar bombs, borders on decadent. But if I want to blow a lot of calories, I learned (in college) to do it with the ice cream, candy and cake that I like even more.

Bonnie Tandy Leblang is a registered dietitian and professional speaker. She has an interactive site (www.biteofthebest.com) about products she recommends. Follow her on Twitter: BonnieBOTB. Carolyn Wyman is a junk-food fanatic and author of "The Great Philly Cheesesteak Book" (Running Press). Each week they critique three new food items. (c) UNIVERSAL UCLICK

Author: Bonnie Tandy Leblang

Rio slum is engulfed in mudslide; 200 feared dead

NITEROI, Brazil -- They are all gone. The Evangelical church where worshippers were praying. A day care center where kids were playing. The pizza parlor where a family was eating.

All were buried under a mountain of mud, garbage and stone when yet another landslide hit metropolitan Rio de Janeiro late Wednesday. This one swept through the Morro Bumba slum, engulfing as many as 200 people and 60 homes. Nothing was left behind but a massive crater of blackened, sodden earth and the remnants of flimsy brick shacks.

"I had just picked up my 10-year-old son from the day care. We walked down the hill to the street, and within 10 minutes, my community collapsed," said Patricia Faria, 28, crying as she watched heavy machinery dump the remains of her life into a waiting truck. "All I have left is what you see on me -- and my son. Thank God, I have my son."

Rio state health secretary Sergio Cortes said it was hard to say how many people were buried in the latest slide. "A worse-case scenario is 200," he told The Associated Press. "We know that about 60 houses were buried."

Already 161 people have been confirmed dead in the heavy rains that began Monday in Rio, most of them swept away in landslides that roared through city slums built on steep, unstable hillsides.

The death toll surpasses that of flooding and mudslides in the southern state of Santa Catarina in 2008, which killed nearly 130 people and displaced about 80,000.

"In our experience, it's an instant death," Pedro Machado, undersecretary of Rio state's Civil Defense department, said of the victims buried by landslides.

Faria said she was certain people were buried inside the Morro Bumba slum's Assembly of God church, which collapsed during nightly services.

Clesio Araujo, 39, said he narrowly escaped the slide, leaving a pizza parlor just a few minutes before the earth gave way. He said a family was still inside.

The destruction was compounded because the slum is largely built atop an old garbage dump, making it especially unstable and vulnerable to the heavy rains, said Agostinho Guerreiro, president of Rio's main association of engineers and architects.

The federal government announced an emergency fund of $114 million to help Rio state, where the slum is located, to deal with the mudslides and flooding.

But the money will be of little help to people who have no choice but to live in such precarious sections of the city, said Rosana Fernandes, 43, whose sister, brother-in-law and two young nieces were buried under the mud.

Holding a faded photo of the smiling family, she didn't bother holding back the tears as she explained what it is that leads families to live atop a landfill formed by decades of accumulated garbage.

"Yes, it was a dump. But people are desperate to have a home anywhere," she said. "What else were they going to do? Where else were they supposed to go? This is our reality. They knew the risks, but when you have no money, you have no choice," she said.

Rio officials said they are going to step up forced evictions of slum residents living in at-risk areas. Mayor Eduardo Paes announced that 1,500 families are going to be removed from their homes in at least two Rio slums, and that more evictions are likely.

Officials from Rio state's Civil Defense department said that at least 14,000 people were forced from their homes by the mudslides and that potential slides threatened at least 10,000 other houses in the city.

On Thursday, scores of rescue workers poked at the massive mountain of earth that slid down the hills of the Morro Bumba slum toward a paved road in Niteroi, Rio's sister city of 500,000 people across the Guanabara Bay.

Mounds of soil and garbage rose 40 feet high. A dozen dump trucks were lined up to carry off the debris. Hundreds of onlookers watched as firefighters carried at least four coffins out of the crater created by the slide.

Homeless residents sought shelter in two Evangelical churches just down the road from the slum, where water, food and clothing were handed out. Small children played and slept on dozens of mattresses laid out on church floors.

Niteroi recovery operations were moving slowly: The wet, steep terrain posed a continued threat to anyone trapped in the wreckage and to emergency crews as well, said lead firefighter Alves Souza.

"The work is very intense, given the fact that the volume of material we have here is very large," Souza said.

While it rained only lightly Thursday, the forecast was for heavier rains later in the day and throughout the weekend.

