Let’s face it, pizza is one of the God’s greatest gifts to mankind. With an innumerable variety of pizzas that change region to region, it really is hard to go wrong with any kind of pizza topping. But there are a few flavors, universally adored by the masses, and one such flavor, is the Supreme.
The supreme pizza, by its very nature, is also extremely area dependent. Toppings vary in regions and countries, but in general, most supreme pizzas come with the following toppings:
- Pepperoni
- Green Pepper
- Black Olives
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Italian Sausage
- Ham
- Bacon
- Vegetables of choice
The combination of these main ingredients and local heroes makes this pizza truly a supreme delight for any occasion.
I’m aware there must be loads of questions in your mind about the supreme, but worry not pizza loving citizen, I shall answer all questions. By the end of this article, you will be a supreme pizza expert, and flex your skills at the next pizza party.
Take out or home cooked?
With the comforts of modern life, we’ve grown used to the ease of having our food delivered to us at the push of a button.
Which is all nice sometimes, but if you truly want to experience the greatness of true supreme pizza, there is no way anything mass produced can come close to the home-made stuff.
Fresh ingredients, your own choice of toppings and a lil’ bit of love go a long way into making a pizza taste better.
Always remember, a pizza delivered is fast food, a pizza made at home is gourmet. This is why, I am obsessed with outdoor pizza ovens because you can make delicious pizza pies at the ease of your home, spending quality time with your family.
Do I need to precook my ingredients before adding them?
This question is common among home chefs looking to throw in their hats in the pizza making world. Short answer: sometimes. Long answer: it depends on the ingredients.
Fresh vegetables with high water contents need to have some of that water evaporated, otherwise the pizza might get soiled with water, which is why we recommend precooking or par cooking them first to get the most out of those veggies.
For sausage, a quick sauté in the pan before adding to your bed of dough will do the trick. With fresh bacon, it is always best to give it a gentle fry before adding it to the pizza, so that it crisps up along with the pizza in the oven.
Pepperoni and ham come pre-cooked, so there is no need to cook them, just toss them with the others and enjoy the wonders of an immaculate pizza flavor.
Should I use a pizza stone?
YES! I cannot overstate how much better a pizza becomes if you use a pizza stone. Since most households cannot logistically stores an entire wood burning pizza oven, a pizza stone is the next best thing.
The pizza stone absorbs and retains heat well, this action mimics a wood burning oven’s ability of even heat distribution, increasing the overall temperature and also giving the pizza even heating across the board.
The rewards? An amazing crust and a shorter cook time. So much shorter that one can use this to pump out a pizza in less than 10 minutes.
Having a pizza stone may add to the number of dishes to wash after a hearty meal, but trust me, it’s worth it. For proper care and technical details on how to operate a pizza stone, check out this article.
Do NOT roll your dough
Once your dough is rested and warmed to room temperature, it will be very elastic and easy to stretch, with a slight bubbly texture. You want to keep it that way, so skip the rolling pin, which will just deflate the dough and give you a cardboard crust.
Ditto for shaping the dough by pressing and patting down (which will also make it stick to your work surface).
Instead, put the ball of dough on a floured pizza peel and use curved fingers to gently pull from the center to make a round or oval shape with a raised crust at the edge.
Work your hands around the edge, lifting so that gravity does the work to stretch the dough very thin. Don’t worry about making a perfect circle. Think of those giant Neapolitan beauties, with their slightly irregular shapes and bubbly surfaces.
The bed of your supreme deserves to be made with love and care, so don’t skip out on the dough refining.
Common Mistakes
Pizza making is a widespread art, so there’s bound to be misinformation about it.
Less sauce is more
Marinara sauce makes the pizza, its one of the best things about any pizza, which is why most people think the more the merrier, but trust me, you could not be further from the truth.
Marinara sauce is excellent on pizza, but too much of it results in an over sauced soggy mess, so remember, when it comes to pizza sauce, less is more.
Do not use fresh Mozzarella
While it sounds tempting and healthy to make use of fresh ingredients for everything you cook, fresh mozzarella on a supreme is a bad idea.
Fresh mozzarella has a very high-water content, so using it will make your dough into a soggy mess, and leave you with a milky puddle.
For a glorious, stretchy cheese pull that will catapult you to internet fame, part-skim mozzarella — whether grated, sliced or diced — is the way to go.
For more information on the cheese the meets your needs, try reading up here.
Cooking Temperature
The ideal cooking temperature for any pizza is 550 degrees Fahrenheit, or 288 degrees Celsius.
Always use a preheated oven and surface
An unheated oven brings its on slew of problems to the pizza cooking, but not having a preheated cook surface can be just as bad.
Uneven cooking is your worst enemy and a cold cook surface will do just that. So remember, preheat your oven to your desired temp, and let your cook surface (ideally a pizza stone) rest in there until they are both up to temp.
For more pizza making tips, I recommend reading this article.
