The ultimate way to reheat pizza? We got tips from LA’s top pizza makers

As a food writer, I eat a lot of pizza. Like, a lot. And now that L.A. is having a pizza renaissance, with all sorts of creativity and styles, there’s even more to try. (As I have argued,  L.A. is currently producing the best pizza in the world.)

But while my love for pizza knows no bounds, my stomach has other ideas. I’m only good for about a slice or two these days if I want to avoid a blown-out palate or extreme sluggishness.

Which means I end up with a ton of leftover pizza in my fridge and, in some cases, my freezer. So I’ve become endlessly fascinated by the debate over the best way to reheat pizza.

In 2016, I took a spiritual pilgrimage to Roberta’s pizzeria in New York, known for pioneering “New American meets wood-fired Neapolitan” style pizza with a strong emphasis on high-quality ingredients (a template from which many in L.A. have drawn).

Inside the restaurant I saw an illustration tacked to a wall that looked like something out of a zine or an indie comic book. To my surprise, it was neither; instead, it was a guide to reheating pizza.

When I tried it at home, it turned out to be a game-changer. Place the pizza inside a cast-iron pan at medium-low heat for 2 minutes until the bottom of your slice gets crispy. Then sprinkle a couple of drops of water inside the pan and quickly cover it for one minute before taking the slice out.

A cold slice of pizza placed into of warmed up cast iron pan to begin crisping the bottom.

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Gab Chabrán

/

LAist

)

The result is perfectly cooked pizza, melty on top, crispy on the bottom, reborn as the day it was served to you. This genius technique is now permanently etched into the walls of my cerebral cortex and I regularly feed my entire family using it.

The heated debate about reheating

I figured that was it: reheating nirvana. But when I talked to an esteemed pizza maker in L.A. for another story I'm working on — and mentioned my (Roberta's) technique — I got some unexpected pushback. Skillet? No, you should use an oven.

Talking to other pizza makers, I realized there's a whole lotta disagreement about reheating methods.

Stove, oven, air fryer — each of these pizzaiolos was wedded to their own method. (Some talked smack about the other techniques, but we won't reveal who in the name of keeping peace in pizza world).

There was one moment of unity: Do Not Use A Microwave. Although one chef allowed:  "It's still gonna be tasty. It's just not gonna be crispy.”

So whose is the best? Well, I thought I'd collect their answers, share them with you, my pizza-loving audience, and let you decide. Here you go:

Ryan Ososky (D-Town Pizzeria in West Hollywood)

Oven
“ First and foremost, it depends on the style you're trying to reheat.  We have it printed on our boxes. Thinner pies like Detroit style will take less time than thicker pies like NYC or Neapolitan pies.

D-Town in West Hollywood prints instructions on their boxes on how to reheat their pizza for the proper time and temperature.

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Courtesy of D-Town Pizzeria

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"If something comes from the fridge,  I prefer a wire rack on a tray [in the oven]. It'll circulate the air underneath and potentially catch any cheese that may drip. So having foil underneath the wire rack is good. Try 375 for six to eight minutes.

"If you're using a toaster oven, go even lower (with the heat). It will be maybe closer to 15 minutes if you're in a smaller oven.”

Brandon Conway (Wallflour Pizza in Eagle Rock, formerly Quarantine Pizza)

Skillet
 ”I would say the method that I've found to be the best, quality-wise, is to start by placing your slice of pizza in a cold pan (any kind of frying or sauté pan).

A couple drops of water added to a cast iron pan creates steam that will help melt the cheese.

(

Gab Chabrán

/

LAist

)

Pizza, like the day it was born

(

Gab Chabrán

/

LAist

)

" Just turn the heat on medium-low, then put a lid on it, and let it steam. You'll get the bottom crispy. Then, if you need to, splash a little water in there and get some steam to melt the top.

" Then, if you want to go crazy, a buddy of mine, Alex Fink, has a wild method called French Toast Pizza.  He'll just scramble some eggs and dip the pizza in there. Then you cook it, popping it side down first until it cooks, and flip it, and then it's like French toast or breakfast pizza, in a sense. That one's pretty wild.”

Daniel Holzman (Danny Boy's Famous Original Pizza, DTLA and Westwood)

Oven
“You want to put it on a hot surface, mimicking a pizza stone, so use a baking sheet or an upside-down frying pan. Preheat the pan in the oven — it takes 15 minutes at 450°F to preheat. By the time your oven is up to temperature, so is your metal surface, and you put the slice right on top of that.”

Chris Wallace (Ozzy's Apizza, North Hollywood)

Air fryer or skillet
“The best way would be to use an air fryer. If you have one, set it to 350°F and throw it in for three minutes. It crisps up the bottom, makes it nice and chewy and doesn't dry it as much as the regular oven. So I like that method.

"And then if you don't have an air fryer, 'cause not everyone does, there’s the old school method of using a frying pan with a little ice cube. It always works well. The key is to preheat the frying pan for as long as possible. Then, throw it on the crust side for about five minutes. When you see the cheese melt, get an ice cube and throw a little cover over it to steam it. And then there you go. Perfect.”

Michael McSharry (Grá in Echo Park)

Oven
“ Crank the oven to the highest temperature for 10 minutes. If you have a pizza stone, use it. After 10 minutes, drop your cold pizza into the blazing oven. I would recommend a minute and a half because you want to heat it through and not burn the cheese.  You want to give it a quick blast of heat from top to bottom, and then it pops out perfect.”

Alex Koons (Hot Tongue Pizza, Silver Lake)

Skillet
“I have to go with a cast-iron pan or a skillet. This was a mind-blowing revelation, brought to my attention by the man, the myth, the legend, Scott Wiener of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York. But the skillet is the only way to go.

 "It's like that or a non-stick pan, and you put the slice right on the pan, turn it to low to medium heat, and let that thing start warming up. It takes two minutes. You don't wanna go too high on the heat 'cause you can burn the bottom of the pizza, [but] warm enough to where the side edges of the cheese should start moving and bubbling. At that point, you want to get your hands wet with some water and add a few drops to the pan, just enough to get the side of the pan moist.

"You then cover your pan for the next two minutes to steam it, allowing the top of the pizza to become nice and loose and start bubbling. You can take it off after four or five minutes and remove the lid, and you should end up with a pizza that is the same, if not better, as it was before."