Associated Press writer Tales Azzoni in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.

Author: Bradley Brooks Associated Press

The Easter Vacation Is the Optimal Time to Set up an Indoor Wood Fired Oven, States The Stone Bake Oven Corporation

Easter Holidays are the busiest time in the United kingdom for family Do it yourself advancements and renovations. This is the suitable time to set up an indoor wood fired oven, says The Stone Bake Oven Company. Households trying to update their kitchens can use the excess days off close to Easter to comprehensive these residence development tasks.

The warmer climate and lengthier hrs of sunshine lend by themselves for summer time functions, and pizza is the greatest bash meals. To get their kitchens all set to demonstrate off for these gatherings, the Easter holiday is the great time to set up stone bake ovens . The Stone Bake Oven Company's hottest addition to their increasing oven selection, the Rocca 90, is the wonderful indoor pizza oven. As it is a part oven, it lends itself to be put in by the homeowner for a considerable Do it yourself venture. Alternatively, a Stone Bake Oven Company representative can support with the set up.

Tom Gozney, operator of The Stone Bake Oven Firm commented, "This yr with the Easter holiday later on in yr, the climatic conditions in the United kingdom has been a great deal warmer. This has inspired families to get their homes ready to present off to their good friends and relatives around the summer time and indoor wood pizza ovens are a remarkable addition to any kitchen area renovation. Wood fired ovens can also assist with today's busy lifestyles as you can cook a pizza in just about a moment."

The Stone Bake Oven Company's Rocca oven variety end can be constructed to fit the decor of the kitchen earning it a extraordinary element and could even boost the worth of the house. Whether it is for a great celebration or a modest loved ones meal, the Rocca 90 is fuel productive ample to cater for both. For a good deal more answers on the Rocca 90, the Primo oven ranges and brilliant pizza recipes , go to www.thestonebakeovencompany.co.united kingdom .

Contacts: Punch Communications James Ryder 01858 411 600 data@punchcomms.com

Ecovention, LLC Announces Launch of PERFORMANCE Foodservice/ROMA Food's Innovative New Multifunctional 'Serve & Store' Pizza Box

NEW YORK, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In partnership with manufacturing partners Pratt Industries and Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, Ecovention, LLC is pleased to announce the launch of the ROMA "Serve & Store" pizza box. Available exclusively through PERFORMANCE Foodservice/ROMA Food, the ROMA "Serve & Store" is based on Ecovention's patented GreenBox technology. Easy to assemble, the ROMA "Serve & Store" breaks down into plates and a smaller container for leftovers, eliminating the need for disposable plates and ancillary storage materials like aluminum foil and plastic wrap. The technology elevates take-out pizza to a new level of convenience and creates an effective source of differentiation for pizzerias, restaurants and chains.

The technology utilized by the ROMA Food "Serve & Store" has already received an enthusiastic response from both restaurants and consumers after being placed in the spotlight by Ashton Kutcher via a "tweet" to his Twitter followers. Since then, it has been the subject of various news segments and newspaper articles, has been featured in hundreds of Internet blogs and has been the talk of social networking sites around the world. The Company's demonstration video for the GreenBox technology has already garnered over 1 million views on YouTube (http://tinyurl.com/ckbawe).

Ecovention, LLC is a design, licensing, manufacturing and subcontract management firm dedicated to improving outmoded, outdated and wasteful food packaging.

PERFORMANCE Foodservice/ROMA Food, part of the PERFORMANCE Food Group family of distributors, specializes in broadline distribution and Italian and Italian-American food products, and services pizzerias and restaurants throughout the U.S.

Pratt Industries is the industry's leading manufacturer of 100% recycled containerboard, corrugated packaging and display solutions in the U.S. The company employs more than 3,500 highly skilled "green-collar" employees dedicated to the environment and sustainability.

Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation is one of the industry's leading integrated containerboard and corrugated packaging producers and one of the world's largest paper recyclers. The company is a member of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative(R) and conducts its business in compliance with the environmental, health and safety principles of the American Forest & Paper Association.

Contact:

Jennifer Wright, (212) 359 9574 Email: info@greenboxny.com http://www.greenboxny.comhttp://www.twitter.com/greenboxnyhttp://www.facebook.com/greenboxny

This press release was issued through eReleases(R). For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Ecovention, LLC

Make Homemade Pizza

Making pizza from scratch, at home, isn't really as hard as you might think---and once you learn just a few secrets about how to make a great pizza crust, you might never want to "order in" again!

