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A home oven is cooler and needs more water in the dough – so he accounts for this by specifying doughs with different hydration percentages. The second half of the book is just as fulfilling. It has 11 pizza dough recipes for different styles and hydrations. A great thing about this book is that Marc offers different recipes and instructions for cooking in different ovens.
Whether you are a beginner pizza maker or have some experience slinging dough, learning to make better pizza from a world-renown cookbook is unbeatable. I own a small library of pizza and bread books (11 at my last count) so I’ve put together a shortlist of my favorite ones here. At 12 stamps, loyal customers become a VIP gold member meaning every time they visit PizzaExpress for an entire year, they are automatically entitled to free Dough Balls, a free soft drink, a free large water, a free hot drink and a free Romana upgrade - as well as other seasonal offers. Gold members' kids also eat free from Monday to Thursday.
With Jim’s obvious knowledge as a bread baker, I think it would have been better to include some more details on dough and why his method is a winner across the globe. Pros This is a newer book, first published in 2020, but I thought it was a great addition to my collection. This is my favorite pizza book as it makes a number of amazing pizza doughs, all with clear instructions and no unnecessary steps. The first chapter is a “Masterclass” on making pizza and goes through step by step each part of the pizza-making process.
Using this “master dough”, the book then covers many styles. It’s primarily a US-based pizza book so covers regional American pizzas first like New York, New Jersey, Detroit, and St Louis. This book goes down a similar vein to The Elements Of Pizza. It’s super in-depth and well researched on the fundamentals which make great pizza. It has a good section on making Neapolitan pizza dough and making pizza in their preferred method – using a frying pan (skillet) and placing it under the broiler to mimic a hot pizza oven. Featuring exclusive recipes for perennial favourites including dough balls, Margherita and Sloppy Giuseppe as well as spicy, seafood, vegan and veggie pizzas, PizzaExpress: From Italy with Love caters to every mood and palette. Alongside 68 pizza recipes, many of which are ready in minutes, there are sumptuous salads, decadent desserts, and delicious dressings and sauces that create a meal for every occasion. You'll also learn how to impress by making artisan pizza base doughs such as Leggera and Calabrese, and there's even a special gluten free option that will have everyone fooled! This information is absolute gold dust for any beginner pizza maker, and I consider this some of the most useful information I’ve learned in the craft. While many recipes will skip over the finer details, this guide tells you EXACTLY what to do at each step.I see the “Jim Lahey no-knead” method pop up all the time across internet forums and comments – I think people just love its simplicity. Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth After the American styles (half the book), we have the Italian. Wood-fired Napoletana pizza has a detailed section on dough, sauce, and mozzarella before diving into the other Italian styles like from Rome. Pizza popularity has exploded in the last 10 years, and so too have the cookbooks. These 6 books are classic books which I feel all add something different.
This book just gives you the important principles to follow – in reality, a good dough and a hot oven will do the rest.It’s got a lot of content in it, which comes from the two brother’s journey of setting up a number of pizza restaurants in London after touring around Italy. Sicilian style has a chapter and covers how to cook the dough in a sheet pan instead of stretching. It has some tasty recipe ideas like the Purple Potato and Pancetta and the Grandma Pie.
On the downside, I would say the book is a little on the advanced side for beginners. All the doughs use a wild yeast starter, similar to sourdough, which is an extra hurdle to grow and manage if you are starting out. What I like about this book is its unpretentious nature. Marc wants to help you make better pizza with whatever oven and tools you have available. It covers buying the right ingredients and equipment, some short theory, mixing and shaping dough balls, and finally the stretching, topping, and baking of the pizza. Great insights from a genuine pizza expert who grew a restaurant and then consulted around the world.The book is presented very well with dough recipes, topping recipes, and other suitable accompaniments. If I was to buy one pizza cookbook then this would be it. This book really does look into every element of pizza dough and leaves no stone unturned. The book has a strong focus on quality ingredients, mostly of Italian origin, and it’s this route that Jim takes in his recipes for world-class pies. This book is definitely a classic due to the author Jim Lahey popularising an easy, no-fuss dough recipe. The famous recipe is essentially a no-knead dough, where the ingredients are mixed in a bowl and left to naturally bond and ferment overnight. There are the usual sections on flour, tomatoes, cheese, and equipment that you find in other pizza books.