Has anyone else noticed pizza quality has hit rock bottom?

[TraumaRN]

Sheesh. I make my own pie:

1) Put pizza stone in oven. Preheat to 500F.
2) I use a Boboli THIN CUT WHEAT crust as my base.
3) Smash about 3-4 garlic cloves and add this to about a 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil. In addition, add (to taste) salt and pepper, oregano, crushed red pepper, paprika, and fresh basil paste. Stir the resulting mixture.
4) Pour mixture evenly onto crust.
5) Slice 1-2 vine-ripe tomatoes into 1/4 inch (or smaller) slices. Arrange pizza crust with tomato slices in a circular pattern.
6) Place about 15-30 black olive halves in a random pattern on tomato slices.
7) Repeat previous with julienne-cut sun-dried tomato pieces.
8) OPTIONAL: Slice thin pieces of your favorite cooked sausage and/or salami and add this to the bed of tomato slices as well. I personally like to use organic chicken sausage.
9) Grate your favorite assortment of cheeses, such as parmesan and/or mozzarella.
10) Place into oven onto pizza stone. REDUCE heat to 350F.
11) Allow to cook for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is nice and brown and bubbly.

Excluding shopping time, I am sure you can do the above in the time it takes you to order and wait for Pizza Hut, not to mention the above would be much healthier.

Why turn the heat down?? Especially if using a stone.

My pizza is either ordered from a local place about a half mile from my house, which has hands down some of the best pizza I've ever had. But then again they make dough fresh daily, cut the veggies daily and even slice their pepperoni while they make your pie.

1.)Otherwise I make my own dough. Let it rise at least once before I start to shape it.
2.)I use a gigantic slab unglazed adobo clay that weighs about 20 pounds to bake on.
2.)Oven at 550F convection bake and it stays there. Because of the giant slab of clay this usually takes upwards of 45 minutes.
3.)Shape dough into desired shape, rectangle is easiest to make. As thin as I can but slightly thicker on the edges.
4.)Brush olive oil and sprinkle with fresh chopped rosemary/oregano/thyme/basil from herb garden
5.)Grate whatever cheese I have on hand. Usually smoked provolone and either aged Asaigo or Parmesan. Sprinkle onto pie
6.)Chop fresh tomatoes, onions and mushrooms add to top.
7.) Change oven to convection roast(essentially broil but with the convection fan running too)
8.)Put into oven for no more than 7 minutes, unless you like nuclear burned pizza. 6 minutes for a chewy crust.

Devour.

 

[FelixDeCat]

There's a place across the pond that has some really great stone-hearth pizza, with a different special each month. Their BBQ chicken pizza is plain awesome...tasty sauce and they use gouda. :awe: They even have the best take-out idea, can be cooked at home on one's own pizza stone, tastes like it just came out of their oven.

Papa Murpheys makes pizzas that are made to be cooked at home. They are affordable and the quality is fabulous for the price.

Since I first created this thread I have made an astounding discovery & I will update the OP:

If you add fresh tomato slices to ANY pizza and I do mean ANY pizza it will taste fantastic. Simply fantastic. This of course assumes you are a fan of freshly sliced tomatoes on a pizza.

 

[Sephire]

Grimaldis's pizza Brooklyn.

nom nom

 

[ch33kym0use]

I am disappoint they withdrew cheezy bread sticks being sold. Want cheezy bread sticks and that sauce.

 

[Nemesis 1]

I never really liked pizza wife does so I eat it .

Applebees tho we use to eat there every week . Until fathers day . They changed menu . No baby back ribs Burbin steak gone . I had the replacement steak . At least they said it was steak . . I couldn't eat it . Haven't been back , Now we have to drive 45 miles to gt a good meal at Rochester OUTBACK , Its still very good food I love the bread and prime rib.

 

[disappoint]

Sheesh. I make my own pie:

1) Put pizza stone in oven. Preheat to 500F.
2) I use a Boboli THIN CUT WHEAT crust as my base.
3) Smash about 3-4 garlic cloves and add this to about a 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil. In addition, add (to taste) salt and pepper, oregano, crushed red pepper, paprika, and fresh basil paste. Stir the resulting mixture.
4) Pour mixture evenly onto crust.
5) Slice 1-2 vine-ripe tomatoes into 1/4 inch (or smaller) slices. Arrange pizza crust with tomato slices in a circular pattern.
6) Place about 15-30 black olive halves in a random pattern on tomato slices.
7) Repeat previous with julienne-cut sun-dried tomato pieces.
8) OPTIONAL: Slice thin pieces of your favorite cooked sausage and/or salami and add this to the bed of tomato slices as well. I personally like to use organic chicken sausage.
9) Grate your favorite assortment of cheeses, such as parmesan and/or mozzarella.
10) Place into oven onto pizza stone. REDUCE heat to 350F.
11) Allow to cook for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is nice and brown and bubbly.

Excluding shopping time, I am sure you can do the above in the time it takes you to order and wait for Pizza Hut, not to mention the above would be much healthier.

I make mine similarly except I make my own dough with 3 TB olive oil and rosemary in it. And I cook it about 12-14 minutes at 425-450F

 

[IronWing]

I place a layer of thin sliced mozzaralla directly on the dough to keep it from soaking up too much moisture from the other ingredients.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Quit buying mass market chain pizza and find a local place making good pies. If they start loosing sales, the chains will improve.

