Want to Make Yummy Pizza, but I Can't Ever Get the Cheese Right.....

I buy the rolls of pizza dough in the refrigerator section at the grocery store and I put in on the pan and bake it for a few minutes first.

I use garlic butter, garlic powder and real butter, instead of pizza sauce (but if I make it with pizza sauce I use about half a can of Del Monte or Hunts Spaghetti Sauce, they are usually under $1.00 so if I don't use it all it's not a waste to throw the unused portion out...)

I cook a pound of Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage, then I cook some onion in the pan after putting the meat out to drain. I sometimes will saute' fresh mushrooms in with the onions too. I use Mozzerella Cheese on top. I don't overcook the pizza. The food on it is cooked so I only need to melt the cheese. The crust is still hot, the meat is hot, the sauted' onions and mushrooms are right out of the pan, etc...I can't stand crispy cheese.

I use the pizza blends and have used grated moz. too with parm as well. I like it all. I use my bread machine to make pizza dough (and use the recipe for pizza dough that came with it). It's SUPER easy and SUPER fresh :)

Dominos & Pizza Hut both use whole milk mozzerella (as do most pizza places, unless it's specifically a 4cheese blend, which is 2/3s mozz and the remaining 1/3 the other 3)... but most store bought mozz is part skim. So there's one difference.

The next two are:

- Homebaking pizza trick #1 : Cook on a stone (preferably) or a sheet on the BOTTOM rack, with the heat up as high as you can make it (500-550). This is if, and only if, you're making your own crust/ using bought uncooked crust. If it's boboli, or any other prebaked crust cook it where and at what temp the package says.

- #2 for pizza like pizzahut/dominos finish off on the TOP rack under the broiler. For about 30 seconds. This browns the cheese and it "seperates" the oils a bit... creating that oily layer. This is caused at PH &D's by the way that the roller cooker works... it cooks on both sides very very closely.

Same token most pizza places that cook in an oven brush the crust with an oil (usually a cheap one, but NOT canola). This deepfries the crust a little bit.. and gets a little more oil leaking onto the cheese.

The AMOUNT of cheese to use, is also problematic. Pizza places actually do testing on each size and crust type to determine how many ounces to use for each to create the amount of cheese stretching they want, as well as not being rubbery (too thick) or crispy (too thin). When places start cutting costs, they usually knock an ounce or three off of their cheese weight. Gourmet places use less cheese (because they want you to really taste their sauce, and they pay more for their cheese / so it has more flavor), chains use less. Finding the cheapest whole milk mozz possible will get you the closest flavor to PH & D's... a more expensive mozz will get you closer to PapaJohns.

Personally I like woodfired hand thrown pizza (with applewood as the combustible)... but that's a whole different series of variables.

We get a little adventurous on Pizza Night at our house, and use Havarti, maybe a little Romano, whatever strikes our fancy. The cheese counter at Whole Foods has some GREAT stuff, and the staff is fantastic for recommending things to try. Also, we love using diced fresh basil or pesto sauce instead of the traditional pizza sauce. (But then, we're wacky California types... =)

Central Market sells pizza dough at the pizza counter (wonderful!!!) or you can use french bread and remove the center bread for a diff crust option then for cheese Sargento(?) sells Povolone & Mozarella mix and melts pretty good or we some times use cheese from Central Market. We are still experimenting but really love trying new & diff pizzas too :) Have fun!!!

i make pizza with sharp cheddar, usually either safeway brand or tillamook.
We are mostly vegetarian so I either grill up veggies and put them on top, or I do olives, pineapple and fresh basil. I either use Trader Joes dough, or Bobolli crust because I am too lazy to make my own crust!
Make sure the oven is preheated and HOT, also make sure you don't overcook the pizza because that could dry out the cheese.

Have you ever tried Papa Murphey's pizza? They make it at their store and then you bring it home to bake. They are not stingy with toppings and it is great pizza. Also, it's always hot since you decide when to bake it and can eat it right out of the oven.

I just use the bagged already grated mozzarella brand (like Lucerne) from the grocery store. I always throw some feta cheese on it for some additional flavor.

I think the pizza dough has a lot to do with the flavor of the pizza over all.

It's a lot cheaper and healthier to make your own pizza....keep trying! :)

I actually like Monterrey Jack cheese for pizza, it melts much better.

