Guest Columns

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”- Henry V Over a year ago I was asked to join a group of elite pizza makers in an effort to break the Guinness World Record for the longest pizza in the world. The existing mark was set at 6,082 ft. My first thought was “How hard could it be?” After all, I’ve been making pizza for nearly 50 years and…Read More…

Some pizza purists maintain that the only “real” pizza is the Margherita. Others will argue that the Pizza Marinara predates the Margherita. True diehards insist that the Pizza Bianca, with just olive oil and sea salt, is clearly the oldest form. When I was getting started in the business toppings were limited to sausage, mushrooms, and anchovies. Well, times have changed. Creative pizza makers like Rome’s Gabriele Bonci, and our…Read More…

Note from Peter: Scott Wiener, a regular Pizza Quest Guest Columnist, is back to report on an amazingly successful fund raising event in NYC that may soon be showing up in other cities.  Scott’s column highlights to me the grace that flows to and through people who have a vision, a passion, and the willingness to simply “go for it!”  Scott’s Pizza Tours began as a college hobby and soon grew into…Read More…

Last month we explored the basics of extending dough, but of course that is only part of the process. Once the dough has been properly shaped you have some choices to make. Most amateur pizza makers dedicate a great deal of thought to what they are going to put on their pizza and that is certainly important (we will cover topping selection in an upcoming installment). Right now let’s focus…Read More…

Pizza a Mano — hand made pizza –– what is it that calls us to be pizza makers? Why would someone like Paulie Gee leave a career in computer technology to stand in front of a hot oven in Brooklyn? Why is a multi-talented entrepreneur like Tony Gemignani unable to keep his hands off any dough ball that crosses his path? I bet that at some point anyone who is…Read More…

Ovens, ingredients, equipment, technique — these are vital components of the quest for great pizza. But, let’s face it, for most of us the real obsession, the “Golden Fleece,” and “Holy Grail” of pizza, is creating the perfect pizza crust. The world’s best pizza makers, amateur or professional, are never satisfied with their dough. Even the most stubborn, set in their ways old school pizza makers will lean in when…Read More…

Note from Peter: Teresa Greenway has contributed a number of guest columns here on PizzaQuest, and is a wonderful resource for all things related to sourdough. Her website, www.northwestsourdough.com/ should be in your bookmark section if it isn’t already. I’m very excited to hear how she’s moved into the video instructional world and, in addition to her reasonably priced course, she also offers a lot of information and downloads for…Read More…

 No matter how much you love pizza, there will always be a point in which you’ve had enough. It happened to me on the second day of the Pizza World Championship in Parma, Italy. I had already tasted over forty pizzas and the line between mozzarella and provolone was beginning to blur. I had to tap out. One of the on-deck judges filled my place and I took a much-needed…Read More…

 As much as I love them, pizza competitions are super weird. You only get one shot to make the greatest pizza of your life, the one that’s going to win you the pride and admiration of all your friends and colleagues, but you have to do it in a strange place with an unfamiliar oven and dough you made in the hotel bathroom sink. These factors plague my brain while…Read More…

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the greatest of them all… Gennaro Lombardi, Frank Pepe, John Sasso (Johns Pizza in NYC), Totonno Pero…legendary pizza makers who have created a lasting impact on the craft. Wouldn’t you love to be able to travel back in time and experience pizza from the hands of the true masters? Surely they were the greatest pizza makers in history right? Nah, nope, no way,…Read More…