First, there is the matter of a recipe for pizza dough. Most of them call for very similar ingredients, basically water, yeast, oil, and flour. Some have a little more oil, some use less oil and add an egg. Whichever recipe you use, making the pizza dough goes fairly quickly and doesn't need to rise for hours like bread dough.

Here's a tip: If you aren't familiar with working with recipes that call for yeast, you might not know that yeast has to "proof"---that is, activate. You do this by combining it with water water (about 110*), and usually a little bit of sugar (1 teaspoon or less). After you combine the yeast, warm water, and sugar, you need to let this mixture "rest" for about 5 minutes. This allows the yeast to activate or "proof."

Don't just assume that you can run hot water from your tap and it will be "warm" enough, without being "too hot." A small cooking thermometer is handy to have. It might be easier to heat up water to 110* rather than run hot water and then try to cool it down (especially if your water heater is set at 120* or above). I put room temperature water in a Pyrex measuring cup and heat the water in the microwave. After a while, you'll know exactly what setting and how long it takes to heat up the water.

After the yeast has proofed, stir in the other ingredients, following the recipe. You'll probably have to knead the dough a bit to mix all of the flour in, so that you have a smooth and dry mound of pizza dough. Be very careful about kneading the pizza dough---it is easy to knead in too much flour. As long as the dough isn't actually sticking to your fingers, it is OK.

Once the dough is ready, let it "rest" for about 5 minutes. That's right, just let it lay there. This gets the rising process started.

Hand form, or use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to the desired size.

After experimenting with the different types of pizza pans and stones that are available, I have concluded that the one-ply pans with holes in them are the best. This helps to bake a crust that is nicely done on the bottom without being burnt, and yet leaves the dough nice a "chewy" in the middle. Depending on your preference for pizza dough, you can experiment by first baking pizza on regular cookie sheets. After that you can get inexpensive pizza pans at dollar stores or discount stores like Wal-Mart to continue to experiment until you find the pan you prefer.

Now you are ready to bake the pizza. Here's a tip: pre-bake just the pizza crust for about 6 minutes before you load on the sauce and toppings. This helps to cook the crust enough so that the sauce won't sink in too much, leaving a gooey crust.

After you've pre-baked the crust, remove it from the oven and load it with sauce and meat toppings (be sure that anything other than pepperoni is pre-cooked, such as sausage or ground beef). If you like onions and peppers, then here's another tip: pre-cook them so that the onions are almost transparent and the pepper is limp. Load on the onions and peppers. Sprinkle on oregano or any other spices that you desire.

Return to the oven and bake for about 13-15 minutes. This is long enough to heat the sauce and other toppings.

Remove from the oven and add the cheese. (If you are like me and like Hawaiian pizza, add the pineapple now, too.) Return to the oven for about 3 minutes, or just long enough to melt the cheese without burning it.

Once the pizza is baked, I like to slide it onto a pizza stone that I've sprinkled with cornmeal. Then, I let the pizza cool for about 5 minutes. The cornmeal keeps the bottom of the crust from getting soggy, and sure adds a nice "zest" to the taste of it! Cut with a pizza cutter (or kitchen shears---which work great!).

Enjoy with your favorite beverage!

For an illustrated tutorial on making pizza dough and then baking the pizza, go to Jan's Reading Room:

http://jansdough.janktheproofer.com/Make-Pizza-tutorial.htm

For a free recipe for Jan's Dough Sourdough Pizza Crust, go to Jan's Dough:

http://jansdough.janktheproofer.com/Pizza-Crust.htm

Author: Jan Kovarik

All About Pizza

The phrase pizza addresses a whole lot of territory. If you want to know all about pizzas, then you ought to have a bit of a history on pizzas: especially the record of pizza, pizza origin, pizza details, and even pizza trivia these types of as who invented pizza. The topic also delves into the totally different forms and models of pizzas. The kinds at this time present defy any attempts at enumeration. Therefore, most folks who try these a challenge halt at a broad categorization of pizza variations according to sure attributes this kind of as crust thickness, crust elasticity, crust baking and cooking procedures, toppings, and so forth. Apart from normal, historical or trivial answers, other important things are of curiosity to the pizza lovers. For instance, do-it-yourself pizza enthusiasts would like to know specific pointers and methods for building pizza. This includes pizza earning procedures, the most effective pizza crust recipes, pizza toppings, homemade pizza sauce, and so on. Some other unique subjects will be frozen pizza dough and exactly where most effective to attain them, what are the requirements for making a choice on the, what are the solutions for getting ready them, and many others.

