The Pizza Bible

July 21, 2014
With résumé credentials such as Guinness Book of World Records holder for creating the largest pizza, and president of something called the World Pizza Champions, it would be easy to not take Gemignani seriously. But given the content of this collection of more than 100 recipes, this would be a mistake. He approaches the craft of making pizza dough with the same intelligence and expertise as that of a pro brew master concocting an artisanal ale. In the opening section, he teaches a master class of crust, exploring everything from the proper flour and yeast and kneading and fermenting to the correct technique for moving a pie from countertop to oven. He makes no apologies for the precision found in weighing ingredients using metric measurements, though he is perhaps owed one from the designer who decided to list recipe ingredients in narrow, left-hand margins that sometimes, confusingly, run on for more than one page. Pizza styles from across the country and around the world are touched upon, so there is plenty to love and to hate. Beyond the classic opposites, New York thin crust and Chicago deep dish, there are sweet California options like a multigrain white pie drizzled with honey, and a Monterey Jack pizza topped with figs and roasted almonds. The sauce for a Barcelona pie contains Spanish saffron threads, and his Sardinian recipe calls for a regional pecorino cheese.

October 1, 2014
Serious pizza is featured here, but home chefs don't have to measure up to award-winning restaurateur Gemignani's exacting standards to bake, grill, fry, or just plain enjoy the dozens of pizza varieties offered. This bible represents an incredibly thorough class on the subject; the authors believe in everything from scratch, all the way to fennel-sausage and tomato toppings. Expect lots of photographic step-by-steps; in the first master-class sections and subsequent sections, the authors demonstrate, in pictures, how to knead dough or make pizza Romana. Recipes follow, primarily separated by geography, including New York, Chicago, Sicilian, California-style, Napoletana, regional Italian, and global. Among the more unusual offerings are Italian Stallion, a horseradish and Italian beef white pie; Cali-Italia, featuring a combination of ingredients possible mainly on the West Coast; and the Dubliner, topped by the eponymous Irish cheese and brined beef brisket. Sidebars and tips abound; one sure to delight any foodie is the Ten Commandments of Pizza, including Thou shalt not rush the rise and Though shalt not overtop thy pizza. A thorough education on this beloved dish.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)