Joe Heffernan is a chef and pizzaiolo who was the co-owner of Independent Pizzeria, one of Seattle’s best pizza restaurants.

Joe Heffernan

Baking steel

Pizza peel

A few peethas of advice.

EQUIPMENT
Where do I get a baking steel?
On <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pizzacraft-Square-Baking-Kitchen-Barbeque/dp/B00NMLKW6Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1466545655&sr=8-2&keywords=pizza+steel&tag=delvkitc-20">Amazon</a>, yo. Haven’t you heard? They’re taking over the world!

And why should I use one?
For two reasons:
(1) When you use a baking steel or stone, you add mass to the oven to help your pizza cook more evenly
(2) It’s a good surface to bake on.

Okay, I am ready to make a purchase. Should I go for steel or stone?
Both work; we prefer the steel, which retains heat better and has greater thermal conductivity than a ceramic pizza stone, helping us cook pizzas faster and wind up with crisper pies that more closely resemble that restaurant ’za we know and love. The Modernist Cuisine team did a bunch of research on this, btw. Did you get yourself a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982761007/?tag=chefsteps02-20">set of those giant books</a> yet?

Why is adding mass important?
So glad you asked. Added mass stores thermal energy. The more thermal energy you can store inside the oven, the more you will reduce swings in temperature. That’s because the heavy mass stores large quantities of heat energy and can either release it to prevent the temperature from falling too quickly or store it to prevent the temperature from rising too quickly.

Incidentally, this is also why preheating an oven is important. When an oven is preheated, it has a large and reasonably well-controlled reservoir of heat energy to draw on as it reacts to the loss of heat that occurs when you add the food. Preheating is one simple way to stack the odds in favor of consistent baking. Adding more mass to your oven stacks the odds even further in your favor, but it will also increase how long it takes to preheat the oven. That’s because you have more mass that needs to be charged up with thermal energy. 

Which is probably why Joe recommends heating the oven at least 45 minutes before you add the pizza!
Exactly right.

Got it. Also, I feel a good hack coming on.
Yup. If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can place a heavy cast iron pot or pan on a lower shelf of your oven to add mass instead. And you can cook your pizza on a baking tray just as you would on a steel—place the tray in the oven while you preheat, and transfer the pizza to it when you are ready to cook.

And this pizza peel. It’s cute and all, but do I need one?
Again, not mandatory. But a pizza peel does help you move your pizza in and out of the oven safely and with ease. If you don’t have one, bring your pizza to the oven on a cutting board or baking tray, and exercise caution as you transfer it to the preheated steel, stone, or baking tray. We’re working at very high temperatures here, so no sudden movements. 

TOPPINGS
How much olive oil should I use?
Cheese will separate quickly under the broiler, so you may want to cut back on the oil. But the amount of oil you want to use will depend on your toppings too. When you pile on the veggies, add more salt and oil than you would otherwise; this will help you retain structure and moisture. Play with it, playa. You’ll find your perfect pie in the end.

Should I use fresh mozzarella cheese like they do at my favorite pizzeria?
We all love those flat disks of fresh mozzarella because they taste and look great and melt into a nice, cheesy puddle without getting all gooey. Home broilers, however, are far less gentle on cheese than pizza ovens. Joe suggests starting out with grated mozz or another low-moisture option. Keep in mind, too, that some cheeses are much saltier than others. You want to adjust your seasonings accordingly.

What about veggies and meats?
Always cut toppings nice and thin, and precook anything that won’t cook quickly in the oven. (Think mushrooms, onions, raw meats, heftier veggies, etc.) 

And that basil trick I saw in the video, what is that all about?
Joe dips his fresh basil leaves in mozzarella brine to add flavor and keep them from scorching as they cook. Cool, right?

Yup, pretty cool. Talk to me about sauce.
Use a simple, high-end tomato sauce—you don’t even have to cook it beforehand. Notice that Joe doesn’t spread it on too thick either.