It ought to be apparent that this short article is a mite ambitious for wishing to tackle something entitled "all about pizza." In spite of this, an try is definitely warranted, so here goes.

Some pizza specifics and trivia

Accounts of pizza background generally commence with the origin of pizza. This one particular may possibly as nicely abide by the very same tack. We have to thank any civilization or race that baked flat bread on warm stones or stone ovens for pizza, for almost absolutely, bread like the focaccia was the "mother of the pizza crust." Regardless, the creation of the pizza is a little more thoroughly attributed to the Neapolitans - the persons of Naples, Italy who ended up baking and building pizza crust topped with tomatoes, oil, and Italian herbs, and spices. This rudimentary and standard Italian pizza was very common peasant fare in Naples. If you want an specific originator and inventor of pizzas, but nevertheless, then you will not likely be mistaken if you cite Rafaelle Esposito - a native of Naples he modified the elementary Neapolitan pizza recipe and arrived up with three variants that extra mozzarella cheese to the rudimentary Italian pizza toppings.

Now, if you are wanting for some subjects for compact conversation, then you have got to keep in mind the adhering to trivia. Just one note of caution, while you shouldn't blurt these out just to anyone or you are going to audio decidedly corny and geeky. Make guaranteed you are conversing to anyone fascinated in pizzas right before you use the following trivia as conversational gambits.

" Most women and men in the United States really like pepperoni the least liked toppings are anchovies.

" Pizza was named (and is nevertheless known as) tomato pie and pizza pie in specified elements of the States.

" The initially pizzeria in the United States was opened in New York.

" The pizza market place is well worth increased than thirty billion dollars in the United States by yourself and People in america eat about three billion units of pizza every single 12 months.

" New York pizza is customarily simple. Supposedly, New York pizza is incomparable mainly because of the acidity and hardness of the water in New York. New Yorkers this is why claim that only in New York can you make legitimate New York Pizza.

(New Yorkers have got to confess, but, that if water is the special characteristic of New York pizzas, an individual who makes use of h2o adjusted for hardness and acidity to reflect New York water ailments, adds all the typical New York pizza ingredients and toppings, follows all the processes strictly but may make the pizza in New Jersey can conceivably make an authentic, New York fashion pizza. But these an assertion, some would say, is just basic cheek.)

Pizza varieties and pizza kinds

The 1st move to a extraordinary do-it-yourself pizza is finding out what type of pizza you want to make. Soon after all, various styles of pizza have distinct attributes and thus phone for totally different variations of pizza base, pizza toppings and cooking strategies. Would you like to make an genuine Italian pizza, a New York design pizza, a California design pizza, or a Chicago fashion pizza?

Italian pizza is normally lean, while when you add cheese, its weight level often rises in proportion. There are various sorts of types of Italian pizza, also. There are Neapolitan pizzas, of which there are two standard styles: the marinara and the Margherita. There are a range of combinations of these as perfectly. Genuine Italian pizza, moreover, is supposedly baked on wooden-fired or even coal-fired, stone ovens.

New York pizza, as abovementioned, is usually plain. The mainstay of New York pizza is mozzarella cheese - new mozzarella cheese to be precise. An individual can include garlic, alternative styles of cheeses, anchovies, shrimp, and many others but these are commonly optional. The pizza dough recipe for conventional New York pizza, on the other hand, calls for large-gluten flour. The outcome is firm, customarily thin, chewy pizza.

The California type pizza is often regarded for gourmet flavors. You can say the California pizza has many variations. The pizza crust, in this situation, is light, crisp and in general well risen. The toppings can be out of this globe - typically California pizza makers experiment a ton with all sorts of meat, sea foods, breakfast dishes, and vegetable for the toppings.

The Chicago style pizza, on the other hand, is normally crusty and truly filling. They are characterized by their lifted edges visualize a pre-baked apple pie crust in which you can position the fillings on best. Chicago pizza is more often than not meaty (some variants come stuffed with cheeses and meat layers) and it is eaten with a knife and fork.

