This tip will make your delivery pizza even better!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve ordered more pizza to my home than in the entire year before that, because I’m happy to support the local pizzaioli and I want them all to survive post-corona. And you know what an incredibly good tip is for giving that pizza, which is neatly delivered to your doorstep in these times, a boost? The kiss of life for your delivery/takeaway pizza, so to speak? I’m going to tell you.

A little pain is good

I absolutely love being set on fire when eating a pizza. Because a pizza needs to have heat, both in terms of temperature and peppery spiciness, and wherever I am, if it’s on the menu, I’ll order a pizza with ‘nduja and/or pepperoni. At Klaproos, the Lucifera; at Il Pecorino, the ’Nduja Calabrese; and then I’ll add some chili oil as well. But that indispensable heat of a pizza that comes straight from the oven to your table—that steaming, glowing, melted cheese—is of course missing once the pizza arrives at your home, no matter how quickly that happens.

Okay, fine

And although Italians don’t like seeing you mess with their dishes, I know from a reliable source that some pizza restaurants are now takeaway joints against their will, while worrying that quality can’t be guaranteed if ten or more minutes pass between making and eating the pizza. (Reassurance: those pizzas are still absolutely delicious at home.) So what do you do to get a takeaway/delivery pizza (as close as possible) back to restaurant level? This:

Two Margheritas, a Napoletana and a Pepperoni, please (or maybe a Hawaii?)

You place your order. AS SOON as the order leaves the restaurant and you lock your phone or close your laptop, turn the oven up as high as it will go, with a baking sheet inside. Preferably a completely flat one without raised edges, like a cookie sheet.

But really, really hot

Simply set it to the absolute highest temperature. Don’t be pathetic with 150° C or something—really crank it up. My oven goes up to 250° C, so that’s what we’ll use.

Ding-dong

Your pizza is here! You only have room in the oven for two, and the Margheritas were for the kids anyway, so you put them (the kids) somewhere straight away, happily enjoying themselves together. Place the remaining one or two pizza boxes on the counter next to the oven.

Put on your oven mitts

With your hands protected, take the now-glowing-hot baking sheet out of the oven and place it on the stove. Open the pizza box, lower the edge, and slide the pizza straight onto the sheet. Put the sheet back in the oven. It’s better not to try sliding the pizza directly into the oven, because removing baked-on cheese and tomato sauce from oven doors is a terrible chore—believe me, I speak from experience.

Netflix, wine, pizza, done

This heat boost only needs to take five minutes max, provided you had the oven nice and hot. In those five minutes, you can pour yourself a glass of wine or whatever you enjoy, turn on the TV, and soon you’ll be taking a genuinely well-revived pizza out of the oven. Hospitality industry happy, pizza happy, you happy.

The morning after

And if you (huh, really?) don’t manage to finish your pizza, I also have a reheating tip for the next day. Normally, pizza reheated in the microwave turns soggy (bleh), but if you put a glass of water in the microwave along with your leftover slice of pizza, this problem is solved.

Also read:

• Hey pizza lover, do you know about pinsa?
• Kiwi pizza exists—for those who don’t go far enough with Hawaii
• Pasta diva Sophia Loren’s recipe: fried pizza