HTM 352 Final

David Ruiz
Lab Day Wednesday 11:10-2:00 pm group 2
Professor Sybil Yang
Due: May 15, 2014

David Ruiz
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907150678
Wednesday lab group 2

For this final project, we were asked to create a more wholesome version of a processed
food and compare our version with the processed version. I decided to make a pepperoni pizza
because it is one of my favorite foods that I like to enjoy every other weekend as an earned meal.
I chose the digiorno rising crust pepperoni pizza as the processed food that I wanted to recreate
without many of their ingredients because it is one of the most recognized frozen pizza brands
out.
Exhibit 1
Finding a recipe for pepperoni pizza that I liked was not difficult to find since I enjoy
making my version of the pizza at least once a month. Mike Dolce is a man I respect when it
comes to nutrition and health because his methods of losing weight using real food works. He
is well respected in the mixed martial arts world at helping fighters lose weight to weigh in at the
proper fighting weight but he also helps out regular people lose weight as well. His pizza
ingredients include whole wheat or gluten free pizza crust, kale, chopped onion, diced tomatoes,
grapeseed oil, Italian seasoning and feta cheese. Since I was recreating a traditional pepperoni
pizza, I included pepperoni and mozzarella cheese in my version and eliminated the onion and
kale (Dolce). For the dough, I used the traditional lean dough recipe from miele lab that includes
warm water, instant yeast, salt, bread flour (Food Production & Service LAB). I modified the
flour to whole wheat flour and added grapeseed oil on the finished dough before baking for taste.
The digiorno pizza contained many more ingredients than what I used in my version of
pepperoni pizza. Their ingredients included enriched wheat flour, water, low-moisture
mozzarella, pepperoni dextrose, pork stock, lactic acid starter culture, oleoresin of paprika,
sodium nitrite, sodium ascorbate, paprika, BHA, BHT, citric acid, tomato paste, sugar, wheat
gluten,vegetable oil, white corn meal, seasoning blend, yeast, salt, yellow corn meal, baking
powder, datem, sodium stearoyl lactylate, spice and ascorbic acid.
Digiorno used several ingredients used for preserving the pizza longer and maintaining its
color. They used ingredients such as sodium nitrite to preserve and cure products and prevent any
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bacteria formation. They used sodium ascorbate, Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) and ascorbic
acid as food additives to keep red color of the meat and to prevent oxidation (Churchwell).
Datem and sodium stearoyl lactylate were used as emulsifiers to help the blending process of
water and oil for the dough (Wasserman). BHA is also an additive that was included in their
pizza to prevent rancidity of the oils but is also known to cause cancer and tumors as well as the
other additive they used called BHT (David Suzuki Foundation). Sodium nitrite in foods can
cause methemoglobinemia which is the inability of red blood cells to receive oxygen if too much
sodium nitrite is in the diet (Yoquinto). The main reason that the manufacturer decided to include
these additives and chemicals is to keep the shelf life of the pizza for as long as possible without
it spoiling. Frozen foods typically last for months and in the case of this pizza, it didnt expire
until July 31, 2014. The serving size for this pizza was six total with 12 g of fat, 4.5 being
saturated, 850 mg of sodium and carbohydrates at 40 g per slice. All of these numbers are high if
you compare them to the size of the pizza itself.
My pizza contained far less chemicals. I focused on trying to make a more wholesome
pizza that is to be eaten that day or a few days. My pizza did not contain anything to help it
remain frozen for months like the digiorno pizza. I used the Miele lab recipe for the traditional
lean dough that included water, yeast as leavening to help the dough rise, salt for flavor, whole
wheat flour and oil. I also used Mike Dolces pizza recipe that I enjoy making for the remainder
of my recipe. I used canned unsalted plum tomatoes that only contained basil for my sauce and
used Italian seasoning, pepper and salt for taste. I used low fat mozzarella cheese along with the
healthiest pepperoni I could find that contained pork, salt, oils, sodium nitrite, citric acid and
lactic acid for preservation. Since the pepperoni I used also contained sodium nitrite, it can also
cause methemoglobinemia. This is a reason I prefer cooked chicken I prepare myself over
pepperoni. Since I was in control of what went in the pizza, I can guarantee that my nutritional
facts for this pizza would be more than twice as less as the digiorno pizza besides the amount of
carbohydrates.
In comparing tastes, the digiorno pizza had more flavor to it. It was oilier and salty in
comparison to the pizza I made. It was also crunchy and flaky and the sauce was a lot sweeter
from the addition of dextrose and sugar. My pizza was chewy and a little tougher to cut. It wasnt
too salty or sweet because I was in control of how much salt I added to my sauce and there was
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no sugar added. I also wasnt able to get a perfect circle with my dough. I couldve included
tomato paste in my sauce to thicken it up because it was more watery than the digiorno version.
The cheese and pepperoni had similar tastes because they are both processed. Their sauce
seemed to burn at a higher temperature because it slightly burned my tongue while my sauce did
not.
The digiorno shell life will outlast my pizza whether its before cooking or after cooking
it because of the chemical additives in their pizza meant for preserving the pizza until July 31,
2014. If cooked and left out for a few days, I think the taste might change a bit due to the acids in
the pizza but I think the pizza would look almost the same as the same day I cooked it due to its
artificial preservatives. I think the pizza will be similar to McDonalds fries and hamburger and
look nearly the same as the first day just drier looking. My pizza would lose flavor and begin to
collect mold and bacteria because there arent any preservatives other than what was on the
pepperoni. The only preservative I would have access to would be my refrigerator.
It is less expensive to buy the digiorno pizza at $5 but it isnt as healthy. It has too many
preservatives that the body doesnt recognize too well such as BHA and BHT because they have
been created in a lab rather than being naturally occurring. It also contains 850 mg of sodium
per serving in which the box has six servings. The recommended daily allowance for sodium per
day is at 2,300 mg. If we ate the entire pizza, we would consume more than double the RDA
which is possible because the pizza is not very big and too much sodium can lead to
atheroschlerosis. If we buy the pizza ingredients in bulk, the cost would be close to the same as
the digiorno pizza but we would be able to make more than one pizza and therefore it would save
money and be healthier. We would have complete control of what goes in our pizza such as
sodium and we would also be able to alter the ingredients. I personally prefer a chicken topping
over pepperoni because it isnt processed and I do the cooking myself. If kneading the dough is
the worst part of making pizza, an already kneaded dough with no preservatives that is
refrigerated can be purchased to speed up the process and get the same results.

