Pizza Underground serves up handmade pies with fresh ingredients, bold flavors, and a slice of hometown pride.
The key to making a great stone or brick oven pizza is the crust. At Pizza Underground, owner and cook Nick Kramer uses flour that is ground finer than most pizzerias. He also makes dough that contains more moisture, which allows the crust to have less gluten. Because the water allows the gluten to become more extensible, leading to a more open structure, the crust is softer. This also allows the crust to have that perfect, toasty crunch that customers love. Nick describes the dough as “being alive” because he includes just a little yeast that allows the dough to begin its fermentation process. Nick also avoids using flour conditioners or lard in his dough, ensuring that his pizzas are suitable for customers with gluten intolerances. The pizzas are cooked at 700 degrees for roughly three minutes, depending on the toppings.
Lava Bread
Simple, yet delicious. This Lava Bread appetizer is no plain Jane. Loaded with Bacio whole milk mozzarella, Belgioioso mozzarella, and asiago parmesan, it’s a blend of rich flavors that cheese lovers can’t resist. The Bacio whole milk mozzarella cheese is an Italian-inspired premium pizza cheese, crafted with a “kiss of buffalo milk,” that Nick orders in blocks and grates in house to avoid use of any bleached sawdust coating, derived of cellulose, found on most pre-grated cheeses.
Sriracha Honey Chicken
This pizza was Pizza Underground’s first monthly special, and it was such a hit with customers that Nick decided to keep it on the menu permanently. The best part of this pizza is the Sriracha honey sauce, which Nick makes in-house; it has just enough sweetness to complement the spice. One bite, and it’s easy to see why this customer favorite earned a permanent spot on the menu.
Veggie
Truly fantastic veggie pizzas are few and far between, but Pizza Underground’s veggie pizza is a perfect blend of fresh, high-quality ingredients. With a bed of rich marinara sauce topped with just the right amount of spinach, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, black olives, and tomatoes, it’s a flavorful choice even without the meat.
Pickle, Bacon, Ranch
Another big hit is the Pickle, Bacon, Ranch Pizza, which happened to be Pizza Underground’s second monthly special. The pizza starts with a base of two barbeque sauces mixed together and is then topped with a combination of mozzarella cheese and smoked cheddar cheese that Nick gets from Shirk’s Market. This gives the pizza a hint of smoky flavor that balances perfectly with the dill pickles, cooked bacon, and ranch dressing.
Margherita
Of course, Pizza Underground had to include a classic margherita pizza since Nick uses all Italian ingredients— except for the local water. Nick uses marinara sauce that he makes in-house and olive oil for the base and then tops the pizza with fresh basil and Bacio mozzarella cheese.