# Do you doctor/augment/adulterate store-bought pizzas before you bake them at home? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2019, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047 "2019-10-20T19:01:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/1 "2019-10-20T19:01:58Z")
Or after, for that matter. Either frozen or fresh. I rarely buy grocery store pizzas, but when I do I always add more cheese, either parmesan or some grated cheese I have around. I always drizzle olive oil all over and rub some on the crusty edges. Might sprinkle on garlic powder or granulated garlic. Maybe add leftovers like canned chopped tomatoes, green peppers, or salami slices. Plenty of crushed red peppers after it’s done. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/2 "2019-10-20T19:04:37Z")
Always. Penzey’s Pasta Sprinkle, Aleppo pepper flakes, olive oil on the crust are the standard additions. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/3 "2019-10-20T19:08:06Z")
I will usually eat a pepperoni or 2 before cooking it, does that count ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/4 "2019-10-20T19:11:34Z")
Yup. I usually add some mozz, pepperoni, maybe some tomato and feta. Spices, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/5 "2019-10-20T20:17:38Z")
Yes. My finished pizzas are masterpieces. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/6 "2019-10-20T20:27:20Z")
I like bell peppers and onions on my pizza. When Papa Murphys has their Cowboy pizza (mostly meats) on sale, I’ll load it up with onions and green bell peppers, and sometimes more cheese. I’ve also been known to buy their pepperoni pizza when it’s on sale and dump an entire (drained) can of pineapple on top, with extra cheese. With store-bought frozen pizzas, anything is fair game. Those things are notoriously sparse on toppings. We have Penzey’s Pasta Sprinkle and ground aleppo pepper. I’ll have to investigate. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/7 "2019-10-20T20:32:19Z")
Not always, but usually. We’ll leave half of it bland, for the kiddos. On the other half, we’ll put some combination of: -Olives (for me only) -Pickled onions (we make 'em pretty often and usually have a jar of sliced pickled red onions in the fridge) -Walnuts -Parmesan -Dried oregano/thyme -Feta, if we have it ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/8 "2019-10-20T20:45:35Z")
Of course! I like a few slices of ham on my Tombstone. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/9 "2019-10-20T22:05:15Z")
cheese and italian seasoning. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/10 "2019-10-20T22:30:27Z")
Well…yeah! Isn’t a law, or a rule or something? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/11 "2019-10-20T23:03:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Always. Penzey’s Pasta Sprinkle, Aleppo pepper flakes, olive oil on the crust are the standard additions. I have jars of Penzey’s Pizza Seasoning and Penzey’s Frozen Pizza seasoning in the spice cabinet but honestly it doesn’t seem to make much difference. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/12 "2019-10-20T23:28:46Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I have jars of Penzey’s Pizza Seasoning and Penzey’s Frozen Pizza seasoning in the spice cabinet but honestly it doesn’t seem to make much difference. Yeah, with frozen pizza, I don’t want to add any more seasoning to begin with. Most pies are already seasoned much more than I season my own pies. The only exception is that with a frozen mushroom pizza, I may add a little bit of dried thyme to it. The only thing I adulterate frozen pizza with is pepper flakes or hot sauce these days. I used to add all sorts of additions, but it still tasted like frozen pizza to me, so why bother wasting my good ingredients and time on that? Don’t get me wrong – I try to always have at least one frozen pizza in the freezer, but it’s just pepper flakes or hot sauce that goes on it. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2019, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/13 "2019-10-21T00:02:29Z")
I don’t eat frozen pizza, but when I bring home a fresh pie from the best local pizzeria I generally sprinkle a little dried oregano, granulated garlic, and crushed red pepper on every slice. Not that I don’t trust them to make good pizza, but I enjoy the augmentation. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/14 "2019-10-21T00:37:16Z")
More cheese, more sausage. The wife loads her side up with all kinds of vegetables. By the time we’re done I’d swear it weighs four pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2019, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/15 "2019-10-21T00:47:05Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > More cheese, more sausage. The wife loads her side up with all kinds of vegetables. By the time we’re done I’d swear it weighs four pounds. My goodness. Why not just make a casserole? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2019, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/16 "2019-10-21T01:20:42Z")
I do it differently. I get either a plain cheese or a vegetable pizza. I knock off most of the cheese, because gobs of greasy mozzarella don’t do anything for me. I add more veggies, garlic, sundried tomatoes, and then dab on blue cheese or chevre. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2019, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/17 "2019-10-21T01:58:58Z")
If the crust is good, (rarely, but sometimes it is), I dip the ‘pizza bones’ in blue cheese salad dressing. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/18 "2019-10-21T02:02:08Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > More cheese, more sausage. The wife loads her side up with all kinds of vegetables. By the time we’re done I’d swear it weighs four pounds. Well, that’s why you’re Superma–uh, oh! ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/19 "2019-10-21T02:06:55Z")
Always onion powder, black pepper and red pepper flakes before cooking. And if I have it, a little mozzarella goes a long way on a frozen pizza. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2019, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047/20 "2019-10-21T02:19:14Z")
Usually just buy the frozen crust - gluten free - and top it. I will add more pepperoni to a pizza. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-doctor-augment-adulterate-store-bought-pizzas-before-you-bake-them-at-home/842047.md?page=2)