I want to top my pie with an egg. Any advice?
Joe likes to add an egg to a pizza part of the way through the cooking process, after the initial oven-spring. When to add the egg depends on your oven and exact temperature, though, so home cooks will need to adjust the timing. Of course, you can always <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/the-egg-calculator">cook the egg sous vide</a> and then toss it on just before serving.

Wait, oven-spring. What is that?
Oven-spring is a baking term that describes the rapid rising action of yeast doughs when they’re first placed in the oven. As the dough heats up, water inside of it converts to steam, causing gas bubbles within the dough to expand. The amount of oven-spring depends on conditions inside the oven: in general, higher humidity and a higher temperature mean more oven-spring. 

PROCESS
I want to try making my own dough. Whatchu got?
We got <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/life-changing-pizza-dough-with-joe-heffernan-of-seattle-s-independent-pizzeria">this</a>. 

You suggest I let the cooked pizza rest before I dig in. What if I, like, don’t?
Cutting into a pizza that’s too hot will result in a big sloppy mess. Give it a couple minutes to gel, whydontcha?

Before we begin

An important message to all you pizza people: Every home oven is different. Some ovens run cool, and the broiler might be farther from the top rack than in other ovens. If that’s your sitch, you might want to have the broiler on full blast the whole time. If you have a better-insulated oven, with a top rack closer to the broiler, you’ll need to shut the broiler down for a bit in order to get the bottom crust, top crust, and toppings to cook in sync.

Bottom line: You are going to need to practice. And—we can’t say this enough—BE CAREFUL! With the pie right up close to the broiler on a steel or stone, the space you are working in is narrow. You’re literally playing with fire, dig? Please don’t get burned.

Know your oven!

Already got your dough good to go? Move on to Step 2 right away.
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With this recipe, Seattle’s best pizza maker, Independent Pizzeria co-owner Joe Heffernan, shows you the secrets to incredible homemade dough.

Neo-Neapolitan Pizza Dough

Make pizza dough!

Can you set your oven higher than [f 500]? Good! Set it as high as it will go.

Set oven to [f 500]

Slide that steel or stone onto the top rack.

Allow oven to heat for at least 45 minutes.

NOTE: If your top rack is far from the broiler, turn that broiler on full blast to get your steel nice and hot. Don’t forget to turn it off before you slide in your pizza.

Immediately add baking steel or stone

See “Before We Begin” for topping tips.

Add toppings

Slide your pie into the oven with a pizza peel. If you don’t have a peel, bring the pizza to the oven on a cutting board or tray, then slide it very carefully onto the preheated steel, stone, or baking tray. 

Rotate after 90 seconds.

Bake that mofo

After 3 minutes, crank up your broiler

We know, it looks so good. But cool your jets for at least 1 minute, Pizza Monster.

Take it out; let it rest

You haven’t lived ’til you’ve eaten your own pizza!

Now eat it.

Making pizza at home is a lot like being in a play. Now, hear us out. When you commit to a theater role, you memorize your lines until they are imprinted on your brain, right? Then when rehearsals begin, you practice saying your lines until they are imprinted on your tongue. By the time opening night arrives, you hop on stage and just ... play. You work for the amazing performance that transfixes the audience and sparks your creative soul. It isn’t just handed to you. Then again, the whole process—from scoring a role to taking a bow—is pretty much a blast. Why else would so many people want to be actors?How does this relate to pizza? Think of getting to know each part of the pizza-making process as learning your lines, and running trials of your homemade pizzas as rehearsing those lines. You can practice on your family, and then once you have the steps down, you can invite friends over and just ... play. Because once you’ve dialed in the process—from shaping the dough to heating the oven to finding that just-right mix of toppings and cheese—making the pies is fun and stress-free.So here’s your script: tips and techniques pulled from the brain of Joe Heffernan, co-owner of <a href="http://www.theindiepizzeria.com/">Independent Pizzeria</a> in Seattle. Use them to get you started on the cooking performance that will ultimately wow your friends and neighbors. Don’t be afraid to ad lib some lines; every oven is different, after all, and it might take a little improv to get the results you want. Will you make a perfect pie on your first try? Probably not. But we think you’ll enjoy the path to pizza stardom—and eat a lot of delicious trials along the way.