You can also start off by deciding on the flavor you want. Do you want to make a cheese pizza, a vegetarian pizza or a fruit pizza? Potentially you want to make a reduced excessive fat pizza, a minimal carb pizza, a nutritious pizza? Sourdough pizza is also an additional variant.

Take your choose among your countless options. After you have resolved, deciding on the recipe would be a good deal more convenient. If you have decided on an Italian pizza, for instance, then locate your Italian pizza crust recipe, your Italian pizza sauce recipe and the total Italian pizza recipe that will give you a listing of toppings and pizza preparation processes for building an authentic Italian pizza. For an less difficult time of it, you can choose to use Italian-style frozen pizza dough then just follow the Italian pizza recipe that you've observed.

Some pizza creating advice and methods

Hand tossing will benefit you lessen the lumps in your pizza dough. However, this have to be completed only soon after enough pizza dough kneading. This approach lets your pizza dough grow into the ideal sort of consistency - that which is suited for stretching and hand tossing. Hand tossing, even so, is not advisable for thick pizza crust varieties.

If you want a crisp and company pizza that retains its structure even when the moist toppings are extra, you can bake the pizza crust prior to you add the toppings and the pizza sauce. On the other hand, for thin pizza crusts, baking the crust immediately after the toppings and sauce have been additional is ample. For uniform baking and crisping of the crust, use a pizza stone or a pizza display.

Eventually, bear in mind that the protein content of your flour will influence the finish solution. Significant-gluten flour will lead to a crisp but chewy crust. Gluten-at no cost flour, still, may perhaps lead to notably gentle dough additives could quite possibly have to be put to use to give the pizza dough strength.

Speedy pizza crust recipes and fairly simple homemade pizza recipes of all types and style are successfully around via the internet. There are tactics for baking and getting ready frozen pizza dough, doing your individual pizza dough, getting ready the elements for the recommended pizza crust recipe, and so on. All you want to get started with making your awfully personal pizza recipe is an word wide web connection, a nice resource of essential pizza recipe, tremendous pizza gear, your imagination, and quite a lot of time and assets for experimentation.

Author: Sean Lannin

The Stone Bake Oven Enterprise Announce Two New Ovens in the Rocca Selection

The Stone Bake Oven Small business has announced two new ovens inside its Rocca range, including to the range of wood pizza ovens around because of the Stone Bake Oven Service.

The Stone Bake Oven Company has launched two ovens in the selection, the Rocca 90 and the Rocca 120. The two ovens feature quite related attributes to one particular a second, although while the Rocca ninety has an internal flooring of 90cm, the latter design is at a much larger size of 120cm. This selection makes it possible for the customer to settle on which oven will be most acceptable for them, no matter if they're expecting to cater for only a few visitors inside the relatives, or potentially for many at events.

These two new ovens, alongside the unique collection of wood fired ovens , are terrific for cooking a wide range of many different meals, both indoors or outdoors. The ovens are completely insulated and can maintain their heat for about 24 hrs, extraordinary for cooking a number of dishes, from starters and pizzas through to vast sluggish-roasted meals.

Shoppers can also add their very own incomparable design and style to the wood pizza ovens , allowing for them to add their very own personal exterior to each oven. With clients permitted to create their own styles to each and every oven, this can support include to the possible utilizes of the oven, possibly developing it as a garden element or even to be employed as a patio heater for events that final effectively into the evening.

Tom Gozney, founder of The Stone Bake Oven Supplier, mentioned: "Our Rocca variety of ovens is terrific for use either indoors or outside. The Rocca ovens have authorized us to include two far more ovens to our variety of readily available stone bake ovens, and with the ovens serving many different functions, we assume our ovens are a lot more than just an investment in yet another cooking appliance."

The Stone Bake Oven Supplier also stock a wide variety of iron cookware to benefit clientele get the most out of their stone bake oven. For greater answers on stone bake ovens and accompanying components, make sure you stop by www.thestonebakeovencompany.co.uk

Contacts: Punch Communications James Ryder 01858 411 6 info@punchcomms.com

The Stone Bake Oven Service Introduce The Healthful Quickly-Meals Correct

Extremely fast, low priced, delicious and healthier? These are words you really don't anticipate to see with each other, permit alone describing pizza!

