"Papa John's": spring, pizza, love. How I worked at Papa John's Pizza! Dough recipe like papa johns

We already decided that we would do pizza delivery, I decided to get a job as a pizza maker in some pizzeria. I did not want to settle down in Smolensk, because it seemed to me that I could learn little from our restaurateurs. I was interested in the technology of cool pizza chains, honed over years of a long history. And I decided to get a job at the American pizzeria Papa Johns (more than 3,000 pizzerias around the world).
I took a leave of absence from my main job (Smolensk Hosiery Factory) and went to Moscow. They took me to work the next day, after sending me to go through the honey. survey. Although the results of honey. examinations were given to me only after 5 days, they took me to work without waiting for them

Grab your apron and let's go!

Coming to the kitchen for the first time in my life, I expected that they would tell me about each appliance, accessory - in general, they would arrange a tour first.
But the tour did not take place. I started working after 2 minutes
All work in fast food chains is based on the fact that any new employee starts working in five minutes and becomes a professional in a week.
I didn’t have time to change clothes, take a greasy cap and a dirty apron (unfortunately they weren’t washed often), as it was necessary to fulfill the first order for pizza and they put me at the makeline (a table for stuffing pizza, and if it’s right, then a table for topping)

On the cover of the makeline (seen in the photo) there is a detailed and very convenient instruction for preparing each pizza. At first, the truth melted the brains, because you need to topping the pizza very quickly and at the same time not mix up the recipe. The first time I ruined two pizzas. To the credit of the shift manager Andrei, both of them were thrown out, although outwardly they did not differ much from the original (I just didn’t report one ingredient out of 7-8).
On the first working day, and I worked only 8 hours (everyone else worked 12-13 hours), I started about 70-90 pizzas. What can I say, I sat down only once and then for lunch. Well, I went to the toilet a couple of times. By the way, here is my photo in the mirror, in the form of Papa Johns:

Complete sanitation

Papa John's, like all self-respecting catering establishments, has quality standards prescribed to every detail, right down to what jewelry you can wear in the kitchen and in what order you need to wash your hands.
In general, I got the impression that in the pizzeria where I worked, these standards were observed by 85-90%.
The most difficult thing that is given to the staff is the observance of the rules for washing hands. For example, hands had to be washed after handling shrimp, jalapeno peppers, and after any contact with any non-kitchen items: cell phone, door handle, face, trash can, etc. Since I wash my hands "10 times a day", I had no problems with washing, unlike other pizza makers. Although in general, all hands were clean.
After each shift and between orders, we mopped the floor and wiped the work surfaces or cut pizza toppings. In general, no one was allowed to sit, both literally (the manager has one chair for the whole pizzeria) and figuratively.
Many, including myself, have a phobia that products can be picked up from the floor and put on clean products, this was not the case in this pizzeria. All products that fell on the floor or even on a baking sheet on the makeline were thrown away.

On the third day, I was entrusted with rolling out the crust (pizza dough). Since I wanted to try as many operations as possible in the pizzeria, I was entrusted with rolling out the crust much earlier than beginners are allowed to do before. You know, I liked it! Although if you work like this all day long, your hands become wooden:

Since I could not do it quickly, and the orders were growing, I was again put on topping

I photographed all the instructions and recipes, standards and rules and decided to end my practice on this. But in parting, I decided to cook pizza completely on my own and asked me to capture my partner from China Suzanne during this lesson:

One of the main components of pizza is the dough. We will be specializing in "American style" pizza, which is made with fluffy crust (although thin crust pizza will also be on our menu). It is the “American” pizza that is most suitable for delivery, as the lush dough retains freshness and taste for a long time. Thin crust pizza cools and hardens quickly, so this product is more suitable for a stationary restaurant.

From my point of view, there are two big misconceptions about pizza.

Misconception #1: real Italian pizza is made only on a thin, yeast-free dough. This is wrong. In Italy, there are a lot of varieties of pizza, including lush dough (for example, Sicilian pizza). In general, the concept of “real pizza” does not exist. Pizza today is an international product. American pizza appeared thanks to Italian immigrants. But even in the USA there are a large number of varieties of pizza - New York, Chicago, California ... Pizza takes root very well in various countries, and each culture adapts this product for itself. For example, there are unique types of pizza - Australian, Indian, Japanese, Brazilian ... Pizzas differ not only by country. Each network tries to create its own unique dough recipe.

