Perfect Pizza

It's always fun to try to emulate the results from your local pizza parlor. After all, chains like Domino's, Papa Murphy's, and Pizza Hut have built their reputations on providing great tasting pizza a relatively cheap price. There is one thing that must be kept in mind when trying to duplicate the pizza from a chain; it is more of a journey than a destination. You might need to try and fail several times before you hit upon that "perfect" combination of flavors.

When looking at your local pizza parlor, there is generally only one advantage that they will have over you—their oven. These things get hot and stay hot, very hot! If you want to make pizza from scratch at home and have it turn out anything like what you get at the chains, then you need to invest in a vital piece of equipment called a pizza stone. These can be purchased at most department stores and will cost you a minimum of $20.00. Simply follow the directions that come with them and let them get good and hot before you slide your pizza into the oven.

It can honestly be said that the heart of any pizza is the crust. There are several ways you can get crust that is tasty and exactly what you are looking for. The first is to use prepared crust that comes in a package. Several brands exist that you can get from your local grocery store: Boboli, Mama Mary's, and the local store brand are only a sampling of what you can purchase. The second way that you can get the crust you like is to simply ask your local pizza parlor if you can purchase some of their dough balls. Finally, you can always experiment and make your own (this is where the trial and error part comes in).

If the heart of the pizza lies in the crust, then the soul of the pizza is its ingredients. Take a look at the toppings used by the local pizza parlors, and then go on a little shopping trip. Purchase such items as the pepperoni, sauce, red onions, sausage, olives, and so on from your local grocery store. Just keep at it till you get the pizza to taste exactly the way you want it to. Keep in mind though, that what tastes good to one person will not necessarily please someone else. Just keep at it until you have developed flavor that you like best.

Remember that making pizza is a lot like writing; it evolves over time. You start with short stories until they are good, then you add skill sets that allow you to advance to bigger and better stories. Soon, if you keep at it, you are an author. Keep practicing and eventually you will have pizza that will be better than anything you can get at the parlor.