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Q.
I'm thinking about getting a Baker's Pride electric pizza oven and using par-baked neopolitan crusts. Can I
produce a quality product this way?
Q.
We're trying to make a frozen pizza product using our regular dough. Do you have any suggestions?
Q.
I have a problem getting our pizza crust as crispy as I like it. Are there additives we might use or which
ingredients should I increase or decrease I.E. Water Oil etc.
Q.
Which style of pizza has the biggest market share (thin, thick, gourmet etc)? Which niche pizza market has
the highest demand with the lowest competition?
Q.
We are a take out and delivery pizzeria and we are getting bigger. We want to learn more about the dough because
we buy them ready, have are own recipes, and everything related with pizza and Italian food.
Q.
We want to make an adjustment to the dough. Any suggestions for making it less puffy and more crisp?
Q.
What kind of profit loss can incur when your portions are either not being measured, or are measured improperly?
Q.
What advice would you give an independent pizza restaurant owner, whose greatest challenge is developing new menu
recipes to be more competitive with the major chains?
Q.
How do I achieve pizza consistency with a wood fired oven?
Q.
We have 2 lines of pizza, full line, more cheese more topping, and classic line, less cheese less topping, is this
a good idea?
Q.
What would be the best way to keep pizza dough freshest after it has been panned out?
Q.
What is the distinction between regular pizza and gourmet pizza?
Q.
I have a wrap shop in
an upscale neighborhood. I want to try offering gourmet pizzas with
as little hassle as possible. I'm thinking about getting a Baker's
Pride electric pizza oven and using par-baked neopolitan crusts. Can
I produce a quality product this way? A. Hi Matt, My personal preferences for pizza crusts in order of my perception of quality are:
As far as your vision of high quality, drop dead gourmet pizza I'm with you. I assume the 'hassle factor' you refer to is a staffing and space/system issue. I'd like to address both of these areas. Staffing; In these days of the tightest labor shortage I feel that "Labor Lite" is the way to go. It's not going to get any better in the near future. I predict that we will be doing more sales with less staff in the future. It's simply a lack of the numbers of entry level population. Making great pizza with less staff is very doable. The secret is purchasing the necessary components that are almost fully prepared. This is called 'Speed Scratch' cooking. Most items that are traditionally made from scratch are now available and are very high quality. These items will cost you more, because of the convenience factor, but will save a lot of labor. As far as the space and oven requirements. Bakers Pride makes two styles of electric ovens. The first style is the 'Hearth Bake' counter top 2 deck oven. The second is the 'Magellan' conveyor. I have used the 'Hearth Bake' counter tops in the past. This pint sized oven bakes a great ie, but it has a very slow recovery rate. If your baking less than 10 pizzas an hour this will suffice. If you think that you'll ever bake more than 10 an hour this baby will lose too much heat and tend to dry out the pizzas rather than bake them at 500 degrees in about 8 minutes. I have never personally used a 'Magellan' so I can't comment. I could recommend several small sized-high volume conveyors. My personal favorites are the Blodgett MT1820E or the Lincoln Impinger model 1301. Both of these bake great pizza in about 6 minutes with a par bake and 7 minutes with a fresh dough. They are stackable if your volume grows. They can be mounted in a stand or placed on a S/S prep table. These ovens require no training on baking. They are idiot proof after they have been calibrated for the proper bake. Crusts: I think you should use a raw, frozen, presheeted dough. My personal favorites are: 'Self Rising Pizza Dough' manufactured by KB Pizza Crust Co. in Franklin, PA, ask for free samples from Mark or Ken Benvenuti. These dough's can go straight from the freezer to the oven. They have blended a yeast formula with the oven rising style of DiGorno's. Excellent crust. The next is the 'Redi-Rise' crusts from TNT crust Co. of Green Bay, WI. Call 920-431-7240 and ask for Larry Kropp. Either of these crusts will make fantastic up-scale, gourmet pizza. Your customers will think they are eating fresh dough. Great mouth feel, aroma, color and flavor. Toppings: If you decide to go for it contact me again for recipes, food cost analysis, suggested menu pricing and descriptions. You can reach me at this Ask The Expert area or on my webpage, http://www.bigdaveostrander.com/. Good Luck and welcome to the family of passionate pizza makers. BD Matt Thanks a lot for your comments! Another quick question: am I crazy to consider a pizza operation using an electric oven. My per Kilowatt electricity is running 10-15 cents an hour, so a 4500 watt oven's going to eat up about $162 a month. Thanks again for your suggestions. - Matt Bless, Temptations Cafe Dave All depends. The positives are no combustible gases. If you are in a 2 story building, venting and exhausting might be a costly venture. As far as I know in all but one state, electric ovens are exempt from exhausting. Most state health departments look at electrics as toaster ovens. Michigan is the exception to the rule. Now that you did a kilowatt per hour forecast, we'll really need to do a gas BTU per hour forecast. Remember that you're only pulling 4500 watts when the thermostat red light is on and asking for power. For a percentage of the time the ovens are coasting. My SWAG guess is about 50/50% unless you're in a rush and really jammin'. Then who cares?
