Prue Leith's Favorite Pizza Was Made By None Other Than Paul Hollywood

Prue Leith is taking her brightly colored glasses and fine-tuned taste buds from the screen to the page in a new cookbook. Set to release on October 15, Leith's book, "Life's Too Short to Stuff a Mushroom," highlights simple recipes that yield stunning results.

While sharing her tips on how to prepare a perfect pizza, the "Great British Bake Off" (GBBO) judge recounted the moment when she had the best pizza she'd ever tasted, and it was served up by her GBBO counterpart, Paul Hollywood.

Paul "Pizzaiolo" Hollywood cranked out over 100 pizzas during the 2020 season of GBBO, which was produced under a strict quarantine due to the pandemic. "The best pizza I have ever eaten was made by Paul Hollywood when the 'Bake Off' team were all in a lockdown bubble in a hotel in Essex, so we could film during the Covid pandemic," Leith wrote in her book. She then explained that Hollywood had an oven delivered to the hotel garden and prepared individual pizzas for everyone in their quarantined bubble, from hotel staff to crew members to the show's personalities. (Who knew the hand- or head-shaking judge could be so philanthropic?)

Prue Leith noted that Paul Hollywood's oven reached 500 degrees Celsius, or 930 degrees Fahrenheit. Describing the crust as if she were judging a contestant, she said it was baked beautifully, with the pizza ingredients' aromas floating through the air as the isolated people gathered together. "Their edges were risen and slightly charred; the smell of garlic, fresh basil and baking bread was everywhere," she added. "Unforgettable."

Imparting her advice to replicate Hollywood's perfectly cooked pizza, she suggests preheating your oven to its highest temperature. "It won't be as hot as Paul's that day, so baking will take 10 minutes or more, but your pizza will still be delicious," she wrote. For those who want to invest in a portable pizza oven to reach temperatures like Paul's, ooni pizza ovens can heat up to 950 degrees Fahrenheit.

As for rolling out the dough and adding toppings, Leith advised that you roll the base thinly — this will allow the crust to rise properly — and to not throw on too many toppings, as the increased weight will prevent the dough from cooking. To maximize flavor and texture from the crust, a bit of charring is good, she noted.