-KeithP

This. Went to Emma's (local mom & pop) Pizza Joint and had the best pizza friday night. Thin crust, with your choice of sauce(traditional, spicy or olive oil), choice of 8 cheeses(any combo) and about 50 toppings.

Had traditional sauce, with sweet italian sausage, sweet potatoes and caramelized onions on mozzarella and gorgonzola cheese. Yum.

 

[ponyo]

Since I first created this thread I have made an astounding discovery & I will update the OP:

If you add fresh tomato slices to ANY pizza and I do mean ANY pizza it will taste fantastic. Simply fantastic. This of course assumes you are a fan of freshly sliced tomatoes on a pizza.

Really? Next you're going to tell us if you add cheese on a pizza it's fantastic? This of course assumes you are a fan of freshly sliced cheese on a pizza.

 

[Numenorean]

Nope, haven't noticed.

http://www.beaujos.com/

 

[ElFenix]

If you add fresh tomato slices to ANY pizza and I do mean ANY pizza it will taste fantastic. Simply fantastic. This of course assumes you are a fan of freshly sliced tomatoes on a pizza.

i discovered this a long time ago

fresh tomatoes, pepperoni, and mushrooms :thumbsup:

 

[dfuze]

I don't think it's rock bottom, at least at the two local places I go to (happen to be across the street from each other too). Probably just depends on which places are trying their best to cut costs without increasing the price

 

[FelixDeCat]

Really? Next you're going to tell us if you add cheese on a pizza it's fantastic? This of course assumes you are a fan of freshly sliced cheese on a pizza.

More cheese never hurt anybody. Knock yourself out.

i discovered this a long time ago

fresh tomatoes, pepperoni, and mushrooms :thumbsup:

I guess I should have said raw, uncooked tomato slices. The juicy tomatoes liven up the pizza. The extra mushrooms and pepperoni can only do a pizza great justice as well.

 

[Ns1]

I guess I should have said raw, uncooked tomato slices. The juicy tomatoes liven up the pizza. The extra mushrooms and pepperoni can only do a pizza great justice as well.

Once the weight of the toppings exceeds the ability of the crust to maintain it's shape, more toppings =/= better

 

[FelixDeCat]

Once the weight of the toppings exceeds the ability of the crust to maintain it's shape, more toppings =/= better

I usually only put one tomato slice on each slice of pizza.

 

[mchammer187]

More cheese never hurt anybody. Knock yourself out.



I guess I should have said raw, uncooked tomato slices. The juicy tomatoes liven up the pizza. The extra mushrooms and pepperoni can only do a pizza great justice as well.

I add raw onions and raw green peppers and to a plain pepperoni pizza and it is fantastic.

 

[CraigRT]

Fresh tomato slices have always been one of my favorite toppings. So good on pizza.
I only get Pizza from Ma and Pa establishments. No chains.

 

[OutHouse]

I prefer my pizza to not be a loaf of bread with some sauce and cheese, thanks.

same here. if i want bread sticks ill order them. i dont want it included in the crust.

 

[OutHouse]

Nope, haven't noticed.

http://www.beaujos.com/

actually beaujos is more hype than anything. Ive eaten at the one in Idaho springs a few times and i grew up by the on at 80th and wadsworth in arvada. nothing special other than a damn loaf of bread for the crust but hey they give you honey on the tables to help you choke it down.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Wait, so you're complaining that a $5 pizza today isn't as good as a $13 pizza from "back in the day"? What a shocker, pay 3x as much, get something of better quality (more like 4x as much if you account for inflation).

 

[OutHouse]

Papa Murpheys makes pizzas that are made to be cooked at home. They are affordable and the quality is fabulous for the price.

Since I first created this thread I have made an astounding discovery & I will update the OP:

If you add fresh tomato slices to ANY pizza and I do mean ANY pizza it will taste fantastic. Simply fantastic. This of course assumes you are a fan of freshly sliced tomatoes on a pizza.

Papa murphys are ok. the pros is that they are priced ok and a large is pretty damn big. the cons is the the crust is pretty yeasty tasting and the meat has a lingering odor after you eat it.

we had the Herb Chicken Mediterranean deLITE® a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty tasty to where i would order it again.

 

[ponyo]

I usually only put one tomato slice on each slice of pizza.

If you use Roma tomato you can easily fit 6 slices of tomato on one slice of pizza. Sort of like pepperoni. And never add veggies to your pizza til your pizza has cooked to about halfway point unless you like soggy pizza. Add your cheese and meat and cook til halfway and then take it out and add your veggies and extra cheese and finish cooking. This way you won't get soggy pizza even if you add lot of mushroom and tomato.

I ate pizza everyday for an entire year when I had my pizza joint. My preference then was plain slice of cheese. But I tried about every combination I could think of. One of my favorite is pizza made with pesto sauce instead of tomato based and sprinkled with garlic, parm cheese, artichoke hearts, spinach, slices of Roma tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, broccoli, and grilled chicken.

 

[ussfletcher]

Mostly all of the pizza places in Michigan are chains, and suck.. but we are red on the map Dr.Pizza put up.