Q.
We're trying to make a frozen
pizza product using our regular dough. We are forming the dough,
par baking for 3 minutes, adding sauce and cheese, wrapping in clear
plastic wrap, freezing for 24 hours. Baking for 15-20 minutes from a
frozen state. The pizza tastes dry. I realize that freezing the
product changes things. Do you have any suggestions? What do eggs do
for your dough? A. What a great challenge question. I struggled with this same problem years ago and made dozens of test batches to get it right. The crust will always taste dry because it is twice baked. I have researched the answer and it is very possible to make the pizza you want. If your home is any thing like mine, at big holiday meals we always serve brown & serve dinner rolls. The first time, right out of the oven, they go like hotcakes. When we reheat them for the traditional leftover meal the next day no one will eat them. They are dry. We give them to the dog and he takes them out to the backyard and buries them. The reason is loss of moisture, known as dehydration. Typically, the perfect pizza crust has 28-30% moisture remaining in it after it is fully baked. When it is fully baked, it is heated to an internal temperature of 300 degrees so all of the bread cells are fully gelatinized. Twice baked crusts average about 24% moisture remaining after the second bake. The product you are making suffers moisture loss three times. The first time is in the oven at the first bake. When it is cooled before wrapping it is steaming. During the freezing process it loses moisture. Freezers are made to remove moisture. Zero humidity is good in freezers and coolers. When the pizza is baked the second time it loses a few more percentage points of moisture. The silver bullet is "how do we eliminate the severe moisture loss in the crust?" My first answer was to make a wetter pizza dough and add a lot of oil to the recipe. Oil or shortening doesn't evaporate at 400 degrees. I took the liberty of asking for the advice and counsel of two of my friends who are crust experts. Mark Benvenuti of KB Pizza Crust Co. in Franklin, PA (888.KB CRUST), and Tom Lehman (The Dough Doctor) of The American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, KS. (800.633.5137). This is our collective solution to the problem. The secret is adding a Gum to your recipe. Gum is a water retaining fibrous material that is used in lots of recipes. Tom recommends that you call TIC Gum Co. in Belcamp, MD at 410.273.7300 and request a working sample of 'Ticaloid Lite.' Drop Tom's name and they will send you a 2# sample. Follow the recommendations to the letter. Voila' perfect twice baked pizza. The second option you might wish to pursue is perfecting your own DiGiorno style pizza. Self rising crust in the average home oven. This technology was invented by Tom Lehman and his team in 1993 at AIB. It took three years for a company to try it and the rest is history. The majority of customers prefer self rising, fresh dough to par baked crust. When you go into to your local grocery store and look at the all of the stuff they sell it's hard to believe that 47% of their total profit comes from the frozen pizza section. I personally believe that one company has a lock on the majority of sales. If you decide that "Liguori's Take-N-Bake" would sell in your market, the complete Technical Bulletin can be had for a measly $4 by calling AIB and requesting 'Pizza, chemical leavened',-November 1997. Ask for Cindy or Anita at extension x150. The bulletin will contain all of the information, in detail, on how to clone a great self-rising crust. You will have to purchase black aluminum foil pans or oven proof paperboard pizza pans. Both of these products are fairly inexpensive and will allow the customer to unwrap the pizza, and place it in a preheated oven. I've used the paperboard discs and they work remarkably great. The manufacturer is Pactive, in Wheeling, IL (847.914.1757). I can't wait to try your new product. P.S. I thought you would want to know that most successful operators create a point of sale area in their waiting area to merchandise the new products. If you sell them to your customers at the point of manufacture, to the end consumer you won't be hassled by the Dept. of Agriculture. If you sell them to a re-seller, (C-Store, Bar, etc,) you'll have to comply with the Dept. of Agriculture's rules, regulations and licensing. All the best! BD
Q.