Misconception #2: pizza on a lush dough is a “homemade pie”, and on a thin dough - a work of art. In fact good fluffy dough is much more difficult to make than thin dough.

Since August 2010 I have been doing market research - tasting, studying and photographing pizzas. I wanted to find the most delicious dough. I tried the products of all pizzerias in Syktyvkar, the transnational chains Pizza Hut, Domino's, Sbarro, Papa Johns, Moscow's Pizza Factory, Allo-Pizza, the delivery leader in St. Petersburg - "Two coasts", other St. Petersburg networks.

In the end, I settled on Papa John's. Their pizza base was my favorite. This is a lush dough, but not a “pie” at all. Moderately rich, with a crispy crust, and at the same time not so thick. When you eat pizza, there is no feeling that there is too much dough. The “lush” pizzas that are prepared in Syktyvkar are not at all like the product of Papa Johns.

But how do you make pizza like Papa Johns? The Papa Johns dough recipe is a big trade secret. The dough at Papa Johns is prepared in special closed quality control centers and from there it is transported to restaurants. The procedure for preparing the dough itself is a rather complicated process. The result is influenced by many factors - ingredients (there can be a lot of them - salt, sugar, soybean oil, olive oil, egg, or maybe very little), proportions, water temperature, air humidity, type of flour and yeast ... Dough is the most important component product success. How to get closer to the quality of Papa Johns?

To be continued…

Bonus. Guess where's pizza? In the photos of pizza from Pizza Hut, Sbarro, Domino's and Papa Johns. All of these are world leaders in the production of pizza. Photos taken on the phone in the process of research :)

P.S. Which pizza do you like better - thin crust or thick crust? Where did you eat the most delicious pizza?

Pizza №1

Pizza №2

Disputes about food are perhaps the most hopeless in our team. The men have already agreed who is the best in hockey and football, the girls have already chosen the tennis player hero and the cutest hero of the next series, but it’s getting harder and harder to name the institution that will bring us lunch today. But - a miracle! - there was a “magic word”, which was met with enthusiasm by everyone.
But let's start in order.
It happened in 1984, when the hero of our lunch today sold his favorite "bee-striped car" - a 1971 Chevy Camaro Z28 - to buy his first pizza oven. Do you recognize? Yes, yes, this is the same Papa John Schnatter, whose pizza is now eaten with pleasure in 34 countries.
The words “Papa John's Pizza” spoken in the office sounded like an invitation to the holiday.
And the holiday took place!

Delivery

"Papa John's" began to please us immediately: the courier arrived 15 minutes earlier than promised. And he brought hot, fragrant, tempting pizzas, which we immediately began to share - it's impossible to resist!

"Super Dad"

"Super" is a great word that fits this pizza exactly. Signature tomato sauce, a classic combination of ham, champignons and olives, spicy pepperoni circles, crispy juicy slices of sweet green pepper... A little spicy - just right. Real jam!

meat pizza

The meat filling of this pizza caused controversy: is this tasty piece here ham or bacon? It is not for nothing that pizza is called "protein", it does not contain various vegetable additives - only meat and cheese. Food for real men - the guys said, but the girls resolutely took their share.
Let's give the floor to the tasters:
As always, Papa John's pleases with its big meat pizza. Yes, these 35 cm are certainly worth it. Ham, sausages, of course, pieces of beef - this is real food! It seems that the ingredients are prepared in advance - for example, the same pieces of beef are very pronounced in taste. Lots of cheese is great! And not so spicy at all, although there is pepperoni in the composition.