With the summertime imposing the pressures of skimpy attire, the Stone Bake Oven Corporation, who specialise in offering a collection of wood burning pizza ovens all the way through the United kingdom, have revived the age outdated authentic approach of cooking Italian pizza, without the calorific additives.

Guaranteed to defeat the delivery time of any get away, cook genuine, flavourful Neapolitan Italian pizza in your dwelling in less than 90 seconds!

Tom Gozney the business founder believes these ovens may very well be the potential for health and wellbeing conscious households, "they advertise the use of new substances, minus the calorie prosperous additives this includes flavour substitutes, colourants, preservatives and further." Because of to the great temperatures achieved inside of the oven you can also anticipate a third off cooking moments and extra body fat burnt off, "but the most important transform you are going to become aware of is in the flavor," states Tom.

With the value of homemade pizza setting you back a fraction of its retail cost, you can battle the credit score crunch alongside your healthier eating system. And wood fired ovens aren't just for pizza either, you can cook roasts, desserts, breads, smoke meats and even more! Find recipes internet based with the Stone Bake Oven Enterprise, this includes their simple and easy to stick to guidebook on Roasting, Grilling, Searing, Baking and cooking pizza's.

Wood Fired Ovens can also enable get the whole household involved, as pizza is enjoyment and basic to make, it cooks earlier than your eyes in moments.

With a more healthy food regimen connected to preserving a wholesome entire body fat and cutting down the incidence of disease, The Stone Bake Oven Enterprise prove there is no desire to substitute healthful residing about flavourful, tasty food items. The Stone Bake Oven collection has anything for nearly everybody, to match just about every friends and family dimension and spending budget, which include the compact Primo Oven only GBP 599.

Make contact with the Stone Bake Oven Company for a assortment of pizza ovens for sale , as clearly as Equipment, Ideas, Suggestions and Even more, visit www.thestonebakeovencompany.co.united kingdom .

Contacts: The Stone Bake Oven Company Laura Plastow 0845 834 0252 laura@thestonebakeovencompany.co.united kingdom www.thestonebakeovencompany.co.united kingdom

New Orleans pizzeria proprietor desires to launch chain from Crescent Club

The restaurateur behind the Uptown school hangout The Dough Bowl and Crescent Pie & Sausage Co. and Huevos in Mid-City programs to open a new pizza joint in the spot, this time with franchise aspirations.

Jeff Baron will open Pizzicare subsequent month in The Shops at Crescent Club development at 3001 Tulane Ave. The 1,500-square-foot restaurant will combine the epicurean method to pizza getting taken at his other dining establishments but with a brief-support and delivery twist.

Baron reported the first Pizzicare restaurant will also be a stepping stone for franchise locations all through the town.

"I'm going to be bringing in men and women that not only want to make pizza but also have their own position," Baron reported.

Baron also seems to crew up with the Money A single Financial institution, which has branch in the Crescent Club progress, and the Tulane University Freeman College of Business to feature firm improvement sources for aspiring franchise owners.

Pizzicare is presently completing its make out and employing workers. The restaurant will be the latest tenant in The Domain Cos. retail advancement on Tulane Avenue. The $5 million, 15,000- square-foot development sits across the street from the developer's Crescent Club apartments. Other tenants incorporate Subway, a wine bar and a nail salon.

Even though the New Orleans current market has been filling with venues taking their unique spin on pizza - Slice, Naked Pizza, Chef John Besh's Domenica and even Baron's unique Crescent Pie & Sausage Co., to start out the listing - Baron mentioned New Orleans lacks a level of quality New York-type pizza place.

Rather of offering hugely-prepped pizzas, Baron stated Pizzicare - the Italian word for pinch or pluck, referring to the pinching of pizza dough - will be a nod to the New York pizzeria, with handmade dough and sauce draped with cheese and disc-sized slices of Boar's Head Brand name pepperoni.

"I consider that's there's space in our town for that," Baron said.

Author: Jennifer Larino

Break Out the Grill and Bake a Pizza!

Grill burgers, brats, steaks, chicken�and pizza! Pizzas are meant to be baked very hot and quick�well suited for the warmth of the grill. So you'll find it relatively easy to make most appropriate pizzas in no time.

Pizzas make superb summer months food but no 1 desires to warmth the oven up to 400 degrees in the summer time. That's okay�fix it on the grill. Not only is it the slick way to bake pizzas in the summertime, you are likely to very impress your friends and family�a yard magician.

