How to Make a Pizza

How to Make a Pizza: An illustrated step-by-step guide to thin-crust, deep-dish, and grilled pizza, from the editors of Cook's Illustrated, 1997

This is a lovely, slim volume, reminiscent of a child's storybook in the binding and graceful pen-and-ink illustrations. A gentle, authoritative tone permeates the learned discussions of how to avoid a soggy crust when making deep-dish pizza, and the best flour to use (bread flour for thin-crust, all-purpose for deep-dish). A useful list of needed equipment is provided, along with a strong recommendation for using a food processor for making the dough. Master recipes for Basic Pizza Dough, No-Cook Sauce (all of the sauces are no-cook) provide the structure of the book. Unfortunately, the variations that build on these basics seem somewhat uninspired. The basic sauce recipe is merely canned tomatoes, olive oil, and garlic. Adding a little basil, or a dash of red pepper flakes seems more obvious than not.

The chapter on grilled pizzas is intriguing--make gourmet pizzas in the backyard!--I'll certainly be trying this come the summer.

Trial by Fire: Deep Dish Pizza with Sausage and Mushrooms

I love the heartiness of deep-dish pizza--the soft, flavorful crust an equal partner to the toppings. Unfortunately, I didn't have the correct pan suggested by the editors (a round metal pan), so I used a rectangular baking dish, and hoped for the best. I used their sauce recipe, although sorely tempted to cook the sauce beforehand. However, I trusted them that the sauce would cook enough in the oven. As for toppings--the mozzarella amount seemed a little light (only 6 ounces), but adequate. The results? More of a pizza casserole than a pizza. Crust was more bready than really desired, and I still think that cooking the sauce beforehand would be an improvement, although this isn't bad. I would prefer more cheese, but not everyone would. Pretty good, but still a trifle disappointing. I'll give the grilled pizza and try and get back to you! Until then, stick with ordering out.

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