I have a problem getting our pizza
crust as crispy as I like it. Are there additives we might use
or which ingredients should I increase or decrease I.E. Water Oil
etc. A. Would you please refer to my answer to Neil Heiman of Seattle, WA. I posted a thin and crispy recipe in that answer. Whenever I get stumped on a particular dough problem I call The American Institute of Baking. Mr. Tom Lehman the "Dough Doctor" knows more about fixing dough problems than possibly anyone else on the planet. He is on the road a lot, like myself, but can be reached at 1-800-633-5157 I'm not positive but I think his telephone consultations are free. AIB is a non-profit organization dedicated to the industry to help out everyone that deals with flour. Finally, if the recipe isn't what your looking for I have 4 more up my sleeve. Just e-mail me at info@bigdaveostrander.com if you need more info.
Q.
Which style of pizza has the biggest
market share (thin, thick, gourmet etc)? Which niche pizza market
has the highest demand with the lowest competition? A. If I knew then, what I know now I would blend the best of two Pizza offerings. I would develop a traditional pizza menu, aimed at the purists, and another. I would offer an upscale gourmet menu also. I feel that neither one of these offerings will ever be done away with. By offering a gourmet line you differentiate yourself from the ordinary. If your demographics are right, and your pizza is praiseworthy, you should rock. Please read my response to Dell Duran, Funtime Pizza.
Q.
We are a take out and delivery
pizzeria and we are getting bigger. We want to learn more about the
dough because we buy them ready, have are own recipes, and
everything related with pizza and Italian food. A. The absolute best book on the subject was written by a good friend of mine. His name is John Correll, The Pizza Consultant, and the title of his 2 volume book is The Pizza Manager's Guide to Ingredient Purchasing and Preparation. Every question about dough, sauce, cheese and toppings are answered in depth. It can be ordered through the Pizza Pro Shop. Call 800-746-1122 and invest the $99. They are also sold at all the Pizza Expos. Do it now. If you're serious about learning the real story in an easy to read book, this one is a must read!
Q.
I'm just taking over existing
business. We want to make an adjustment to the dough. Any
suggestions for making it less puffy and more crisp? A.
Generally Puffy Dough is caused by over
proofing. Proofing is what happens from the time the dough
comes out of the mixer till it goes in the oven. Puffy is
caused from the chemical reaction between sugar and
yeast. Yeast feeds on the available sugar, and proteins in the
flour, and produces carbon dioxide. That gas (CO2) makes all of the
little bubbles that give the dough a rise when it hits the heat of
the oven. This is called oven spring and has been popularized by the
DiGorno Pizza TV adds. A great recipe for crispy, sometimes
called cracker crust, goes like this.
Add everything but flour, oil and eggs in mixing bowl. Let dry ingredients dissolve. Stir and add all other ingredients. This is a very stiff dough. After mixing let relax for 3-4 hours, in bulk. Or refrigerate overnight. A dough roller is needed for this dough and to avoid bubbling this dough must be perforated with a docker after rolling. If this is the desired dough you're looking for we did good! If you simply want to reduce your dough less puffy try reducing the amount of yeast your using in half and storing your dough at less than 36 degrees. Another tip is cooling your water temperature to 70 degrees. Less yeast, heat, = less gas. Last Tip: Bake at lower temperature for longer time, this tends to dry out the crust and gives a crispier texture.
