Whitson Craig - Passion for pizza : a journey through thick and thin to find the pizza elite

Copyright 2015 Pizza Angels AS

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without express written permission from the publisher.

Originally published in Norway by Kagge Forlag AS, 2014

All photographs by Mats Widn

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Whitson, Craig, author.

Passion for pizza : a journey through thick and thin to find the pizza elite / Craig Whitson, Tore Gjesteland, Mats Widn, Kenneth Hansen.

pages cm

Summary: A collection of 50 recipes for pizza featuring the history of and tributes to the people and places that make pizza a worldwide favorite--Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-1-57284-746-0 (ebook)

1. Pizza--Italy. 2. Pizza--United States. I. Title.

TX770.P58W48 2014

641.82'48--dc23

2014040236

Surrey Books is an imprint of Agate Publishing. Agate books are available in bulk at discount prices. For more information visit agatepublishing.com.

Tore and Craig took the initiative to write this book, which the entire team of authors has developed further. Kenneth contributed to concept development and art direction, while Mats took fantastic pictures and contributed his unique experience with food and cookbooks. Tore and Craig picked out who we were going to visit and where to go, in addition to overseeing the interviews, recipes, and the books contents. The text is penned by Craig, while Tore organized the baking for photos accompanying the recipes. This is how the book came into being. Help with proofreading, correcting and valuable help with translation by Thomas Muravez for Semantix.

To the angels, demons, saints, and fools

CONTENTS

Countless pizza cookbooks have been published. The history of pizzas origins is also richly presented in book form. The Internet is teeming with recipes, advice, tips, and opinions on numerous websites and blogs. All of which begs the question: Does the world really need another book about pizza?

Tore Gjesteland and Craig Whitson think it does. Confirmed pizza aficionados, Tore and Craig have known each other for years. Together with Chef Trond Moi, they participated in the unofficial world championship of pizza baking in Las Vegas in 1998. The trio won the contest for their dessert pizza, which was a variation of a pecan pie. The following year they released the book JazzPizza, which contained recipes they had developed for the competition, as well as other favorite recipes.

In 2011, Craig and Tore were invited to a summer party by a mutual friend. The host made a variety of pizzas in his wood-fired oven, and the conversation naturally turned to pizza. As it happened, Craig had started a book about pizza, and Tore was in the early stages of his own book project on the same topic. They joined forces and created the book together along with a third friend, Kenneth Hansen.

After much talk about recipes and what is right and wrong in the pizza world, they decided to find out the following: What stories have not yet been told about pizza? The authors determined that there was a need for a book of stories from behind the scenes in the pizza world. The book would show pizza lovers the amount of work that goes into the making of their favorite dish.

Fast-forward to spring 2012. In monthly meetings that followed, the trio explored the pizza world. The Swedish photographer Mats Widn, who had worked previously with Kenneth, then came on boardand the trio became a team of four. Together, they started planning trips to Italy and the United States. Great pizza and pizza connoisseurs can of course be found elsewhere in the world, but there was no question that the book would focus on the two most important countries for pizza: the United States and Italy.

No one knows for sure where pizza comes from, and it would be great if this book could tell the world who started it all, or if there were a prehistoric drawing of the first pizza baker, perhaps dressed in animal skins, with a club in one hand and the very first pizza gripped proudly in the other. But in truth, there is no such thing as the one original pizza on which all others are based. The idea probably sprang to mind spontaneously in many places across the world, because its a short jump from harvesting grain to using fire to make some bread and then topping or filling it with something goodthat is the very definition of a pizza.

There is no such thing as the one original pizza on which all others are based.

It can certainly be argued that Naples is the center of the pizza universe, but the Neapolitan pizzaioli are not the only ones who are passionate about pizza. Some of the best pizzas come from the strangest places, such as Phoenix, Arizona, where brothers Chris and Marco Bianco and their team make one of Americas most sought-after pizzas. And in Caiazzo, Italy, Franco Pepe has dedicated his whole life to pizza. Every morning he makes dough based on the weather, and after lunch he puts on his finishing touches before the customers arrive.

Pizza bakers pride themselves on making the perfect dough, experimenting with different toppings, and baking their inventions to perfection, but the producers of cheese, tomatoes, flour, and other ingredients also play an important role in the final result. Lets also not forget the producers of wood, gas, coal, and electric ovens, who build their products according to exactly defined standards and in line with the traditions and innovations made by many generations of oven designers. The world of pizza includes a variety of occupations such as restaurant owners, farmers, people delivering pizza, historians, journalists, and people repairing pizza equipment. All these and many more are included in this book.

In their travels, the authors have seen how important traditions and family affiliations are. In the pages of this book, you will get to meet several of the most highly respected pizza families around the world, including the Sorbillo, Bari, Starita, Malnati, and Barlotti families, as well as many more. These pizza professionals, alongside competitive bakers and other individuals, have dedicated their lives to producing the perfect dough, a specific type of cheese, or simply the worlds best pizza, day in and day out. This is their book.

In addition to behind-the-scenes insights, this unique book also offers information about ingredients, equipment, and techniques, as well as recipes for the very best pizzas. The worlds best pizza bakers have provided this information, and their recipes and tips will help you create pizza youve only dreamed about making, in your own oven at home with a few simple tools and techniques.