Because of very average experiences in the past I haven't tried supermarket frozen pizzas for years but somebody urged me to try the Dr Oetker "Ristorante" range so I bought a couple to try tonight.
Question to anybody familiar with this range … any tips for a better result or just cook it as per instructions on the back?
I have a standard electric fan forced oven.
TIA
When we bought our Breville Smart oven it was a real game changer.
Previously, frozen pizzas came out soggy and weird, but now they're coming out super crispy and full of flavour. I believe this is caused by the heating elements being very close to and above and below the pizza (not behind like a usual oven). I also like to add my own toppings as well - things like onion powder, sun dried tomatoes, olives, etc.
Can make a surprisingly good pizza this way!
As others have said, just throw a few more things on it before cooking, including some mixed herbs. Frozen pizzas are really just emergency food for when you can't be bothered cooking or ordering / going out to get something. Even then I only buy them if they're $2 at Coles being cleared off due to near expiry.
Now that I'm retired my favourite pizza place isn't on my way home. So I got a little pizza oven. And make my own pizzas from pre-made bases plus ingredients. But they still aren't even close to as good as real pizza ship pizzas.
Add extra toppings, like cheese, pepperoni, olives etc, that's it really turns a shitty frozen pizza into something interesting.
We have tried most brands and they are all average at best. The only one that we love is Aldi “ best pizza ever margarita “ in black box. Add your topping and it is pretty good.
The problem with frozen pizza's is you shouldn't buy cheap stuff, the meat is reconstituted crap. However, once you start spending $7 or more on frozen pizza, you'd be better off with takeaway/delivered pizza.
If I'm eating late, I'll throw a frozen pizza in a Breville bench oven, drop the heat by 20 degrees, and sparingly add toppings (especially wet toppings/sauces). Don't use a pizza stone as they get rather gross after many uses. Went to a kitchen shop & bought a non-slip round pizza tray, with perforated holes about 3/4cm across, cooked on the middle shelf.
I like that Dr Oetker "Ristorante" range - the spinach one is my favorite. Nice and easy for days when I do not feel like cooking.
My tips:
- Preheat your oven. On that topic, use fan-forced option
- Do not load up more stuff on it (traditionally, pizza consist just of a few ingredients) and I find it is already quite salty. Maybe a sauce like chilli sauce could work.
- Use a nice pizza tray to crisp the base nicely. I use a metal tray with holes in it.
Enjoy :)
I bought this air fryer, https://www.amazon.com.au/Healthy-Benchtop-Convection-Multi-…, it is $84 ATM
It doesn't matter if the pizzas are frozen or not, 8 minutes, and they are done
I usually put 2 toppings then mozzarella cheese, and 8 minutes, it doesn't matter if the pizza is frozen or thawed
I should mention that I use Woollies mini pizzas. You know, the ones that come in 3 varieties and cost $3 for a pack of 2. When I go shopping every fortnight, I top up on the pepperoni variety. I add either bacon or salami, or both. Then I add onions or olives, then mozzarella cheese. You can put tomato sauce or whatever sauce you like at the base, but I don't usually do it; I am still experimenting with the sauce or not ATM
This is great for crispy pizza or even oven chips
http://offers.kd2.org/en/au/aldi/pdLRK/
For my made from scratch sourdough deep pan base I use this
https://wiltshire.com.au/products/easybake-deep-pizza-pan-30…
Frozen pizza? You're eating rubber
Only half the pizza?
After nearly cooked.. put under griller for 2 -5 mins
Dr oetker just isn't a pizza. It's a cracker with pizza toppings.
Just make your own. Buy supermarket dough thenwt it get to room temp while cdusted with flour and covered with wrap. Hand stretch then pre bake on highest setting until the base gets color. Take out and put mutti passata straight from the bottle, fresh mozzarella (in brine) and favourite toppings - swirl of olive oil - then back into oven on highest setting.
Probably takes half an hour but the results are so much better.
