James Beard Award winner Peter Reinhart is back with a new book, this one focusing on the art of making pan pizzas.
Titled “Perfect Pan Pizza: Square Pies to Make at Home, from Roman, Sicilian and Detroit to Grandma Pies and Focaccia,” it’s packed with beautiful photos and recipes, plus endorsements from pizza industry luminaries like Tony Gemignani, Brian Spangler and John Arena.
“Perfect Pan Pizza” is a lushly photographed ode to the pan pizza, a doughy, crispy, crowd-pleasing version of everyone’s favorite food that is easy to make in a home oven without specialty equipment like stones and peels. Starting with recipes for three master doughs that can be made with commercial yeast, as well as a brief introduction to sourdough starters, “Perfect Pan Pizza” illustrates how to make several styles of pan pizza, including Detroit-style “deep pan” pizza, focaccia and schiacciata, and Roman and Sicilian styles through step-by-step photographs.
“Perfect Pan Pizza” includes recipes for sauces, condiments and more than 30 variations of pan pizzas as well as options for ingredient substitutions and tweaks. The pizzas include classic toppings like pepperoni and mushrooms, as well as an exciting variety of recipes like the sandwich-inspired Philly-Style Roast Pork and Broccoli Rabe; Reuben pizza; Bacon and Egg with Tomato and Arugula; Blue Cheese, Balsamic Onion Marmalade and Walnut Focaccia; and Grape and Anise Schiacciata.
“Reinhart has an uncanny ability to create books that speak to people, and ‘Perfect Pan Pizza’ is no exception,” writes Brian Spangler, owner of Apizza Scholls, on the book’s inside cover. “Once again, he has delivered a book that is both inspirational and educational to baking and cooking enthusiasts of all levels.”
“Written by a true expert and pizzaiolo, this masterpiece delves deep inside everyone’s favorite food,” writes Gemignani, owner of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana and other restauraunts.
With unique recipes, plenty of informative FAQs for beginners, and a permissive and inspiring tone, “Perfect Pan Pizza” will appeal to both experienced bread bakers and novice home pizza makers alike.
Reinhart is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading authorities on bread. He is the author of twelve books, including the James Beard Award and IACP award-winning “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice,” as well as “American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza.” He appears regularly on television and radio and is a full-time baking instructor at Johnson and Wales University, a culinary and keynote presenter at conferences around the world, and the founder and host of the popular video website PizzaQuest.com. He lives in North Carolina.