You will desire a grill with a cover. You can use fuel or charcoal nevertheless the charcoal will impart a slightly smoked taste to your pizza.

Pizzas do not take lengthy to bake. On our grill, we flip the heat up all the way and have pizzas baked in eight to 10 minutes. (We undoubtedly should really turn the warmth down a bit and bake it a small lengthier, but hey�we have this strategy down.)

The critical to pizzas on the grill is to not burn up the bottom of the crust. Elevate your pizza to get it as far from the flames as potential or set a thing beneath to insulate the bottom of the pan. Lately, we've simply slid a cookie sheet underneath the pizza pan. The additional pan and area between the pans is plenty of to gradual the heat down.

If you like to use a pizza stone, you can do that on the grill. You can possibly use a peel and slip the pizza best on the stone or make the pizza in a pan and set the pan on the stone.

We almost always make thin crust pizzas. We like the crispness of thin crusts. And they are faster. You really don't have to let the dough rise and you can load the toppings best on the unbaked dough. (In our test kitchen area, we've timed Debbie�who tends to make pizzas a lot�at sixteen minutes from begin the process of to end. Conventional human beings will want to be in a position to make a thin crust pizza, like mixing the dough, in 20 minutes.)

Here is how to bake your pizza:

1. If you are utilizing a baking stone, initiate the grill and site the baking stone on the best shelf of your grill. You will want the stone terribly very hot so allow it warmth for twenty minutes or so ahead of you include the pizza.

2. Mix the dough according to deal or recipe instructions just as if baking for the oven.

three. Shape the dough into a thin crust pizza, both on the counter if you are utilizing a stone and peel, or in a pizza pan.

four. Spread a thin layer of marinara or white sauce on the dough. For a white sauce, think about dips, ranch dressing, or sour cream.

5. Spread the toppings over the sauce. Will not pile the goodies on the pizza as well deep they are inclined to insulate the crust from the fundamental best warmth.

6. Area the pizza in the grill as explained above, both on a stone or in pan with a stone or an alternative pan beneath. Set the timer�we set it for 8 minutes�and then look at for doneness by lifting the edge of the crust. If your grill isn't going to bake evenly, and most never, flip the stone or pan 180 degrees about fifty percent way because of baking.

7. The moment accomplished, without delay clear away the pizza from the grill, and if you are utilising a stone, from the stone. (If you do not take out the pizza from the stone, it will go on to bake.

Author: Dennis Weaver

Pizza Making Tips and Tricks

A lot of factors influence will influence the results of your pizza making efforts. Primary among these factors are the pizza ingredients and pizza equipment used. The following are some pizza making tips and tricks that you can apply for the best homemade pizza.

Pizza Ingredients

The pizza ingredients that you use depend on the type of pizza that you wish to make. Moreover, you usually have to prepare three sets of ingredients: one for your pizza crust, another for your pizza toppings and another set for your pizza sauce,

" Pizza crust recipes: usual ingredients and tips

Flour is a definite necessity when making pizza crust. The usual ingredient in making the basic pizza dough is wheat flour, although whole wheat flour is also used by some. For a firm, elastic pizza dough, you'll want to use flour with moderately high gluten content (this is also known as hard flour).

The gluten is formed when water is added to the flour and it is a crucial part of the pizza's structure. Thus, when you make pizza crust, it is best to use bread flour or flour with especially high gluten content (check the label) which has enough gluten content for pizza making purposes. However, people who have celiac disease or those who prefer a low carb pizza crust usually opt for flour with low gluten content. Some even make gluten-free pizza in the belief that it is healthier. In any case, it is advisable to use premium-grade flour milled from first-grade wheat; the flour, moreover, should have quality protein (the flour and water mixture should be very easy to handle) and should be able to absorb a lot of water without becoming soggy and limp.

Yeast is another requirement in making the pizza base. The yeast is the leavening agent and it helps the pizza dough rise as well as helps the dough achieve elasticity (so you can stretch it into pizza rounds without breaking). Yeast and its fermentation, furthermore, give the pizza crust its distinct flavor. Unless you are using the instant dry yeast variety, you should mix yeast with warm water then let the mixture stand for around ten minutes before you use it in your pizza dough mixture. Furthermore, the best, yeasty flavor is achieved by leaving the pizza dough to rise for several hours after kneading.