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Exhibit 2
Traditional Lean Dough (Food Production and Service Lab)
9 oz. Warm Water (100-110 F)
2 t instant yeast
2 t salt
12 oz. whole wheat flour
1 T Grapeseed oil
1.

Pour water and yeast into mixing bowl that is at least 10 in diameter once the yeast is

dissolved
2.

Add flour and salt into the mixing bowl and mix all at once

3.

Mix the shaggy mess until the dough holds together in a single smooth ball

4.

Once the dough can form a ball, place on a lightly floured counter top

5.

Continue kneading by hand until gluten forms

6.

While bowl is being kneaded, lightly oil a bowl in which you will bulk-proof the dough.

The bowl should be 3x the size of the dough

7.

Once the dough is kneaded, place the dough in the oiled bowl and place in a warm,moist

environment to proof. Proof until the dough is doubled in size.

8.

Once the dough is doubled in size, punch-down and turn the dough three times, then

allow the dough to rise until its double the size again.
9.

After the second proof, the dough is ready to shape

10.

Once shaped, allow the dough to rise again until 1.5 the size.

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Dolce Pepperoni Pizza (Dolce. Pg. 111 Living Lean Cookbook)

6 oz plum tomatoes
cup of low fat mozzarella cheese
Dash of Italian seasoning
2 t salt
11 pieces of pepperoni
Dash of pepper
1.

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. with convection

2.

Carefully wash tops of shaped dough with water and top as desired

3.

Place dough on a nonstick tray or use cooking spray to prevent the dough from sticking

4.

Blend the plum tomatoes in a blender and place on the dough. Spread the tomato sauce
with a spoon to evenly distribute the tomato sauce.

5.

Add the cheese evenly on top of the dough.

6.

Place the pepperoni on top evenly

7.

Top the pizza with all the spices.

8.

Place the pizza in the oven and bake for about 20 min. Bake until crust is deep golden
brown

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Exhibit 3

My cooked Pizza

Digiorno cooked pizza

My Prepared pizza
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Exhibit 4

Digiorno Pepperoni Pizza Ingredients

Nutritional Facts
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Digiorno Pizza Out Of The Box

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Resources
1. Dolce, Mike & Roon, Brandy. (2012). Living Lean Cookbook. Las Vegas, Nevada:
Conrad James Books.
2. DFM/CFS/HTM352 Food Production & Service LAB. (2014) Traditional Lean Dough.
San Francisco, Ca.
3. Wasserman, Robin. (2014). What is sodium stearoyl lactylate?
http://www.livestrong.com/article/124148-sodium-stearoyl-lactylate/.
4. Churchwell, Megan. (2013). What is Sodium Ascorbate?
http://www.livestrong.com/article/168202-what-is-sodium-ascorbate/
5. Palacios, Anthony Isaac. (2013). What is the RDA of sodium?
http://www.livestrong.com/article/482968-what-is-the-rda-of-sodium/
6. David Suzuki Foundation. (2014). BHA and BHT.
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/chemicals-in-your-cosmetics--bha-and-bhti/
7. Yoquinto, Luke. (2011). The truth about nitrite in lunch meat.
http://www.livescience.com/36057-truth-nitrites-lunch-meat-preservatives.html

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