Question for Otis??

[Pakula_s_Pizza]

I read the TT alot and i notice that you are always trying new cheeses and flour, i dont know about sauces…do you test for yourself or do you serve these items…If you do does your incosistency affect your regulars at all?

 

[system]

most changes I make are are subtle to the customer, ie, flour protein level, hydration, salt, yeast, even hard for me to tell in the final product

I switched from a mediocre mozzarella to Grande and most did not notice…I even used the same 8 ounce portion of cheese on the 14" pizza…I could have cut back to 6.5 or 7 ounces w/o a change being noticed because a better cheese will spread more and be perceived as more…unknown to me, some may think I am adding more cheese now

as for the sauce, I change it less
for every #10 can of crushed tomatoes, usually Stanislaus 7/11 or Escalon 6N1(I prefer Escalon), I blend
19g salt
7g ground pepper
2g dried fine sweet basil
2g garlic powder…just started adding that recently
19g lemon juice…like for it to sit for a day, but sometimes use much quicker

that’s less than 2 ounces per can
I have done informal taste tests and the straight crushed tomatoes does as well as the seasoned…
I think seasoning added in the end are always better…although consistency control and time management usually win out there

I’m small so changes are not reflected on a large scale of people
Domino’s, on the other hand, is making changes all the time…when they make a major taste change that can be perceived by customers, they scale it in a little at a time so the change is not noticed by the majority…MacDonald’s and all those large companies do the same…eventhough the Dominio’s pizza is different from the one 10 years ago, most people did not notice the changes, and that’s what the company wanted: perceived consistency…I was trully amazed when I found out how many changes they are making…their R & D kitchen is there for a purpose !
I am a believer in pro active change,

hope that answers your question,
Otis

 

[Pakula_s_Pizza]

I can see where u are going with that. I was wondering because i do alot of r&d myself but im so hesitent to change something as simple as my tomato paste im worried people will stop coming because of our inconsistancy…
By the way i like your shop,looks like a low overhead.

PS for the time you were telling us you couldnt find a driver, You could have jnust made the pizza in their driveway, your store is on wheels!

 

[system]

Pakula's Pizza:

I can see where u are going with that. I was wondering because i do alot of r&d myself but im so hesitent to change something as simple as my tomato paste im worried people will stop coming because of our inconsistancy…
By the way i like your shop,looks like a low overhead.

PS for the time you were telling us you couldnt find a driver, You could have jnust made the pizza in their driveway, your store is on wheels!

that is a consideration, especially with larger volume
you could make the change like Dominos does, decide what change you want to make and make small adjustment to it over a period of 6 months so most folks would not notice…keeping the perception of consistency is a point

as for me, I’m a small shop, 50 pizza a day, and just here seasonally, so I feel I can be more liberal with changes, customers see it as something new…do have those that do not like change
Otis