Editing Pizza (section)

==Preparation==
Pizza is sold fresh or [[Frozen food|frozen]], whole or in [[pizza by the slice|portion-size slices]]. Methods have been developed to overcome challenges such as preventing the sauce from combining with the dough, and producing a crust that can be frozen and reheated without becoming rigid. There are frozen pizzas with raw ingredients and self-rising crusts.

In the US, another form of pizza is available from [[take and bake pizzeria]]s. This pizza is assembled in the store, then sold unbaked to customers to bake in their own [[Conventional ovens|ovens]]. Some grocery stores sell fresh dough along with sauce and basic ingredients, to assemble at home before baking in an oven.

<gallery class="center" heights="159" mode="packed" caption="Pizza preparation">
File:Pizza 1 bg.jpg|Pizza dough being [[Kneading|kneaded]] before being left undisturbed and allowed time to [[Proofing (baking technique)|proof]]
File:Pizza being tossed.jpg|Tossing pizza dough to stretch it
File:Neapolitan pizza.jpg|An unbaked [[Neapolitan pizza]] on a metal [[Peel (tool)|peel]], ready for the oven
File:Frozen pizza.jpg|A wrapped, [[mass-produced]] frozen pizza to be baked at home
</gallery>

===Baking===
In restaurants, pizza can be baked in an oven with [[fire brick]]s above the heat source, an electric deck oven, a [[conveyor belt]] oven, or in traditional style in a wood or coal-fired [[brick oven]]. The pizza is slid into the oven on a long paddle, called "[[Peel (tool)|peel]]", and baked directly on hot bricks, a screen (a round metal grate, typically aluminum), or whatever the oven surface is. Before use, a peel is typically sprinkled with cornmeal to allow the pizza to easily slide on and off it.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bmI2YJ1vMxMC&pg=PA3 | title=Make Great Pizza at Home | publisher=Taste of America Press | author=Owens, Martin J. | year=2003 | page=3 | isbn=978-0-9744470-0-1 | access-date=December 12, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527174523/https://books.google.com/books?id=bmI2YJ1vMxMC&pg=PA3 | archive-date=May 27, 2016 | url-status=live }}</ref> When made at home, a pizza can be baked on a [[pizza stone]] in a regular oven to reproduce some of the heating effect of a brick oven. Cooking directly on a metal surface results in too rapid heat transfer to the crust, burning it.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chen |first1=Angus |title=Pizza Physics: Why Brick Ovens Bake The Perfect Italian-Style Pie |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/07/23/630544154/pizza-physics-why-brick-ovens-bake-the-perfect-italian-style-pie |access-date=July 25, 2018 |work=[[NPR]] |date=July 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724111753/https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/07/23/630544154/pizza-physics-why-brick-ovens-bake-the-perfect-italian-style-pie |archive-date=July 24, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some home chefs use a wood-fired pizza oven, usually installed outdoors. As in restaurants, these are often dome-shaped, as pizza ovens have been for centuries,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.californo.co/collections/pizza-oven-kits/|title=pizza oven kits|publisher=Californo|access-date=April 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426080338/https://www.californo.co/collections/pizza-oven-kits/|archive-date=April 26, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> in order to achieve even heat distribution. Another variation is grilled pizza, in which the pizza is baked directly on a barbecue grill. Some types, such as [[Sicilian pizza]], are baked in a pan rather than directly on the bricks of the pizza oven.

Most restaurants use standard and purpose-built pizza preparation tables to assemble their pizzas. [[Mass production]] of pizza by [[Pizza chain|chains]] can be completely automated.

<gallery class="center" heights="159px" mode="packed" caption="Pizza baking">
File:Pizza im Pizzaofen von Maurizio.jpg|Pizzas baking in a traditional wood-fired [[brick oven]]
File:Pizza baking in Wood-fired oven.jpg|A pizza being removed with a wooden peel
File:Pizza Margherita stu spivack.jpg|A [[pizza Margherita]]
File:Eataly Las Vegas - Feb 2019 - Sarah Stierch 12.jpg|Charred crust on a pizza Margherita, an acceptable trait in artisanal pizza
File:Grilled_pizza_2.jpg|Pizza grilling on an outdoor gas range
</gallery>

===Crust===
The bottom of the pizza, called the "crust", may vary widely according to style—thin as in a typical hand-tossed [[Neapolitan pizza]] or thick as in a deep-dish [[Chicago-style pizza|Chicago-style]]. It is traditionally plain, but may also be seasoned with garlic or herbs, or stuffed with cheese. The outer edge of the pizza is sometimes referred to as the ''cornicione''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Braimbridge|first1=Sophie|last2=Glynn|first2=Joanne|title=Food of Italy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nXUkqkBA-DkC&pg=PA167|year=2005|publisher=Murdoch Books|isbn=978-1-74045-464-3|page=167|access-date=December 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614000129/https://books.google.com/books?id=nXUkqkBA-DkC&pg=PA167|archive-date=June 14, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Some pizza dough contains sugar, to help its yeast rise and enhance browning of the crust.<ref>{{cite book|last=DeAngelis|first=Dominick A.|title=The Art of Pizza Making: Trade Secrets and Recipes|date=December 1, 2011|publisher=The Creative Pizza Company|isbn=978-0-9632034-0-3|pages=20–28}}</ref>

===Cheese===
[[Mozzarella]] is commonly used on pizza, with the [[buffalo mozzarella]] produced in the surroundings of Naples.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/magazine/buffalo-mozzarella-craig-ramini.html?pagewanted=all|title=Go Ahead, Milk My Day|first=Sam|last=Anderson|date=October 11, 2012|access-date=November 7, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717093819/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/magazine/buffalo-mozzarella-craig-ramini.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=July 17, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Other cheeses are also used, particularly [[burrata]], [[Gorgonzola]], [[provolone]], ''[[pecorino romano]]'', [[ricotta]], and ''[[scamorza]]''. Less expensive [[processed cheese]]s or [[cheese analogue]]s have been developed for [[mass-market]] pizzas to produce desirable qualities such as browning, melting, stretchiness, consistent fat and moisture content, and stable [[shelf life]]. This quest to create the ideal and economical pizza cheese has involved many studies and experiments analyzing the impact of [[vegetable oil]], manufacturing and culture processes, [[Denaturation (biochemistry)|denatured]] whey proteins, and other changes in manufacture. In 1997, it was estimated that annual production of pizza cheese was {{convert|1|e6MT|ST|abbr=off}} in the US and {{convert|100000|MT|ST|abbr=off}} in Europe.<ref>{{cite book |title=Fundamentals of Cheese Science |last=Fox |first=Patrick F. |year=2000 |publisher=Aspen Pub |isbn=978-0-8342-1260-2 |page=482 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-oRp5VCVTQQC&q=pizza+cheese&pg=PA482 |display-authors=etal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514100205/https://books.google.com/books?id=-oRp5VCVTQQC&pg=PA482&dq=pizza+cheese |archive-date=May 14, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>