Pizzas today feature distinctive crusts and fillings and can be made as quickly as ever, but many consumers are also going back to basics with traditional, artisan-style pizzas.

“There’s more demand for long-fermented doughs for artisanal pizza with high-quality toppings and non-uniform shape,” observed Randy Kelly, Fritsch USA, a Multivac company.

More manufacturers are also producing Neapolitan-style pizza that is raw dough topped with sauce, baked, then topped with other toppings, said Tom Trost, sales manager, Quantum Technical services.

This growing artisan demand has led some pizzamakers to return to a traditional high-temperature bake, which can range from 800°F to 1,000℉. This is how pizzas were traditionally baked before lower-temperature, indirect-fire ovens became commonplace, said Ken Hagedorn, vice president, bakery sector, Handtmann.

“You get that black blistering on the crust, and we’re seeing a lot more people headed that direction, because those are considered the upper echelon of pizza crusts,” he said. “It’s basically going backwards to go forward.”