The other dry ingredients that basic pizza dough has are salt, sugar, baking powder (if you need more leavening than what the yeast can provide), and dry milk. The salt is necessary to create the slightly salty taste of pizza crust which provides a great contrast to the pizza sauce flavor. Sugar, on the other hand, is added to add a slightly sweet taste to the crust as well as to facilitate yeast activity and to yield a browner pizza crust. Do not add a lot of sugar. Powdered milk or milk solids, on the other hand, adds to the dough's bulk, adds flavor and nutrients to the pizza dough as well as gives strength to the pizza dough's structure even if such is over-fermented. Use the non-fat variety especially if you are making low fat pizza.

The liquid ingredients include water and oil. Water is necessary for gluten generation and for activating yeast. Use slightly acidic as well as slightly hard water for best results. To ensure standard water pH, you can use distilled water (which has neutral pH) or tap water (which is usually slightly acidic, especially in cities). Oil, on the other hand, serves well to lubricate the dough for easier handling. Use extra virgin olive oil if you want it to serve more than just lubricating purposes; extra virgin olive oil also has a distinctive flavor. Olive oil, moreover, is healthy for it has lower saturation than other types of oil.

If you prefer, you can use egg white or egg yolk in your pizza dough. The egg white helps strengthen pizza dough whereas egg yolk helps soften dough. As such, you can use either depending on the type of crust you want to make. Add egg yolk, for instance, if you need to make your pizza dough softer. If you will use eggs, don't forget to reduce the amount of water in your pizza crust recipe.

You can also add flavorings like garlic powder to your pizza dough. You can even use herbs on your dough to give it a distinct flavor. Use sourdough starter, on the other hand, if you want to make sourdough pizza.

" Pizza toppings: usual ingredients and tips

There's not much you should know about pizza toppings. The ingredients are pretty much up to you and should depend on the type of pizza you are making. However, there are certain techniques to preparing your pizza toppings. For one, you should use fresh Mozzarella cheese when making your pizza. Moreover, you should not put the cheese on top if you need to bake the pizza for a long time; you'll end up with burnt cheese this way.

The usual pizza toppings include pepperoni, sausages, ground beef, ham, canned tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, bacon, ham, various types of cheese, and olive oil. Other toppings include shrimp, salmon, chicken meat, anchovies, fruits, artichokes, etc.

" Pizza sauce: usual ingredients and tips

The usual pizza sauce recipes have tomato sauce. Flavor is enhanced by adding garlic and onions (whether powder or saut�ed) then ground meat, salt, pepper and other usual pizza spices such as basil and oregano. Typically, tomato-based sauces are thick. On the other hand, you can make a thin pizza sauce by mixing oregano and basil with olive oil. The fastest way of making pizza sauce is by using canned pizza sauce.

You must remember to apply pizza sauce with a light hand. Thick sauce must be carefully added on top of the pizza toppings. Thin sauce must be gently rubbed over the pizza. Excessive use of pizza sauce can lead to excess moisture and thus a limp pizza.

Pizza Equipment

You can cook your pizza using a pizza pan or bake it directly on a pizza stone. If you are going to use a standard oven without a pizza stone, then stretch your pizza dough into the desired thickness on your pan, add your toppings and pizza sauce, preheat your oven and bake according to your pizza recipe. If you are using a pizza stone, cut your pizza dough, use one of the portions and stretch it into a pizza round of your desired thickness. Add your desired toppings and your homemade pizza sauce, load the pizza on your wooden peel (pizza paddle) then place said pizza round on top of the pizza stone. The pizza stone, at this point, should have been kept hot in the oven for at least an hour.

It is best to use a pizza stone for baking pizza. This leads to a crispier pizza crust for two reasons. First, it absorbs run-off and excess moisture. Second, it distributes heat from the oven evenly; thus, the pizza crust is uniformly cooked all over.

Naturally, if you want to make deep dish pizza, you have to use a pizza pan. On the other hand, you can pre-bake your deep dish pizza crust, add toppings and sauce then finish baking your pizza on a pizza stone.

A good oven with a timing device and a temperature monitor is also necessary for precise pizza baking. A wooden spoon, on the other hand, should be used for mixing the pizza dough to prevent sticking. Use a marble countertop when kneading dough for the same purpose.

After using your pizza equipment, clean each piece carefully according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Author: Sean Lannin