Randy Hawthorne - The Art of Pizza

Legal Disclaimers

2017 Randy Hawthorne. All legal copyrights are owned by the author and protected by the Copyright Act of 1976 of the United States of America. No part of this book, including text or images, may be duplicated or distributed without the authors express written consent, for commercial purposes or otherwise. Any known legal infringements against this copyrighted work will be legally prosecuted.

Index of Recipes

Dedication

Who is this guy? What is he doing? If you look closely at the caption at the bottom of the picture, youll see the word pizzaiolo. What does that word mean?

Obviously the word pizza is right there in the first half, so it must have something to do with pizza, right? Yes, it does. Its an Italian word (pronounced peets-i-yo-lo), and it basically means anybody who makes pizzas. If we want to get more specific, it really means anybody who makes pizzas professionally. But does that mean you have to make pizzas for a living to make them well, or to earn that title? I dont think so. In fact, I think the term applies just as much to anybody who takes on the craft of the pizzaiolo as something you would do for free, even on your day off from work, and gives it all the same dedication and effort you would if you were getting paid (although if I said as much to a professional pizzaiolo in pizzas homeland, I might just earn myself a punch in the face). Does that description apply to you? I know it certainly does for me. In fact, there are days when I feel like I could make pizzas all day long and be happy doing it, and make them like they cost a million dollars.

Where am I going with all this? From this point on, Id like you to put yourself in the shoes of the pizzaiolo , and imagine that your pizzas really are as good as those made by a professional, because by the end of this book, thats the kind of confidence and skill Id like you to aspire to. I say this not because I think you should have some sense of responsibility imposed on you, but because Im pretty sure that if youre reading this book, youre ready to dive right in and start making the kind of pizzas that are as good as any you can buy from anywhere outside your own home. And because I want you to really appreciate and absorb all the implications of that last statement. Yes, you can master this art and make the kinds of pizza that people will want to skip going out to the pizzeria or bar and come to your house for, especially if theyre pizza addicts like you and I. Yes, thats right- you and I are definitely pizza addicts, right? Lets just come out in the open with it right now, shall we? Okayif the term addiction doesnt feel comfortable, maybe we can settle on the term obsession? That word doesnt necessarily infer that you cant stop making pizzas whenever you want to, and when you think about it, an obsession can actually lead to some pretty cool thingslike great pizza, for instance. With that frame of mind, you can take this journey with no hesitation at all.

Thats right, this isnt just any old cookbook. This book is for those who want to take a real journey, not just in your mind, like you would with a work of fiction, but in a very real sense, and with real results. By the time your finish reading this book, you should at least have an itinerary in your mind of the journey of experimentation and actualization youre going to take, with respect to your own ideal pizza creations. You can and should take every opportunity to experiment with, tweak, and perfect your own pizzas to your liking, and thats where I, the pizzaiolo writing this book, come in. Throughout this book, Im going to be throwing recipes at you, but Im also going to be encouraging you to try out things that pop into your mind, and to consider trying out new ways that neither you nor I have anticipated yet, because this is a process thats supposed to be spontaneous and enjoyable, not a chore. That doesnt mean that Im not going to be making every effort to drill the fundamentals into your brain, too. Fundamentals are critical, without a doubt. But there is definitely no one way to make pizza, and your pizza is your pizza.

But since this in only an introduction and I think youre picking up what Im laying down by now, its time to get down to business. Before we move on, though, I want to explain why I chose the term dedication for this section. It has two meanings, and they both apply here. Dedication means committing yourself to something, and thats certainly the case with your commitment to making great pizza, or else you wouldnt be reading this book. It also means a sort of symbolic pledge of remembrance and solidarity, and that definition definitely applies just as much. Because youve dedicated yourself to making great pizzas, I dedicate this book to you, a pizzaiolo in the making. Now get cracking!

Youre going to be making THIS very soon! What are you waiting for? Stop looking at this page and get going!

How to Use This Book

While Im obviously trying to write this book as a step-by-step instruction manual, it is still aimed at people of all skill levels, from those who only delve beyond mac and cheese every once in a while and want to expand their cooking skills and make great pizza, to those who are already very experienced cooks who just want to focus on pizza and pick up a few new recipes or techniques. Ultimately, Id like everyone who encounters this book to come away after reading it with a new vision of what pizza can be, or at least with a few new ideas on how they can improve their own pizzas, even if they only want to stick with old-fashioned classic styles.

So where do we start? Well, since youre the one who chose to read this book, and only you know where youre at on the journey of becoming a pizzaiolo , thats up to you to decide. You may already have a pretty good understanding of how doughs, sauces, and complete pizzas are made, in which case you might want to skip around for new info. Or you may be a complete novice to the art of pizza making, and in that case youll want to start all the way at the beginning.

In any case, Ive made every effort to never assume that you know anything about cooking or baking, or at least nothing specific to pizza. The only assumption Ive made in writing this book is that you love pizza and want to improve your skills at making your own at home. But I also dont want to turn this book into a long and exhaustive manual on cooking or baking fundamentals thats a chore to read through. So Ive made each recipe as clearly detailed as possible, while not using any culinary lingo you might not be familiar with, and very few of them call for anything you cant find at the grocery store. Ive also given an index of recipes at the front of the book for those wish to jump right ahead and start making anything in here that catches your eye, or for a quick reference to the pages where you need to find the recipes that you want to use often. Of course, my sincerest wish is that youll eventually gain enough confidence as a pizzaiolo to create your own recipes according to your own refined taste. I can tell you from experience that few things in life are as creatively satisfying as bringing your culinary vision to life and finding it every bit as delicious as you imagined it would be, or even more. Even better is when your friends and family share your creation, and then demand that you make it again! If youve ever had this experience, you know exactly what I mean. If you dont, I hope you find out for yourself soon.

Necessary (and sometimes optional) Equipment for Making Great Pizza at Home