How to Plate Pizza
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How to Make Pizza
Pizza - How to Make Dough By Hand Part One
Pizza - How to Make Dough by Hand Part Two
Pizza - How to Make Wheat Dough with a Mixer
Pizza - How to Make Tomato Sauce
Pizza - How to Make Sauce with Canned Tomatoes
Pizza - How to Shape Dough for the Second Rise
Pizza - How to Shape Dough into a Pizza by Hand
Pizza - How to Shape Dough into a Pizza with a Rolling Pin
Pizza - How to Shape Dough Into Pizza by Tossing it in the Air
Pizza Toppings
Margherita Pizza
Vegetable Pizza
Meat Lover's Pizza
Pizza without Tomato Sauce
Pizza - How to Achieve a Wood Burning Oven Effect at Home
How to Plate Pizza
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How To Make Herb Roasted Turkey
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Hot And Hearty Ham Pot Pie
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Simple Cornbread Stuffing
Fresh Baja Fish Tacos
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Classic Macaroni and Cheese
Owner and chef Ruth Gresser grew up cooking with her mother, who owned a catering business in Baltimore, Md. Ms. Gresser cooked her way through Grinnell College in Iowa before moving to San Francisco, where she cooked for several years at Friends a Cafe and at Le Trou Robert. In 1987, she graduated summa cum laude from Madeleine Kamman's Classical and Modern French Cooking School in Glen, NH. She then moved to Washington, DC, where she has helped open four popular restaurants: Pizzeria Paradiso Dupont Circle, Pizzeria Paradiso Georgetown, Blue Plate and Obelisk. Ms. Gresser has been the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including the Women's Chefs and Restaurateurs Madeleine Kamman Scholarship and a guest chef appearance at Alice Waters' renowned Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA. She has also been profiled in The Washington Post Magazine, The Washington Business Journal and by Georgetown University Television. Ms. Gresser has been a chef demonstrator, contributor and panelist for The Smithsonian Institution and for FreshFarm Markets in Washington, DC. She is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.
How to Plate Pizza
Pizza expert Ruth Gresser demonstrates how to plate pizza.
How to Plate Pizza
Ingredients
1 lb Flour
10 oz Water
1 tsp Yeast
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Oil
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Garlic
1/2 tsp Oregano
5 Tomatoes
1 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Parsley
1 tsp Honey (optional)
Instructions
1. Dump the flour on the counter and create a well in the center. Pour in water that is 100 degrees F.
2. Sprinkle the yeast on top and mix the yeast into the water. Let it sit for a few minutes.
3. Add the oil and salt and mix them into the water and the yeast.
4. Gently mix the flour into the yeast mixture.
5. Start kneading the dough. Take a portion of the dough that's farthest away, and fold it over the front portion and then push away with the heel of your hand. Knead for about 10 minutes or until you have a nice smooth dough.
6. Put the dough to rise in a bowl, cover it with a little plastic or a tea towel and leave it out to rise. It will take about two to three hours or you can refrigerate the dough and let it go overnight.
7. When the dough has finished rising, put some flour down on the counter and take the dough out of the bowl. Knead the dough and then cut pieces of the pizza dough into even size pieces and shape it into balls.
8. Put the dough balls onto a floured flat surface, like a plate, and then cover it and let it rise for another hour or so.
9. Flatten the dough and press all of the air out of the pizza and then take a rolling pin and roll it and turn it and roll it again until the dough is flattened.
10. For the tomato sauce, cook the oregano and the garlic for a minute. Dice five medium size peeled and seeded tomatoes. Add them to the pan and let the sauce cook for 5 minutes. Add the salt and parsley to finish the sauce.
11. Put the tomato sauce onto the pizza dough as well as any additional toppings.
12. Turn your oven to its highest setting and place the pizza on a pizza stone or preheated pan to simulate a wood-burning oven.