Ok, it has taken me years to find the perfect way to make pizza. One trick is the right oven temperature. I bake my pizza 450 degrees (some recipes call for 500 degrees). I typically put all of the toppings on except for the cheese and cook for 5 minutes. Then I put on the cheese. I will buy whatever mozzarella cheese is on sale. The brand does not matter. I will sometimes sprinkle a little parmigiana as well. The cheese cooks just like it does from any pizza place. For the dough, I use Alton Brown's Pizzas Pizza recipe, and you can find that on the food network website. It is delicious! If you have any questions, send me a message. We rarely order out anymore because my pizza is as good as delivery.

Most grocery stores have take-n-bake pizzas in their deli/prepared foods area. They are HUGE and usually cost about $7 - $8 each. One pie easily feeds my family of 5 along with a salad. You can get the plain cheese and put whatever toppings you want. I used to make pizzas at home (can't STAND Domino's or Pizza Hut, too salty and generally yucky), but it was too much hassle to make my own dough, so now we get the take-n-bake ones. The ones from WholeFoods are my favorite, although I've never had a bad pizza and I've tried them from every grocery store in a 5 mile radius. Just make sure your oven is super hot before putting in the pizza. And if the pizza is too big for your oven, just cut it in half and offset them a bit in the oven. Yum!

Try brushing the crust with olive oil and putting the cheese on before the sauce. This keeps the crust from getting soggy and the cheese from getting dried out.

Provolone is what Mr. Gattis uses, other wise most people use mozzarella whole fat..

Gotta get a brick or a ball (I prefer the ball but the brick is easier to grate) of mozzarella cheese. The pre-grated stuff is coated in flour to keep it from sticking/melting together in packaging and shipping so it doesn't melt the same. I also REALLY love to grill our pizza. Go to the local stone place and purchase some fire bricks to cover the grill, then wait for it to heat up as hot as it can go and then slide your pizza on it. So super tasty!!

Get a brick of mozzerella and grate it by hand -- it is work but well worth it.

If you are using pre-packaged grated cheese, try grating the cheese yourself. I learned that the pre-grated cheese is much drier than if you do the grating. Since then I never buy the pre-grated cheese and it seems to help.

I buy the mozzerella cheese from sprouts and never thought that the taste was different.
I get all of the stuff from Sprouts Farmers market when the kids and I make homemade pizza. They have balls of pizza dough in the freezer section. I let them thaw and then put them in a bowl to rise for an hour. I buy the pizza sauce from there and the mozzerella cheese and then cut up a bowl full of different veggies and let the kids decorate the pizza. We all love it! By the way thanks, you just gave me an idea of what I can make for dinner tomorrow night!

Use plain mozzarella

what i do sometimes is buy the pizza anyway and just add more of what i want cheese,mushrooms ect....

Not sure where you are located, but thought I woud give a shameless plug for my own locally owned pizzeria, Nick-N-Willy's Pizza at 3949 Legacy and Coit Road in North Plano. ###-###-####
They DELIVER and do not scrimp on toppings unless you have ordered a Liv-N-Lite pizza which comes with 1/2 the toppings for 1/2 the calories. :-)

Also they make their own own dough fresh every day (unlike dominos or pizza hut or Papa Johns) and will gladly sell you the dough (and cheese) to make your own pizzas at home. Mention my name and they give referred customers 20% off! :-D Good Luck!

Look for the Kraft 2% mozzarella if you can find it or a block of mozzarella and grate it yourself. Most store shredded brands are part skim and it makes for an odd melting experience on pizza I think part of the reason it works on things like lasagne is because it's covered and the locked in moisture helps. Bake your pizza dough slightly before adding everything especially if you bake it on a pizza stone, even five minutes makes a difference and keeps it from being soggy. I brush the edges with olive oil and sprinkle a little garlic on it. We add whatever we want to it but for the most part pepperoni is our limit for a very picky 4 year old. Sometimes we divide the dough into little pizzas so we can each do our own, my son thinks it's great fun. It might also be your sauce, search all recipes for a good pizza sauce, the canned/jarred tend to be the wrong flavors to me usually too sweet. (I'm from Chicago, so I can tell you I'm very picky about pizza sauce.)

STOP using cheap cheese. The whole point of good pizza is the cheese.

I loved Papa John's pizza, but we moved and we're so far out in the country now nobody delivers. I've discovered take n bake sausage pizza from Farm Fresh and I love the way their crust turns out. I always add toppings. I've never had trouble with pre-shredded mozzerella, but sometimes I'm out of it, so I'll cut up a brick of Sorrento into thin slices and lay them on top (not too near the edge else it'll ooze over). Sometimes I'll add a shake of garlic powder, but more often a sprinkle of dried oregano, and some pepperoni. It's a great fast supper that our whole family loves.