The inimitable "Chicken Ranch"

Everyone meticulously checked the presence of Chicken Ranch pizza in the order. “We’re definitely taking the Chicken Ranch? Don't forget Chicken Ranch, my favorite option," sounded from everywhere. When the pizza began to be divided, it became clear that there might not be enough for everyone. Not because pizza is smaller than others. It was just immediately obvious who would want supplements.
It would seem that difficult? Grilled chicken, bacon, garlic, mozzarella and tomatoes. But in combination with the branded Ranch sauce, the dish becomes inimitably appetizing!
We dug into cookbooks. As it turns out, Ranch sauce is made from buttermilk, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise or yogurt, and dried herbs (parsley, dill, and chives). Although who knows what subtleties distinguish the sauce used by Papa John's chefs. The pizza turns out to be moderately fatty, juicy and light - it just flies away unnoticed!
What makes Chicken Ranch pizza special is simply space ranch sauce. The combination of chicken and this sauce is just a delight, and it’s hard to compare pizza with something else, nothing at all stands next to it.

"Tanduri Chicken" - pizza with an Indian accent

What kind of pizza is eaten in India? Have you ever asked this question? Indian cuisine is known for its spiciness, mass of spices and combinations of flavors unusual for Europeans. And pizza, of course, the Indians would have turned out to be unlike anything else.
As it turned out, you don’t need to go to India to try Indian pizza. It is enough to order "Tanduri Chicken", and you will get a vivid impression of spicy and unusual Indian cuisine.
They tried to balance the fiery-spicy Tandoori sauce with a cooling mint Raita sauce. Let's be honest, it didn't work. “Fiery-sharp” is the same expression that was spinning on the tongue all the time while we were eating this pizza.
When the fire died down a little, some tried to express their feelings.
Extremely unusual tandoori pizza - a nuclear mixture of hot sauce and ... (drumroll) ... and mint! This combination not only does not allow you to instantly drown in spiciness, but also reveals the whole range of taste sensations (as you know, spicy dishes have a pronounced taste). The chicken on this pizza is amazing!
Everything and always delicious at Papa John's, but the favorite of today's table without question is Tandoori, as a lover of spicy I will say: for me, this pizza tucked even the legendary Chicken Ranch into my belt. Why? Because it is satisfying, good and perfectly spicy, pepper, however, is felt.

pepperoni

After Tandoori's attack on our taste buds, we carefully shared slices of the classic Pepperoni pizza. As it turned out, there was no need to worry, Pepperoni was not too spicy. Salami slices were thinly sliced, there was enough cheese - extremely simple and tasty pizza.
Tomatoes, cheese, pepperoni and sauce. Lots of sauce! I just want to dirty everything with them, including myself, the surrounding men, women, the elderly and children. The sparing sauce in this pizza perfectly decorates the interior and living creatures in the affected area of ​​5 (five) meters!
One of the employees was ready for such feats, who inadvertently tasted two slices of Pepperoni.
Curiously, there was also a small dispute with her. A girl who recently visited Italy claimed that there was no such pizza there. I had to dig up culinary sources again. And it turned out that in continental Europe this pizza is simply called "salame piccante", that is, pizza with spicy salami sausage. But in America, the name of hot capsicum somehow imperceptibly "creeped" from the designation of the salami variety to the pizza recipe.

Cheese sticks with ham and mushrooms

Papa John's even makes pizza sticks. Don't believe? Traditional pizza dough, inimitable creamy garlic sauce, ham, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven, cut into sticks - done!

"Chicken Poppers"

Crispy fried chicken pieces are a great light snack. They could order two sauces, and we thought for a long time which one we want to try: honey mustard, buffalo, garlic, or 1000 islands? We chose garlic and were very pleased.

Big chocolate pie

Maybe someone thinks that after the pizza holiday we gave up sweets? Not at all! A wonderful chocolate cake came in handy. The hard, crunchy dough concealed the hot chocolate—ideal for those with a sweet tooth.
The filling is very tasty, the dough is a little hard. While eating, you get your hands very dirty, but in general, this is covered by taste and pleasure.

Results

The pizza festival was a success:
The pizza was excellent, all right!
More and more I am convinced that "Papa John's" is a level. Any choice of pizza - no disappointments. Fresh food, great taste, fast delivery. Other pizzerias should strive for this kind of service.
Do you know what happened in 2009? John Schnatter bought his favorite car back. It cost a quarter of a million dollars, but its engine was "dispersed" to a racing one, so now it is the fastest pizza delivery car. And on the day of the reunion of the pizza magnate and his beloved "bumblebee", all Camaro owners received a free pizza at the pizzeria.