Pizza Quest Globe

Webisodes

Tony Makes a Traditional Italian Pizza

Written By Peter Reinhart
Thursday, 03 November 2011 Webisodes

Here’s another in the extremely informative sessions we had with Tony Gemignani at his landmark restaurant, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in North Beach, San Francisco. In this websode, Tony shows us the difference between what he calls a “traditional Italian pizza” and the Napoletana/Neapolitan pizzas he made in previous segments. I think we might also more accurately think of this as “traditional Italian-American” pizza. This style is baked in a gas…Read More…

Tony G. Makes us a Sicilian Pizza

Written By Peter Reinhart
Thursday, 27 October 2011 Webisodes

In this webisode, Tony Gemignani shows us his take on a classic Sicilian-style pizza, such as found at only a few places in New York City, Brooklyn, and other east coast cities, and now at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco. This type of pizza, in which he first bakes the crust to set it and then tops it with sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and sausage for a final bake, is…Read More…

Flying Pizza with Tony Gemignani

Written By Peter Reinhart
Thursday, 13 October 2011 Webisodes

You’re going to love this one! Tony schools me on the art of dough tossing, both for function and for acrobatics. As those who have made my recipes know, my doughs tend to be too wet and fragile for tossing so I always use flour on the back of my hands, with my thumbs on the edges, to rotate it around. Tony’s dough, which is firmer and not sticky, was…Read More…

Tony’s Ovens

Written By Peter Reinhart
Thursday, 29 September 2011 Webisodes

Okay, this is the webisode many of you have been waiting for, where Tony Gemignani shows us all four of his ovens and also, as a bonus, explains the difference between the various types of Double Zero flour — it’s a whirlwind of information and I think you will want to watch it more than once and take notes. One of the joys we’ve had in traveling and meeting all…Read More…

A Championship Margherita by Tony Gemignani, part 2

Written By Peter Reinhart
Wednesday, 14 September 2011 Webisodes

I was mistaken last week when I said the Margherita that Tony made was his World Championship version. Actually, this week is the version that won it all. As it turns out, last week’s pizza was made with Caputo flour and this week’s is made with San Felice flour. When Tony won the World Championship in Naples, which he’ll talk about a little in this week’s segment, he used the…Read More…

Tony Gemignani Makes His Championship Pizza

Written By Peter Reinhart
Thursday, 08 September 2011 Webisodes

In this webisode, Tony teaches me (and you) how he makes the Margherita pizza that won him the world championship. You’ll notice a few great tips, things that aren’t commonly known even by professional pizza makers, such as: the traditional Napoletana way to load the pizza onto the peel; shaping the dough on the marble slab as opposed to lifting or spinning it; when to put the basil on; and…Read More…

Tony Gemignani, Webisode One

Written By Peter Reinhart
Wednesday, 31 August 2011 Webisodes

I love North Beach, the legendary Little Italy of San Francisco, where the beatniks ruled during my youth, Carol Doda launched a whole new kind of soul baring, and some of the best Italian restaurants and espresso cafes have ruled for decades (and now lots of great Chinese and pretty much something from every ethnicity). It was especially fun to return just after local boy, Tony Gemignani, opened Tony’s Pizza…Read More…

The Taco Temple Carrot Cake Wedge

Written By Peter Reinhart
Wednesday, 17 August 2011 Webisodes

You are about to see a big ol’ wedge of moist carroty goodness, the carrot cake from Morro Bay’s Taco Temple, made by their pastry queen, Donelle Pollard. This is a short little dessert of a video, a fun, happy transition piece between our visit to California’s Central Coast and our upcoming series in San Francisco with Tony Gemignani (which begins on September 1st). As I say on the video,…Read More…

Cass House Inn, Finale

Written By Peter Reinhart
Thursday, 11 August 2011 Webisodes

So, how did we end up at The Cass House Inn? After all, it’s not a pizzeria, it’s far from big population centers, and we’re ending this series not with a pizza but with a fancy lamb dish and a plush wine. To answer this question let me reiterate what Pizza Quest is beyond the search for the perfect pizza: a celebration of artisans and artisanship (or, as noted in…Read More…

The Brown Butter Cookie Company, Cayucos, CA

Written By Peter Reinhart
Thursday, 04 August 2011 Webisodes

Traci Nixon and Christa Hozie had an idea and they went for it. Somehow, they have managed to make a style of cookies so tasty that, even hidden away in the small town of Cayucos, people from all over the country have found them. They told me that a lot of their business is by mail order, so feel free to check out their website and give them a shout….Read More…

Pizza Quest Info

Resources

Vision Statement

Pizza Quest is a site dedicated to the exploration of artisanship in all forms, wherever we find it, but especially through the literal and metaphorical image of pizza. As we share our own quest for the perfect pizza we invite all of you to join us and share your journeys too. We have discovered that you never know what engaging roads and side paths will reveal themselves on this quest, but we do know that there are many kindred spirits out there, passionate artisans, doing all sorts of amazing things. These are the stories we want to discover, and we invite you to jump on the proverbial bus and join us on this, our never ending pizza quest.

Peter’s Books

American Pie
Artisan Breads Every Day
The Bread Bakers Apprentice
Brother Junipers Bread Book
Crust and Crumb
Whole Grain Breads

...and other books by Peter Reinhart, available on Amazon.com