Also much more expensive
Pizza dough for 2 bases costs $2, mozzarella balls $4, passata $3, some salami maybe $1. Makes 2 pizzas. But I agree with a post from above. Aldi's best margarita +toppings is actually a pretty good alternative.
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/965942/pic…
Forgot olive oil and flour ;)
Plus takes a bit longer than a half hour from deciding to eat a pizza. To eating one opposed to whacking the good doctor in the oven.
Preparation tip: buy at 50% off. It will taste so much better.
If you're interested in a slightly dearer alternative, I recently switched from making my own pizza dough to using these bases: https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/89470/wool…
They crisp up really well and are about the size of a domino's pizza so not overly big. For topping recommendation, I go with a tomato base mixed with sambal oelek for some heat, artichokes, olives, sun dried tomatoes and cheese.
I've used these with a pizza stone on my Weber and liked them too. I upshot of the ones I linked are they are so much quicker and of a good enough quality for my taste.
I'll give them a for next time, cheers!
Ok I absolutely love the McCains Supreme pizza. The trick is to cook it on a pizza stone in the oven. Put the stone in and turn the oven on as high as it goes. Wait at least 15 minutes till the stone is super hot and put the pizza in frozen. It takes 10-15 minutes to cook. It makes the bottom crispy and still soft in the middle. Yum!!
This is the way for great pizza in an oven. Get a pizza stone!
If you don't want to, Philips AirFryer has a pizza attachment that actually works really well.
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0864YM1FC/ (Wait for discount)
I purchased a few variations of frozen pizzas, from cheap to gourmet from Woolworths and asked Dominos to put them through their ovens. I don't know how, but they were both amazing pizzas but tasted like Dominos oddly enough. My biggest tip for baking anything in the oven is to have it warm-up for 20 minutes before putting it in. Also, if you want a crispier base, leave the baking tray in the oven for a few minutes before putting your pizza on it.
How did you get Domino's to agree to that?!
I am much to regular customer and I asked them if they could help me with a taste challenge.
I've liked the taste of their crusty white flour - so this may be worth a try for those with dough hooks or willing to knead - https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/381343/lau…
My top tips: ALDI best margarita ever, tray with holes or straight on rack, quality ingredients (dominos might be cheaper but quality ingredients are better), left overs can be quality ingredients too e.g. butter chicken, bolognese, reheat on sandwich press for perfect crust and perfectly melted cheese - sandwich press with height adjustment is key.
Convenience of being able to make a pizza with homemade ingredients in about 10-15 minutes is preferable to paying for delivery and hoping it arrives within the hour, or driving, which takes up more time.
I'm a sucker for frozen pizzas (well, pizza in general really). I keep it pretty simple. Most supermarkets will sell an italian herb blend, and giving that a shake over the top of any pizza usually yields some improvement in taste. Maybe a bit of hot sauce after it's cooked if you like a bit of heat. I might also add some extra cheese if I have it on hand.
I make pizza all the time. Its a hobby/passion. I have a proper woodfired oven. Forgetting the WFO for a minute, and here are the costs for me to make pizza. I work with 1kg of flour which makes 6 x 12" pizzas. We eat 3 for the Fam and we freeze 3 (cooked) to consume as afterschool snacks, or quick meals
1 x KG "oo" flour - $1.50
620 grams water - free
20 grams salt - pretty much free
5 grams instant dry yeast
Makes 6 x 275gm dough balls
Base cost = $1.50 (ok $2 if you really want to add in cost of water, salt, yeast)
toppings - 600gm bag of shredded Moz - $7
1 x 300gram tin of peeled tomatoes - $2
Random toppings, either from whats already in the fridge, plus maybe buy some ham, peperoni, cabanosi etc - $15 tops
Total $27 - $30 makes 6 of the best tasting pizzas you will ever have
Invest in a pizza stone for your oven and a pizza peel - one off investment of tops $50 which you will continue to use forever. Bake for 8-10 minutes in a regular home FF oven at 250c
Cheaper than frozen, cheaper than franchise pizza, cheaper than your local, and after a few goes at it you will get pretty good at it, and will never turn back, and the whole family gets involved and has fun making their own topped pizza the way they like it
Now you understand the economics, you can see how dominos makes money selling tiny 8 inch pizzas for $5 when buying their raw materials at much cheaper wholesale costs
I make my own pizza as well. I usually buy a few kilos La Molisana Farina type 00 flour when it is on sale at Coles. The usual ingredients I use: pizza cheese and pizza sauce from Aldi, pepperoni, bacon, ham, beef mince, mushrooms, Roma tomatoes, anchovies and extra virgin olive oil. Cook at 250 degrees for 10 minutes max. They are extremely easy to make and tasty
dominos makes money selling tiny 8 inch pizzas for $5 when buying their raw materials at much cheaper wholesale costs
You really think they make dough on them ? The real reason is they like screwing the Franchisees .
