My folks got me a book for my Birthday: The Pizza Bible, by Tony Gemignani.
Particular is an adjective that does not do this book justice. The book is exhaustive in its detail and calls upon you, the reader and self-proclaimed Pizza aficionado, to practice painstaking attention to detail.
It starts simple:
Weigh your ingredients.
Okay, sure that’s good practice.
Your scale must have 0.1 gram precision
Uh, okay. Seems overcautious, but fine.
The dough must be made two days in advance.
Whew, I guess I can manage that.
But really, it should be made four days in advance with a Poolish starter. Anything less and you’re a disappointment to your Italian heritage.
Yowsa.
There are TONS of recipes, and they are written with a fastidiousness that I have come to greatly respect. Jen and I have been making a pizza about every other week since June. This doesn’t seem like much, but each recipe feels like a spiritual pilgrimage. Over Labor day weekend we explored one particular recipe which was dressed to impress: a Fully Stuffed Chicago style behemoth.
Enjoy this pictorial exploration into the pizza’s creation. In order of appearance it’s: Lower crust, Mozzarella, Meatballs, Pepperoni, Hot & Sweet Sausage, Onions & Mushrooms, Red Peppers, Pecorino Romano, Shredded Mozzarella, Provolone, Top crust.
You can practically taste it through the screen.
Top it with some tomato sauce, ricotta, and garlic oil? Scrumptious.