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So guys, I hired a pro, and had fun watching. The stuff I thought would be tough went very simply and easily… It was the small screws hidden behind the side walls that were the problem, and took the most time. I simply wouldn’t have the patience for this stuff John

I get to replace a burner in one of my deck ovens. It doesn’t look extremely hard unless I’m missing something, but I have questions: 1)Do I have to remove the deck or can I go underneath it? 2)Will I need any special tools? 3)How long will this job take me 4)Any special tricks any one can lay...

Tom As to your point on re working dough…I’ve been playing around with the concept of scaling my dough without balling it, and fermenting it that way…kind of a hybrid bulk fermentation. That way, the dough only gets worked once…it works very well with higher hydrated doughs, and the quality of...

UncleNicksPizza I’d be willing to bet you, that if the dough you used on day 5 were balled on day 3 or 4 instead of day 1, your product would be as amazing as it is on Days 3 and 4 at present. It should be very easy and cheap to test this…the only concern might be the low hydration rate, but it...

Tom I have attended your pizza school in Manhattan and absolutely loved it. My question: I realize that one can develop gluten either by kneading, or by letting dough set and letting time help. If I am in the process of laminating a low hydration dough (36%)…can you tell me the differences you...

I’ve always thought active dry yeast was supposed to be rehydrated before adding to dough mixture. It seems to me the process you are using would call for instant yeast which can be added right to the flour because it rehydrates so easily…that would be the first change I would make. John

Looking at what you already offer…how about a rigatoni dish with a tomato cream sauce. We use 2 parts marinara to one part white sauce…I think the sauce is fabulous because the white sauce cuts the natural acidity of a straight marinara. We sell lots and lots of em!! John

A very easy way to make breakfast pizza with little work it to mix up your eggs with a fork, mix with shredded cheeses, and small bits of whatever you would put in an omelet. Put this goopy mixture on your skin and bake as normal…very thoroughly. This is very delicious and easy John

This used to happen to us a few times a year, except the pinkness started at the outer crust and went all the way through…no matter how long you cooked them. After much investigation, even going so far as to Washington State University, the answer we got was it might have been the sulfite levels...

We switched to the tomatoes that come on the vines (ok d by FDA), but got a call today warning that the price of tomatoes would quadruple tomorrow… John

The reality of the situation is: if you are running a restaurant…that is most of your sales come from dining in…you make less profit on a to go order than a dine in because of the cost of packaging (unless you charge for the additional costs). To try to allocate the costs of sitting in your...

In my restaurant, approximately 15 percent of my orders are take out. This is an added service. It costs approximately .65 per 16 inch pizza for the box…this is a truly variable expense, no different than if a customer chooses to add extra cheese. So, who should pay or subsidize this extra...

Tom, Back in 2003, I attended your excellent pizza production seminar at AIB. You taught us to undermix our dough, and to let time and the chemical processes further develop the dough. In fact, to prove your point, I watched you and 3 guys take a dough ball, (which was mixed the day before and...

First you have to decide what business you are in, who your customers are and why they will buy your product. Then you have to decide what product you are going to sell…and just exactly what this product will cost you to produce. Then you have decide what kind of price you will need to charge to...

Hi Otis I was reading in one of Peter Reinhart’s books, that a 17 degree variance in temperature, doubles or halves the proofing time of bread respectively. Don’t know if you need the info, but it’s kinda interesting. John

Otis Your reply on the website is spot on. I like your idea about informing your guests about toppings…It’s this kind of information, and policy making which defines who you are, and what makes you different…you certainly don’t want to sell another commodity. Keep plugging away Otis!! John

Tuesday night I was trying to cook a thin crust pizza loaded with eight toppings and realized that even with 30 years experience this product was going to be mediocre at best…and the customer was willing to pay $28 for it. And it just broke my heart…to think this customer wasn’t giving me a...

Our third biggest seller has smoked polish sausage, sauerkraut, onions, swiss cheese, mozzarella on a mustard sauce (mustard, mayo). I’ve substituted German Sausage from Genessee, linguica, even pepperoni, and its a hit. The mustard, sausage, kraut combo is just a perfect taste combination...

We run the Reuben as a special for the month of March. We make our own rye crust (with caraway), use a very light brushing of horseradish as the sauce, add very light mozzarella, corned beef, sauerkraut (which has been tossed with thousand island, and top with swiss cheese. It is always a huge...

Here’s a good link on portion control for cheese: http://www.bigdaveostrander.com/articles/cheese.htm You’ll have to determine if its worth your time…but, 100 pizzas per hour times 2 oz(this is how much we were off!!) divided by 16 ounces, times $2.50 per pound (just averaging for those who use...