Domino's Hand Tossed Cheese PizzaToday, we are reviewing Domino’s Hand-Tossed Cheese Pizza. This is the first of a six-part series called the Cheese Pizza Challenge. The concept is simple: I visit six chain pizza shops and review six similar cheese pies. The goal is to rank how the cheese pies stack up.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. was founded in 1960 by Tom Monaghan and his brother Jim. They bought into a small pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan, called DomiNick’s. Eventually, Tom bought out Jim and expanded the business to three stores, rebranding it as Domino’s. The three dots on the Domino’s logo represent those original three stores. Today, Domino’s operates over 15,000 franchises, with approximately 5,649 in the United States.

 

The Construction

The Cheese Pizza Challenge involves trying the signature options from various pizza chains.The hand-tossed crust is what Domino’s is known for. A large style 14-inch pie was selected. The standard baking option (as opposed to well done) was used. Domino’s has several sauce options, but the Robust Inspired Tomato is the default. No other toppings were used. This is a cheese pizza challenge.

  • Crust: Hand Tossed
  • Size: 14 inch
  • Cheese: Mozzarella w/ Provolone  (Normal Amount)
  • Sauce: Robust Inspired Tomato (Normal Amount)
  • Diameter: 13 1/2″ – 14″ (was not a perfect circle)
  • Weight: 2.05 lbs (including box)
  • Bake: Standard
  • Location Purchased: Stallings, NC
  • Price: $12.99
  • Pies Purchased: 1

The Experience

Crust

The Domino’s Hand-Tossed Crust is thinner than the Pan Pizza Crust but thicker than the Crunchy Thin Crust and New York-style options. Once the pizza comes out of the oven, Domino’s accents the crust at the edge with a garlic oil blend.

In terms of my crust, I like firmness on the bottom and crispness by the edges. This crust was a little more on the doughy side, and I prefer having some more crispness. I also like my crust a little thinner. The bottom wasn’t overly firm, but it wasn’t soggy or floppy either.

I also like a little more definition on the edge of the pie – meaning less sauce and cheese on the edge. This pie didn’t deliver that.

Finally, the garlic oil flavor enhancement worked quite well here. It was the best part of the crust.

Score: 1.0 out of 2.5 points

Sauce

The Robust-Inspired Tomato sauce lives up to its name. While the foundation of this sauce is the tomato flavor, there was also a nice mix of garlic and other spices. Domino’s describes this as zesty, and I would agree. It’s not overly spicy but has just enough flavor and spices to satisfy.

Score: 1.5 out of 2.5 points

Cheese

Domino’s has several cheese options that are used for many of their specialty pizzas. The standard cheese pizza uses part-skim mozzarella and provolone on the pizza. As for the ratios, this was not disclosed, but I’m confident the mozzarella is the main component. I prefer the “burnt bubble” effect for a good amount of the cheese, giving it a slight crisping layer on the surface. This pie had it for the majority of the pie.  As you can see toward the lower right and on the full pie shot above, a few spots didn’t have that. It was not a bad cheese, but I didn’t find it exceptional either.

Score: 1.25 out of 2.5 points

Intangibles

There are three intangibles I look for in a pie:

  • “Orange Glow”: This is created when the cheese melts into the sauce. It’s enhanced when the cheese is crisp. While I got the crispness, I didn’t get the “orange glow” much.
  • Well-defined Edge: This is when the crust is slightly thicker and doesn’t have sauce and cheese over it. This crust was not as well-defined as I had hoped.
  • Firm Bottom Crust:  The bottom pizza should not be floppy, nor should it taste doughy.  As mentioned above, this is not a floppy undercarriage but somewhat doughy.

On the positive side, the ingredients did mesh well, making for good flavor. I’ll also mention that the garlic oil on the crust is a nice option.

Score: 1.25 out of 2.5 points

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Coming in at 5.00 points, the Dominos Hand Tossed Cheese Pizza falls squarely in the middle of the rating spectrum and is an average pie. I worked with the parameters of the Cheese Pizza Challenge to try to keep a level of consistency, and that included minimizing the amount of customization. Dominos offers “well done” options and a thinner crust option for its New York-style pizza. Ultimately, I think those could bump up the score somewhat. Down the road, I probably will explore a Domino’s pizza assessment with those options as a one-off.

If you are looking for a basic hand-tossed cheese pie, there are probably better options. However, Domino’s has proven to be pretty reliable when it comes to delivery, so you may want to take advantage of the convenience.

Summary

Crust 1.00
Sauce 1.50
Cheese 1.25
Intangibles 1.25
Total 5.00

Score: 5.00 (out of 10 points)
Value: Average

Acknowledgment

Special thanks to Charlie Minato at Halfwheel who suggested including measurements and weight of the food products as well as including store location. This will be used going forward in our food product assessments.

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop