I came to this book because I wanted to make pizza in a Dutch oven while camping! All Dutch oven pizza recipes were the same - form some pre-made dough in the oven, cover with sauce, cheese and toppings, and bring oven to baking temperature. This resulted in a pizza which left a lot to be desired.I needed information on pizza making that said WHY something was done, and not just recipes, so I could adjust to my odd situation. Dr. DeAngelis, like I, is an engineering Ph.D., so I expected some "why." I was not disappointed. Also, like he, I was born in PA where a pizza parlor was on nearly every block with names like Ferregonio's, Costa's and Veltre's, so I figured he knew pizza.
On these counts, I was not disappointed.
However, I quickly discovered why pizzeria-quality pizza is so elusive for the home baker: (1) Proper ingredients are often unavailable to the consumer, (2) proper utensils are expensive and/or not readily available to the consumer, (3) the process is time-consuming, and (4) getting good quality pizza is more a function of adhering to many little details rather than any one big item.
Dr. DeAngelis asserts that the most important item is to use high-gluten flour. You cannot find this at the local supermarket. You have to find a baking supply house, and the flour comes in 25, 50 or 100 lb. bags, and he adds that anything but the 100 lb. may be hard to locate. And he recommends sharp American cheese! So far, I've been unable to find sharp American.
The other important thing is proper kneading with a STRONG preference to using a machine. He recommends a several-hundred-dollar Kitchen Aid mixer, but says that anything with at least 250 W is adequate, meaning that my Sunbeam Mixmaster just meets the requirement (but it gets awfully hot). Just be warned that if you do not have a good mixer, processor or bread machine, you may be frustrated. Like the flour, the recommended pans are only available at restaurant supply houses.
As for time-consuming, getting the best results involves allowing the dough to rise under the right conditions for the right time. People with normal lives may find it difficult to time things just right so you're home to take the dough out of the refrigerator 16 hours after making it.
Nonetheless, if you follow the instructions as best as you can with what you have available, you can achieve a pretty good pizza that will even impress your wife! The reviewer from the neighboring town of Cocoa probably found what I did; the local phone book does not HAVE the listings for baking suppliers that the author gives, so I too, used bread flour, which has a higher gluten content than all-purpose. I otherwise followed the directions, using his dough dressing (dressing is important), but used a canned spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese. Despite the crust looking like it was formed by a two-year-old, when baked, it looked very much like a pizzeria crust, and was amazingly tasty! Perhaps not quite there yet, but certainly a quantum leap above anything I've made before.
The book is neatly divided into chapters such as dough, dough dressing, utensils, procedure and others. Of course, it is "spiral" bound, so lies flat when open. I doubt I will use the additional recipes as I like pretty conventional pizza, but they are there for things like Buffalo chicken pizza. I will eventually use his sauce recipe and try other recommended cheeses. Also, the flour and recommended utensils are available from the author's web site for very reasonable prices and shipping.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in making pizza at home. I have some experimentation yet at home and with the Dutch oven before I feel like I've arrived, but this book has put me on the right path.
