Mark's Pizza Secrets Revealed

Secret #1 - Season the crust. I'm not sure why more people/pizza places don't do this. The crust is usually a neutral vehicle for topping delivery, but it doesn't have to be. I use oregano, basil, and red pepper as the basic seasonings in the crust. Other crust additive possibilities include garlic powder, chili powder, and chopped onions. I haven't been brave enough to add chocolate chips (yet!).

I was recently introduced to a new solution to the excess plain crust problem at Beau Jo's Pizza. They make a more bread-like crust and provide squeeze bottles of honey to put on the extra crust. Very tasty!

Secret #2 - Bake the crust before putting the toppings on For my recipe, this serves a couple of purposes. First, the crust gets done faster (and more completely) if it's not in contact with wet tomato sauce. Second, the crust rises better if not weighed down by the toppings.

Secret #3 - There is no secret #3. If there were a third secret, it would be the toppings, but I don't have anything special to improve upon normal pizzas. Although using good Wisconsin cheese helps.

Coming next entry: The recipe!