Transcripts
Hi, I am Ruth Gresser from Pizzeria Paradiso, we have been making pizza today, and here is some of what we made and cooked. We have the cheese pizza, we have the pesto and potato pizza, we have the vegetable pizza, and this pizza is the Margherita pizza. I am going to put a little bit more Parmesan cheese on the potato pizza, since it has come out of the oven, just as a little garnish. I am going to put some olive oil on these pizzas just to give them a little extra burst of flavor. As I said earlier I am not going to put any more olive oil on the cheese pizza, as you can see there is enough fat in this cheese that it doesn't need any extra olive oil. I have two tools here; I have the pizza cutting wheel, and just a regular chefs knife, either one will work on the pizza. I am going to cut the four cheese pizza using the chef's knife. You put the chef's knife on one side of the pizza and just start cutting, hold it with the heel of one hand on the top of the knife and just cut down. As you can see I have left the pizza on the peel to cut it, so that when you then go to serve the pizza, you can take your plate and can just slide the pizza right off the peel. Now, the other tool I have here is the pizza cutting wheel, and thats used by making a swift motion through the pizza. So, you cut into one side of the crust, and then just roll the wheel, pushing down towards the pizza peel, and as you can see, it cuts right through the pizza. Again, you cut through one edge of the pie, and then roll the wheel and cut through the other. Again, you have it on a pizza peel, so you can just slide it right off. Now, this pie is the pizza that I made in a convection oven. As you can see, it looks a little bit different than the pie that was made in the wood burning stove. The crust is not quite as dark, and the cheese as you can see is more cooked than when its cooked in the wood oven. Thats because the heat is so much higher in the wood burning oven that the crust can cook and brown, because it just gets such a burst of heat when you put the pizza into the oven that is not there on the conventional oven, so the pizza needs to cook longer, and therefore the cheese will cook to this point, rather than to this point. So, there you have several different pizzas. I hope that this has sparked your imagination. I hope that you found it interesting. If you have any questions, you can email me at <a>info@eatyourpizza.com</a>, and in the meantime, have fun in the kitchen, and eat your pizza.
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Pizza Making Videos by Liane at 04/09/11 11:07PM Flag
Absolutely FABULOUS videos. Thank you so much for all these wonderful tips. I have made a few home made pizzas over the years with varying success ... but never felt quite so confident in my ability to do it right. Thanks again for helping me to become a true pizza demon! I hope my kitchen is prepared for this. The only thing I am worried about is my counter. I am not so sure it is really ready for what it has coming! Perhaps I should buy something to protect it from all that flour and
pizza.. by romakhare at 01/05/11 07:46AM Flag
ohh sooo nice of you..i was lookin for d nice pizza videos,n ur vid,is suprb..love it..!!
by lindachhay at 01/04/11 12:15AM Flag
I tried so many times to make pizza. i bought the premade dough, i bought different types of pizza flour that is prepackaged, and it all comes out so nasty. i love that type of Neapolitan pizza with the dough texture like the one you made, but i couldn't find a recipe on how to do it. Also the pizza shops around Lynn is disgusting. You really saved me. I will be making homemade pizzas from now on.
pizza by birdwomen1111 at 08/19/10 02:27AM Flag
i don't have a Burning Oven Effect at Home at home would i bake it my oven and tempture would i set on?
by birdwomen1111 at 08/19/10 02:24AM Flag
I don't have a Burning Oven .So can i bake it in my oven and what temp.would i set it for?
Great Series by gjsterp at 01/08/10 09:55PM Flag
Some really good tips, but did I have to watch the Texas Governor ad 6 times?
by teck at 07/30/09 09:06PM Flag
i like ur way of presentation.excellent
by teck at 07/30/09 09:06PM Flag
i like ur way of presentation.excellent
From France by llore85 at 07/17/09 02:22PM Flag
Hello Chef, Thanks for sharing. Realy interesting. In Europe such thick pies would not be tolerated specialy in the summer time. For an individual pizza we do not go more than 180g as dough weight. Looking for more videos. Keep cooking.
foodlover by patelpakee at 06/30/09 04:46PM Flag
I really loved watching the detailed video and I am going to try it very soon. I am totally impressed by "Ruth Gresser" and would love to meet her personally.
pzza crust and toppings by joanie at 05/28/09 03:09PM Flag
very informative. Enjoyed it very much.
thanks a lot!!! by uobio at 05/21/09 11:22AM Flag
I started making pizza at 14. I used to invite my classmates at home, they bring the movie and the soda and I make the pizza. thanks for bring to my memory those great times. i still use to make pizza for my familly but now I'll do it even more for you just boost my imagination! thanks for your professional advices! you're a great "pizzero" !
wow! by orchidz at 01/12/09 06:10AM Flag
i had watched all your pizza videos.its very nice! i haven't cooked pizza but im goin to give it a try 'coz it seems so easy in your video tutorials. thanks for sharing them with us! ~orchidz
Luv it! by ayme at 11/09/08 05:54AM Flag
I luv watching on how to do it, id probably make bussiness out of pizza...goodluck!
pizza by shylapraveen at 09/30/08 06:35PM Flag
chef Ruth Gresser, thank you somuch for teaching us how to make pizza, i will try it today itself ur sooooooooo cute........
Nice Pizza! by gcarped at 07/12/08 05:19AM Flag
I really enjoyed your pizza vids... Thank you so much! I will use this soon. I love to cook. :) Gail
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