American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza
by Peter Reinhart
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Book Summary Information
Author: Peter ReinhartEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-11-04
ISBN: 1580084222
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Book Reviews of American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza
Book Review: A helpful slice of information, especially on dough making
Summary: 4 Stars
I found this to be a fairly serviceable treatise on the topic of pizza. The author, a baking instructor, had a longstanding interest in global pizza hunting, and always made it a point to sample the local pies wherever he traveled. Eventually, he got around to putting it all into book form, wherein he takes the reader on a condensed recap of his far ranging pizza (and foccacia) travels, from Philadelphia, to Texas, to NYC, to New Haven, to Italy, to California, to Chicago, etc., in his quest for perfect pizza.
The author then provides the reader with a basic dough recipe covering each of the (as he classifies them) major types of pizza: Napoletana, Roman, Neo-Neapolitan, New York-Style, Pizza Americana, San Francisco Sourdough Style, Grilled Pizza dough, Chicago Deep-Dish, Sardinian, etc. He then goes on to provide some basic tips for sauce, cheese, toppings, and some philosophical guidelines to help achieve balance in a given recipe.
I already knew most of what little information he provided about sauce and cheese and toppings - the primary focus in this book is primarily on dough making & handling, followed by baking methods, and there's some very helpful information here for amateur home cooks who've always wanted to learn the basics of home pizza making, either in a pan, atop a pizza stone or with a full fledged hearth insert.
I've been making pizza at home for years, and even I learned a few helpful tweaks to my technique ... and I've added a few famous pizza establishments to visit to my life itinerary.
My Nits ? I have a few.
1) IMNSHO, dusting a pizza 'peel' with cornmeal before using it to slide a pie into a home oven is just not practical technique for most home cooks. In a home oven, the cornmeal (or flour, or semolina, or whatever you use) scorches, and causes one's kitchen (unless you're fortunate enough to have a powerful exhaust system) to reek or burnt flour. That's a technique intended exclusively for commercial high-volume pizza ovens that are easily and frequently swept out, and where keeping costs low is the golden rule. Try sweeping out a home oven, and you'll not only make a mess of your floor, but probably set your broom ablaze on the electric heating elements or gas burner. PERSONALLY SPEAKING, I've found that a much easier and cleaner technique for home cooks like me to use is to transfer a partial rolled out dough onto parchment paper for it's final rollout & toppings, then bake it directly on a well heated pizza stone (7 mins at 550F is just right). Ignore the author's direction to remove the parchment midway through baking - doing so is completely unnecessary, causes you oven to lose 100F+ of precious heat, right when it needs it the most. The crust doesn't come out quite as crispy after the initial baking, but if you want a crispier crust, and more caramelized toppings, it's a simple matter to keep toss the pie back into the oven after a 10 min rest for another 2 mins. Using a first baking that's 2 minutes longer is a mistake, as the cheese invariably separates and exudes too much oil ... do it like the pizza shop and toss it back in the oven to reheat - 2 bakings are better than one long one.
2) I'd have liked to have seen a lot more photos. This book only has a precious few of them, all of them black and white, and all of them of decidedly poor quality and exposure. In fact, the photography is downright inept.
3) I think the author aimed a little low in this book, with regards to heft. He could have, and IMO should have, squeezed more material into this book. To me, it read too quickly, and when I'd finished it later the same day, I felt it was a bit thinnish ... I wanted more regions covered, more recipes, and a lot more photos (esp competent ones).
4) I think the author could have included a 'putting it all together' chapter, where he could layout the nuances of how a home cook (i.e., most of the readership) could do a pracitcal in-home pizza party for, say 20+ people ... with nesting rising pans, pre-cut parchment, a cooling rack with screens, mis en place, and how to pre-bake and re-heat in a party settings, and how to store the equipment when not in use. Instead, the author just concludes with his list of dough recipes, and then assortment of topping combos to try.
Other than thhose 4 nits, this book is recommended. Add a point/star if you've always wanted to try making your own pizza from scratch, and this book succeeds in helping you take the plunge, or if the book inspires you to take your existing pizza dough technique to a new level (as it did for me).
Basic homemade pizza is fairly easy, and you can always strive incrementally for new levels of perfection.
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