Roundtable Pizza Guide - The Importance Of A Good Base

Here at the Roundtable Pizza Guide we believe that a good pizza starts with the base. A good pizza base can make or break a quality pizza. Too dry and it breaks up, too oily and it affects the taste, too fluffy and it ruins the pizza experience. It is a shame then that very few people appear to know how to make a quality pizza base.

It is important to remember that as with anything, cooking methods, and indeed even mixture ingredients can vary from person to person. With a pizza base, how it is made is not the important aspect, it's how the base turns out after it's prepared and cooked.

In fact Steve Zinski (member of the Food News Group) suggests...

"that two baking stones be used rather than one. The first to be placed on the lowest rack, and the second on the rack just below the broiler element or flame. Having positioned them thus, preheat the oven at 500° - 550° for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour. Cook the pizza for about 4 minutes on the lower stone, then turn the broiler on and move the pizza to the upper stone, directly under the broiler. Allow it to cook there for a couple of minutes or until the crust is bubbled and crisp, even a bit blackened."
Source: theartisan

As to the making of the base, there are 3 key things to take note of:

• The Ingredients
• The Mixture
• The Kneading

The ingredients will naturally vary from person to person. Generally speaking, most recipes will call for yeast, unbleached plain flour, warm water, salt and regular water (i use room temperature myself). Although it may be tempting to skip the salt, it has been said that doing so can affect the outcome of the base.

The mixture is all about measurements, and more importantly, personal preference. The best way to be a master of the mixture, is to practice and learn from your own work.

Kneading the base is where it all comes together. Never cut a corner on the kneading or you will find your base comes out far less than perfect.

The following video gives an example of how to knead your dough.

The perfect base should of course always be topped off with perfect fresh toppings. The Roundtable Pizza Guide wishes you the best in your pizza making endeavors. Until next time, have a slice on us!