Good for us though we can get a subsidised pizza lol .
Or they're just loss leaders.
"The rule of thumb for a franchisee is a $5 pizza comes to about 20c profit." AMA, 2019 https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/7226458/redir
Agree that nothing beats home made, but there is a lot of time and labour in that dough.
We toss the dough in the bread maker to knead and proof it, so all that is required is rolling it and assembly.
Still not at the level of “remove packaging and heat” but quality is much better.
Where can you get OO flour for $1.5??
if you buy it in large sizes (e.g 12.5kg) its cheap, but unlikely to get it for that price buying in 1kg packs
You can get it from Coles when it's on sale at $1.50. I usually get a few kilos
Anywhere. Go to delis and ethnic type fruit shops. The best is Caputo, but that is around $4 a 1kg bag. But I have bought in bulk at harris farm. They do it a few times a year for 50% of so $1.99. But caputo is like the gucci of pizza flours. lots of simple brands out there at $1.50 or less.
Delis and ethnic shops are not everywhere. And I doubt they sell it for $1.5/kg. Woolworths, Coles and Aldi are everywhere. But they don't normally have OO flour for $1.5 either. It is misleading to put the price as $1.5 if it is not everyday price.
@leiiv: He also priced water as free and didn't put a cost against yeast, and also didn't include the few extra grams of flour you would use when kneeding or stretching the dough.
If you really want to nitpick over stupid stuff :/
Buy flour in a 12kg sack and it's well under $1.50/kg. Thats what I do for my pizza oven, and then vac seal it in like 3-4kg batches.
@SBOB: The flour is the main ingredient. And I did not nitpick over all the stuff that you mentioned. No normal families buy OO flour in 12kg sack. You are being ridiculous. I was just pointing out the flaw in the assumption.
You could end up with much better pizza than dominos, but not much cheaper after you include your time and cost of energy.
Kmart/target air fryer, ur welcome
The good Aldi pizzas ($6-7) with some extra topping are always my go to. I think some are made in Italy.
After lots of experimenting, a good quality simple basic cheese pizza with a few extra fresh toppings seems to turn out best. Not great to put too many extra fresh toppings as it doesn't cook evenly with a frozen base.
In my opinion, good frozen Aldi pizzas are tastier, cheaper, quicker and healthier than most take away pizza.
Provided you don't overdo the toppings, you can't go wrong!
ristorante funghi + a gas oven was good. base needed something like a fry pan or cast iron to burn it a little. pizza stone, mesh or even a preheated baking pan (upside down) can help. After you make your own, it is hard to go back to frozen.. recommend trying tipo 00 flour or this recipe from youtube: Link
I always add extra cheese on top.
Idk why, but air fryers make them taste great compared to using my oven with a pizza stone. Way faster too. Have to buy the small ones for them to fit though. (or need a bigger air fryer)
(Not a "cooking tip" per se, but obviously related)
Buy a proper cut blade.
It will only set you back $15 or so, and they're a hell of a lot better than those stupid toy-like wheels.
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01A7PYVS4/
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01IP5VT2O
I use these. Very good. Easy to cut the pizza, and they dont drag your cheese and toppings away from their spot
Thanks all.