Q.
What kind of profit loss can
incur when your portions are either not being measured, or are
measured improperly? Do the big pizza chains pre-measure product
ahead of time, and is the cost of labor to do that more than the
loss that can occur if it is not done? A. The two biggest reasons that food service operations go belly up are
If you don't portion control at least cheese and protein items on your pizzas you're never going to experience consistent profitability. For 15 years I made pizza. I made good pizza and a lot of them. I made money some months and lost money on others. I was running my business like a hobby. When I got my P & L statement from my accountant I always dreaded going to the bottom line. I rejoiced when it was great and was bummed when it is dismal. Then all of a sudden I got a epiphany. What would it take to make every pizza the same according to specifications? Making pizza is a lot like making soup, an ounce of this a couple of ounces of that, and on and on. Factor in busy rushes and a work force that could care less how they make the pies and you're on very thin ice. After all, since your the owner your loaded. The cost of making a pizza is next to nothing, therefore your making 50% profit. This is the mind set of most entry level employees. You have a little homework to get to profitability. These steps are vital. Blow them off at your own risk. On the top of a computer or paper spreadsheet enter the following column headers. Description, cost per case/pound, ounces per pizza, cost per pizza, menu price and food cost.
As you get into this exercise everything is easy except,
amount per pizza. My system, as well as the chains systems
relies on portion control scales, pre measured cups, spoodles etc.
to achieve consistency. For an in depth explanation of how I portion
control cheese, the most costly component of pizza, go to web site
http://www.pmq.com/
Finally, the secret to not experiencing a labor cost surge is to
build a system that takes minimal effort to achieve perfect food
cost, every time, every pizza.
Q. What advice would you give an independent
pizza restaurant owner, whose greatest challenge is developing new
menu recipes to be more competitive with the major chains?
A.
The best places to get new ideas for menu ideas are
trade shows. The two major shows that are best are Pizza Festiva,
held in conjunction with Pizza Expo in Las Vegas in March
and the Mid-America Restaurant and Pizza Show in Columbus Ohio, held
in February. Some of the best pizza makers in the country come
to compete for fame and fortune. I wouldn't position myself to
compete with the big chains. I'd position my pizzeria to force
them to compete with me. I'm in the process of developing my
own consulting web site. On it I will post up-scale, gourmet recipes
along with food costs as a free service. Stay tuned to www.bigdaveostrander.com
Q. How do I achieve pizza consistency with a wood
fired oven? A.
Is the oven you refer to 100% wood fired or does it
have gas as a backup?
If it is gas assisted your challenge is somewhat easier. With gas
the temperature is fine tuned with a gas valve. I assume you have a
digital thermometer built in.
Consistency with wood fired ovens is an oxymoron. By their very
nature they only operate as well as the oven tender. The thermostat
is fallible. In my experience I've determined that it takes hours to
get the huge radiant heat mass up to temperature. Once the ideal
temperature is attained, 500 - 600o F, just a small
amount of wood is required to maintain a fairly balanced cooking
temperature. Most people over fire the units and get the
temperatures up to 750 - 900o F. This is too hot to get a
proper bake. The pizza may look done but unless the crust is very
thin chances are the dough will have a gelatinous surface just below
the cheese.
The average customer is fascinated by old world wood fired ovens.
They tend to ignore dark spots and inconsistent appearances. To them
this is what they came for. They also love the slight smoky flavor
of the crust. I have improved this flavor by collecting apple and
grape leaves in the fall. I fill up panty hose by jamming them full
of handfuls of these aromatic leaves. Sprinkle a few of the
moistened leaves on the bed of red hot coals from time to time for a
unique impinged crust flavor. Experiment with small amounts of
apple, hickory and mystique chips. Skip the buffalo chips. Finally,
your fire wood supplier should deliver well aged wood, at least a
year old if it was cut and split green. My personal preference is
only using dead wood as fuel.
