Pizza - Any Way You Slice It!

I was surprised to see all seven previous reviewers of this book gave it a five. I rarely if ever see that, however I understand why. In recent months my husband and I have decided to eat healthier, I joined Weight Watchers and he came along for the ride, even if not officially in the program. As such we gave up Pizza Hut and the other national chains in our area. They were a convenience, but not worth what they are doing to our bodies.I began making pizza on my own and while it was good, there was still something missing. I didn't have the technique quite perfected, it was good and healthier than the national chains, but still lacked something. Last night we made Follonco's Roasted Vegetable Pizza (pg 92) using the Roasted Vegetable recipe (pg 188), Neapolitan-Style Pizza dough (pg 36) and the Pizza Maker's Sauce (pg 67). By accident I combined both the classic Neapolitan pizza crust with the American style sauce and toppings. We loved it.The Neapolitan crust is very thin and crispy, which is my favorite, the sauce is extremely simple, yet very tasty, and the toppings will be made again in our house I am sure. One of the things I loved about this pizza was the last bite was just as crispy as the first. The crust did not get limp or soggy.Because the dough recipe made two pizzas, I froze the second. To do this, roll the dough out, place on a floured cookie sheet, wrap in plastic wrap and then in foil. It will keep upto a month like this. Do not thaw the dough, simply add the toppings and place directly on the stone still frozen. It is a great way to make your dough ahead of time and get fresh pizza on those nights you are in hurry.Each section of the book includes tips, fun facts and general interest items that will increase your knowledge of pizza and skill in making it.Because I previously was making pizza I had a stone available. It really is a must in order to get the crisp texture on the crust. If you think you will never be able to convince people to like this healthier version of pizza just try, you will be really surprised. Six months ago if you had asked my husband if he would ever eat anything but Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust pizza loaded with "cheese-food" and greasy meat he would have laughed at you. I have converted him and you will be surprised who you will convert next. This book is a great starting point. Once you have perfected each of the techniques the combinations of crust, sauce and toppings are endless. I strongly encourage you not to wait any longer to buy this book. Eating healthy no longer means forgoing one of America's favorite foods.

Anyone who is serious about making pizza will tell you that it's essential that you WEIGH water and flour with a digital scale to get reproducible results. Using "cup" measurements is wildly inconsistent, not to mention the fact that some of the prescribed dough recipes have a 1/2 cup range variation for the amount of flour to be used! This is simply a "recipe" for inconsistency and frustration.Here is the book's "basic" American dough recipe for a single 12-inch pizza converted to weight measurements:1 teaspoon active dry yeast(or 3/4 teaspoon instant dry yeast), 5.28 ounces water, 10 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Note that you can increase the water in this particular recipe up to 5.9 ounces without messing it up (assuming all purpose flour). If you weigh your ingredients you can experiment with different levels of hydration to see what you ultimately prefer.The same recipe expressed in "bakers percents" is 100% flour, 52.8% to 59% water, 1.32% active dry yeast (or 0.79% instant dry yeast) and 2.1% kosher salt.Unfortunately, the dough recipes in this book fall into the general category of "emergency dough", which means you use a lot of yeast and very warm water to get the crust to rise quickly (1.5 hours instead of the 18-24 hours used in a cold-rise). As with all fermented things (wine, beer, bread, etc.) you cannot substitute the effect that time has on flavor. To be fair, the book does mention rising dough in the refrigerator for 24 hours, but it does not mention that you should cut the amount of yeast by 50-75% when doing so or that you should use cold water when making the dough (70 degrees or colder).The Neapolitan-style pizza dough recipe is particularly misleading. Neapolitan pizza, by DEFINITION, is made in a wood-burning oven operating at 900 degrees F or more, baked within 90 seconds or less, and is made with "00" flour. Mixing all purpose flour with cake flour and throwing that into your home oven at 550 degrees for 10 minutes is not in the same universe. No, no, a thousand times NO!If you want to advance in the hobby of pizza making do yourself a favor and visit [...], learn about "bakers percents" and experiment with some of the Tom Lehmann recipes.If you really need to read a book on pizza making, "Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day" has recipes are expressed in weights and there is a lot of very useful information given regardless of the type of pizza you ultimately want to make.

I bought this book 'used' from a seller on Amazon. It arrived quickly and in near perfect condition. What a bargain! I love the Neapolitan dough recipe - it has improved my pizza-making no end on it's own. It tastes truly authentic and has the great flavour and texture I've been trying to achieve for months! The focaccia is great too. This book is full of interesting and helpful info on pizza-making and the recipes are so abundant and so yummy sounding (and so easy!) I can't wait to keep trying more! Definitely recommend.

The first thing I learned is that a pizza can also be simple. The Neapolitan dough recipe is excellent and executable, but the possibilities for topping it are endless both in the direction of complexity as well as simplicity. The entire spectrum is covered with professional insight, plenty of tips, interesting cultural and historical notes, and concision. A perfect treatise on the subject which makes a perfect cookbook as well. Mastery becomes possible to the point that innovation is acquired. Get it!

I've watched cooking shows and found random pizza dough recipes off of the internet. I just could not find the perfect actual Italian pizza dough that I experienced in Rome and Sardinia. I bought this book about two years ago, but after being so discouraged making the wrong type pizza dough, it took me that look to make it! Finally, I made it, and the Neopolitan pizza dough is PERFECT! I will now regularly make pizza thanks to this book! Thank you thank you thank you!

Not much new to add to what's already been said by other reviewers. This book is great and a surprisingly neat trick to making the dough the way pizza dough is meant to be! Now when I get time on weekends, I take out the book and try out a new recipe each time with my two sons. It's a lot of fun!!

love this book, my go-to book for an authentic pizza recipe... Top..!