Made the pizza (Spinach) on Monday night and it was easily the best frozen pizza I've had 👍
I would suggest spraying or coating the bottom of the pizza with olive oil before putting the pizza on a tray and placing directly on the bottom of the oven for the first 3-5 minutes or so, checking religiously every 1 minute past the 3 minute mark until the crust is golden brown, and then shifting the pizza to the middle rack to enable the top of the pizza to cook. Depending on how well down you like your pizza, I would then also turn on the grill/broil function on your oven for the last couple of minutes. I've experimented with various oven temperatures, and around 220 degrees I think is the sweet spot.
The big difference between a home frozen pizza and a restaurant quality pizza is the base. I've seen far too many frozen pizzas come out of the oven with a pale blonde soggy crust - it just doesn't cut it. So definitely try out the bottom of the oven method to get that crispy crust. Only downside is that you need to watch it like a hawk, and wedge a knife between the pizza and the tray every minute or so past three minutes to make sure it doesn't burn. Extra effort but extra reward imho
As others have said, the best way to improve a frozen pizza is by adding additional toppings yourself.
Make sure the oven is pre-heated prior to putting in.
Like others have mentioned, don't let it defrost.
I usually keep the light on and check in half-way. If I notice any uneven cooking I'll rotate it.
Don't open the oven too often as it'll lose its temp.
A pizza stone may help, but you'd have to also pre-heat that to the highest oven temp, and reduce back to your 180-210 which would be a process and a half for a frozen pizza designed to sit on a standard tray lol.
I spray cooking oil on foil to reduce any chances of sticking from the base.
Warm up your plates and serve immediately,
Enjoy :)
I cook my frozen pizzas in my weber family Q on a pizza stone and they always come out awesome
Leave in fridge, don't cook from frozen. Then set oven to max temperature and cook pizza until golden brown.
Why buy frozen pizza in the first place? Go to your local Domino's and get a fresh pizza for $5.
Now why didn't I think of that ?
Thanks !!
It is really easy to make a good pizza dough. There are a bunch of options and they generally freeze really well.
If you’re in a pinch or extremely lazy, Turkish bread or even a few layers of tortillas can get the job done if you don't want to make it yourself, and don't want to buy a pizza base from Woolies or Coles.
Would take any of those options over zjooshing up a frozen pizza.
Agree with this, op should also grow and mill their own wheat and stop being lazy with pre-made products.
Really has to be one of the dumbest threads on OZB with all the freshly cooked subsidized options available for peanuts .
Obvious some people don't value their time .
Depends how you value your time. Some people appreciate cooking for their families, and spending time in the kitchen together. You don't have to go to the beach either, you can just jump in your bath tub and splash water on yourself. But is the experience the same ? I could go buy $5 pizza, and save time, but I would miss the enjoyment of doing an actvity with my kids that I enjoy, and they have a great time with too. I could save the 3-4 hours and just sit in front of a screen with them. Everyone has different ideas of how they value their time.
Maybe not the best result but I use a sandwich press. Rip/cut the pizza in half and do half at a time. Sandwich presses are also great for heating up leftover pizza and warming up other goodies. If you're buying a press, go for the flat ones as they're the most versatile.
Get a stone (pizza one not a random pickup from your garden), stick it in the oven, let it get to temperature and then put your frozen pizza on that. Do not put your pizza on a stone that's not fully hot.
Thisa way da pizza isa good.
I use my convection microwave set to the cook mode. I add a bit of extra cheese on top and it cooks in around 7 minutes.
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Dr Oetker is probably the best supermarket pizza option; topping is flavoursome if not a little thin. Crust is a little biscuity, but could be worse.
It's not a pizza substitute, more like a late night, nothing else to eat kind of snack; certainly doesn't replace dinner.
We like to embellish the spinaci or the mozzarella with some smoked salmon, onions and capers (after pizzas have cooked) for some added punch.
Overall, very much edible without regret.