Exit thought: Reward your customers when they bring in firewood
and leaves. Actively solicit for their help. Barter your goods for
their goods. I think the loyal ones will feel special they helped
create the masterpieces at your store. Q. We have 2 lines of pizza, full line, more
cheese more topping, and classic line, less cheese less topping, is
this a good idea? It's the only way I felt I could compete with the
bigger companies. A.
Beat them at their own game. I think you have been drawn into the game of follow the leader.
The majority of big guys have positioned themselves as being the
lowest cost producer of pizza. Positioning is a mind game that
establishes a premise. After enough slick advertising and hundreds
of mental messages, the premise becomes reality. Study your
competition. On a sheet of paper write down all of their strengths
and weaknesses. Do the same with your store. Now, imagine that you
are an average pizza eater and do the same exercise. The big guys
tend to control the mind set of the uninformed. They can out spend
you but you can out think them and win. I'll never forget the quote my Dad gave to me 30 years ago when
positive pizza was my calling. "Make the best pizza in town, or make
the cheapest in town. If you do this you'll always have customers
lined up for your product. Don't put yourself in the middle. If you
do, your competitors will pull your customers away from you. Some
from the top and some from the bottom." I had no idea what he was
trying to tell me then. I was too young and dumb to realize the
wisdom at the time. The secret of my success is I never compromised the quality of my
pizza. If it wasn't great, it was never eaten. Sure, I was tempted
to offer two lines when I faced major, major competition. I'm glad I
didn't fall into that trap. Your reputation is too valuable to be
confusing customers with two lines. What if they ordered your top
end pizza one week and the next week accidentally ordered your low
end. Or your order takers make a mistake? Very confusing and
inconsistent. I recommend that you call RapidFire and ask for my
booklet Big Bucks with Big Dave. You'll find several time proven,
real world samples of my guerilla marketing tactics that will kill
the big guys. I especially like The Ultimate Guarantee, and Customer
Appreciation Night. Good luck, remember anything they can do you can
do better. Just blow your own horn. Q. What would be the best way to keep pizza
dough fresh after it has been panned out? A. Pizza dough is a living organism. It has a
birth, a maturity and a death. It is ever evolving, depending on
time and temperature. Fresh dough should be stored in an airtight
area. Air really tends to make the outer edges crusty and brittle,
they dry out and look unsightly. The style of pan you use and if you
store the panned dough at room temperature or under refrigeration
will determine the best answer for your question. If you use shallow
pans purchase a pizza stack. This rack will hold about 12 pizzas
vertically in the pans. After filling the rack cover the whole thing
with a clear plastic bag. This will prevent the doughs from drying
out. If you use straight sided deep dish pans that are 1.5 - 2" deep
I recommend self stacking/sealing pans. Q. What is the distinction between regular pizza
and gourmet pizza? We've picked a few of our pizzas with special
sauces and special toppings to market as gourmet pizza but wonder
what other pizzeria places do. A. The differences between Gourmet Pizza and
Traditional Pizza can be compared to the offerings of an Up-Scale,
White Tablecloth, Fine Dining Menu and that of a Traditional Home
Cookin' Restaurant. When your mind perceives Gourmet, it expects
upscale, non-traditional toppings, with flavors that compliment one
another. Basically anything that can be served as an entree can be
incorporated on a pizza. The recipe book that will give you dozens
of new ideas is The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook. In my pizza
place I've created quite a few gourmets. I call them Specialty
Pizzas on my menu. Some of the most popular include a New York
White, Greek, Shrimp Scampi, California White, BBQ Chicken, Lasagna
Pizza, Tex Mex, and the ever-popular Big Dave's Bodacious BLT. We
serve 250 BLT's a week. I think that pizza eaters are becoming more
daring and adventuresome in their choices and Gourmets are here to
stay. Customers also expect to pay a high premium for these
creations, thus eliminating the lowest cost provider syndrome that
we can get sucked into. |
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