Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart

Fresh Mozzarella from Curd While we filmed recently in Boulder, Colorado, one of the pizzaiolos who attended the pizza making conference did a recipe demo using Mozzarella Curd provided by Bel Gioioso.  It is one of the pizzas he makes and people seem to really like it.  The pizza was amazing.  (Note: You’ll see more about that when we post the video in a few weeks.) I couldn’t get this…Read More…

  Hi Again, On Friday of this week we will be posting a new Guest Column by Michael Hanson, a wood-fired baker, living and working in the UK. In his column, he tells of his transition from a career as a serious, professional, third generation baker to becoming an artisan, committed to cooking with fire as a way of reconnecting with the sacredness of it all. It’s a fascinating piece….Read More…

Recently I have been thinking about artisanship, integrity, and the pizzaiolo. I am an Englishman with no Italian heritage and, as such, do not feel well qualified to make pronouncements about what constitutes an authentic pizza, if in fact there is such a thing. But I am a professional pizza maker, and have been wondering what shortcuts can be made without sacrificing authenticity. I perfected my pizza making skills with…Read More…

The Difference Between Good and Great This webisode segment brings us back to Pizzeria Mozza, as we follow the dough from the La Brea Bakery, as shown in the previous two segments, to the waiting hands of Executive Chef Matt Molina and his team of pizzaiolos. So here’s the thing: there really is a difference between good pizza and great pizza and in this segment you’ll get few glimpses into…Read More…

Last week we saw how La Brea Bakery makes hundreds of pounds of pizza dough every day for Pizzeria Mozza. Led by Production Manager Jon Davis, we watched how the overnight sponge is added to the final ingredients and how the ingredients, some of them proprietary and still a secret even to us,  transform themselves into silky, supple, beautiful dough. This week we’ll follow the dough on its journey as…Read More…

Last week we gave you a recipe for caramelized onion marmalade that makes a killer focaccia topping when couple with walnuts and blue cheese. But any focaccia or pizza, no matter the quality of the toppings, is only as good as the crust, and this one is the best I’ve ever had, even better than in Genoa and San Francisco. See what you think and let us know. Focaccia Dough,…Read More…

Hi Everyone, Ever since we posted the Instructional videos from The Fire Within Conference we’ve been getting a number of requests to discuss how to make a home oven perform like one of those wood-fired brick ovens in the video. It’s tempting to say,”No way, can’t be done,” but the fact is that most of us don’t own a brick oven and even those who do still have to cook…Read More…

  Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about three inspirational pizza makers. At the risk of sounding blasphemous, I often call them the Father, Son and Holy Spirit of pizza. They are three men who couldn’t be more different in their contributions to the world of pizza, but together create, represent, and inspire all that we should be in our quest to serve pizza that is both delicious and meaningful….Read More…

  By Guest Columnist Caleb Schiff Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about balance and pizza. A Neapolitan pizza, for example, is best summarized by the short description: “Fresh ingredients on good bread.” It’s really a simple concept. Yet, because of the focus on the basics, the room for perceived-error is small. Other pizza styles that may be heavily topped or have many components can hide inconsistencies in the dough…Read More…

During the week of January 31st, look for the following new postings: –On Thursday we’ll return to Pizzeria Mozza for another Webisode segment to see how that wonderful LaBrea Bakery dough gets transformed into gorgeous pizzas by Pizzaiolo Matt Molina, under the guidance of Nancy Silverton. –On Peter’s Blog, posting on Tuesday, some news about the growing number of wood-fired caterers and how you can track them down for your…Read More…