How to slice it

Plus:

• Brush up on your pizza terminology with this glossary.

Making pizza sounds simple: Pound some dough into a circle, add cheese and tomato sauce, bake in an oven. Presto! This formula may produce something that looks like pizza, but aficionados maintain a checklist of strict criteria to gauge the quality of pies and slices.

The crust: You can tell just by looking at some pies that the crust sucks—that it’s going to be gummy or overly chewy, or so unspectacular you’d rather just eat the center and leave the remains on the plate. The visual cues are pale whiteness, no char and loads of cheese in the pie’s center. Better pizzas have crisp and crunchy crusts—but also a hot softness on the inside. Ideally, some air pockets will have formed inside the edge, or else you’ll be chewing dense dough for minutes at a time. Some pizza makers add cornmeal to the bottom of the slice to add crunch—an acquired taste.

Tip: Hold a slice up with one hand. If it flops down completely, even if you try to fold it in half, the crust is not firm enough.

The oven: Pizzas need to get blisteringly hot (ovens built for this purpose hit between 550 and 850 degrees) if they’re going to have a good crunch and decent char. Pizza makers should know if there are any especially hot spots to avoid inconsistencies. Even among oven mavens, there’s some debate as to what fuel is best. Many classic joints feature coal-fired ovens (it’s now illegal to install a new one), which are said to produce a smoky, charcoal flavor. “Brick-ovens” may or may not be burning charcoal, so don’t assume brick equals brilliance. Some pie makers prefer wood-burning ovens. Others use gas.

Tip: You should probably avoid the first pizza of the day, some places don’t take the time to let their oven heat up enough before baking.

The sauce: The canned stuff can be great. Freshly made is terrific, but you don’t want a sauce containing out-of-season tomatoes. Some snobs will claim that not only should you use the real-deal fruit (or at least add cherry tomatoes), but you gotta use tomatoes grown in San Marzano, Italy. That’s ridiculous. And expensive. Great sauce has a little something extra—a little salt, some oregano—but not too much extra. And not all pizzas require red sauce; some use pesto, olive oil or minced garlic.

Tip: Better tomato sauces are bright red—not dull red or brown. And the sauce should be aromatic.

The cheese: The most expensive ingredient in a pizza is the cheese. Mozzarella trumps the competition (gourmet fans relish bufala mozzarella), but some places pride themselves on using provolone, Parmesan, romano, Asiago, fontina, Gorgonzola or ricotta. Others incorporate blends. No matter what adorns your pie, you want to see it used sparingly. Too many pie makers blanket their concoctions with cheese, resulting in everything sliding off the crust with the first bite.

Tip: Ask the man what kind of cheese he uses. If he doesn’t know, go somewhere else.

The toppings: Ideally, the ingredients are all fresh or homemade; some pie makers grow their own basil, rosemary and oregano. No canned mushrooms or frozen veggies. Too many toppings spoil the balance. One or two is fine, but three or more and you’re asking for trouble, the result is known in pizza parlance as a “garbage pie.”

Tip: Purists believe that you should order a plain slice (or pie) to gauge a pizza.