Working with yeast dough can be a little intimidating. You have seen a pizza chef stretching out pizza dough and throwing it around as if it is no big deal, but you may have thought, "I could never do that!" Well, I am here to tell you that you can make a great pizza. It is not difficult and my Passionate About Pizza Cookbook describes just how to do it.
The book describes:
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Mixing & Kneading Dough
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Letting Dough Rise & Making a Dough Ball
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Stretching, Rolling, and Pressing Pizza into Shape
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Assembling Pizza & Pizza Peel Technique
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Baking, Serving, Storing, & Reheating Pizza
Pizza on the High Seas
My father has been one of my pizza-making students for many years. He is on a cruise and sent me this note. That’s the way to spread your passion for pizza, Dad!
Hi PizzaMan,
You can add a great footnote to your pizza fame; pizza from your book prepared aboard the Holland America ship ms Prinsendam on location at 62 deg. 36.09 min. South Lattitude and 95 deg. 44.84 min. West Longitude off Livingston Island, Antarctica. Our party of six enjoyed it immensely as we looked out at the frozen landscape of this amazing place. It was special in several ways, including the food.
The “pizza chef” did a pretty good job of making the peppers and feta recipe which I had jotted down on a note card. He didn’t have the garlic in the right form, but what he had came through in the taste.
The whole idea came from a table discussion after the couple from South Africa introduced me to smoked eel. Very mild taste and quite nice. We then decided that we each would introduce something from our home countries. The pizza was my contribution.
These two couples are the ones that we gave your books too. They all profess to try making some of the recipes when they get home.
Here is a picture from the ship on the day this pizza was made:
Announcement from Charlie Augello, owner of the 48th Street Market in Dunwoody, Georgia:
Dear Valued Customer,
Who makes the best Pizza is like trying to compare who makes the best Sauce or Meatballs. It’s a personal thing. As we have seen here at the Market, over the years many adults and children have become very proficient at making their own pizza at home using the E. 48th Street Market’s “Pizza Kit” (fresh dough, sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni).
It is worth the effort and once you get the technique down your pizza will be the “best baked” whether in the oven, on the grill or on your. Green Egg.
One of our very own customers, Curtis Ide, is “passionate about pizza” and has written a book all about making pizza from the very basics to the advanced, called appropriately enough “Passionate About Pizza”. The book is now available here at the Market. Curtis for years has purchased his special Caputo Italian flour, canned tomatoes, cheese and fresh dough at our Market. The book will be of interest to the novice as well as the pro since it contains many photos and has easy to read instructions describing the many variations in the preparing the toppings, pizza dough and the baking of pizza.
Curtis will be here at the Market on Saturday May 2, 2009 from 11AM to 3 PM to sign and personalize his book for you and discuss pizza making techniques.
Plan on coming by and take time to enjoy lunch al Fresco (in the patio).
Ciao,
Charlie
E. 48th Street Market
PizzaMan had a really nice turnout for the book signing at the East 48th Street Market in Dunwoody, Georgia.
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The market sells a wide range of Italian specialty products. They also make fresh pastries, breads, Italian foods, and deli items. It’s wonderful so stop by!
Here is an exchange PizzaMan had with a friend:
Scott
January 26 at 12:29pm
when you have time. I’ve been working on my pizza for a while now but its still lacking.
Scott
January 26 at 4:34pm
Hi, Scott!
What about your pizza needs improvement?
May your dough rise,
PizzaMan
The goal is to mix the right amount of the proper ingredients together to create uniform dough. Good dough has all the ingredients evenly distributed throughout the dough. There are two basic methods – the dry mix and wet mix methods. Both work well, so use the method that suits your fancy. I generally use the wet mix method because it gives me a chance to see that the yeast is active.
Here is another consultation between PizzaMan and a friend:
From: ADAM
Date: Sat, 2 May 2009
To: PizzaMan
Hey a quick question on my "P.A.P.B."….My biggest problem is being consistent about my dough. It’s a little tough on the bottom. Not as soft as I like. Maybe too tough on the bottom. Did I knead it too long? Not let it rest enough? Too much flour? Stone too low/high in the oven?
Hope all’s well.
Adam
From: PizzaMan
To: ADAM
Date: Saturday, May 2, 2009
Do you mean too crunchy? Too thick? Too dense?
PizzaMan
Passionate About Pizza Cookbook Earns Top Honors
Pizzameister has run an award-winning pizza web site for almost ten years. He has reviewed 100 (yes that number is correct!) pizza cookbooks. In his own words, he’s never met a pizza cookbook he didn’t buy. Pizzameister recently reviewed Passionate About Pizza: Making Great Homemade Pizza which was given five stars and is NUMBER ONE ON THE LIST out of 100 pizza cookbooks! You can find the list and a link to Pizzameister’s review at:
Pizzameister Pizza Cookbook Reviews