Make your own pizza toppings the way pizza restaurants do.
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Does the pizza you order from pizza restaurants taste better than the pizza you make at home? If it does, it’s probably because your local pizzeria makes many of their pizza toppings on site.
Fresh topping make any pizza better, and most are inexpensive and quick and easy to make.
It starts with the sauce. In Italy, many pizza restaurants don’t use pizza sauce at all. They simply use crushed San Marzano tomatoes as a topping. If you’ve never cooked with San Marzanos, they’re well worth the extra expense. And they can transform a pizza from so-so to sensational.
If you’ve tried and failed to make a pizza as good as your local pizza restaurant, San Marzanos are probably the secret ingredient that your pizza is missing.
They’re a little bit harder to find than regular tomatoes, but most gourmet or Italian groceries carry both whole and crushed San Marzanos in cans.
Drain them well before putting them on the pizza dough, and sprinkle them with a little minced garlic and herbs like basil and oregano. Growing your own herbs and using them fresh will give your pizza a bright, clean taste. But you can use dried herbs if that’s all you have.
If you prefer a sauce, sauté some minced garlic and sliced onions in a little extra virgin olive oil until they’re soft. Then add the San Marzano tomatoes and their juice, and some herbs.
For a more complex flavor, add some red wine, or balsamic vinegar to your sauce. And for a little zing, add some crush red pepper flakes.
Cook the sauce until it’s thick. Let it cool. Then puree it in a blender for a nice, smooth texture.
When it comes to pizza cheese, you probably just buy it at the grocery store. But making your own mozzarella cheese isn’t hard, and it’s much better than the low-moisture variety that comes in plastic bags. It’s not hard to make, and it really complements other pizza toppings.
You’ll need a 6 – 8 quart stainless steel stock pot and a candy thermometer, plus a few supplies that you can find at a health food store or organic grocery. It’s worth the extra effort.
Find a recipe and directions at http://bestpizzatoppings.com/2010/02/the-best-pizza-cheese-mozzarella-cheese-that-you-make-yourself.
Making our own pizza toppings will help you get truly professional results at home. Find more pizza restaurant secrets at http://bestpizzatoppings.com/category/pizza-restaurants.
Tags: pizza restaurant, pizza restaurants, pizza toppings, pizzeria