Love pizza? Cook it well before dinner time,New York - Cooking whole wheat pizza crust at slightly higher temperatures, for just a bit longer, can substantially pump up its antioxidant content, according to new study results presented at the 233rd annual meeting of the American Chemical Society.

"This is something people can really do at home," Dr Liangli Lucy Yu of the University of Maryland in College Park told reporters. "You don't have to have extra cost, you don't have to have extra effort."

Because pizza crust is one of the most widely eaten whole wheat foods in the US, Yu and Jeffrey Moore, a doctoral student in food chemistry, investigated whether changes in dough fermentation and cooking times, as well as cooking temperatures, might also change its antioxidant content.

The researchers tested dough made from two different wheat varieties. Increasing cooking temperature from 400 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit increased antioxidant content by as much as 82 percent, while extending cooking times from seven to 14 minutes boosted antioxidant levels by up to 60 percent. When Lu and Moore allowed the dough to ferment longer, up to 48 hours, antioxidant content as much as doubled.

Higher temperatures and longer cooking and fermentation times increase wheat's antioxidant content because more nutrients are released from the wheat's bran coating, Yu noted in an interview. It's unlikely the same effect would be seen with non-whole wheat crusts, she added, given that refined flour doesn't contain wheat bran.

Students and faculty who tasted the pizza crust found it "highly acceptable", Yu said.

The study represents one of many "little things you can do at home to make your food better", she noted, such as storing vegetables properly.

For those trying this at home, she added, it's key to keep a careful eye on the oven so the crust won't burn.