Pizza Practice: Doughs, Techniques + Toppings

From baker Jensen (Flour Power) comes an expansive and accessible guide to making pizza from scratch. For best results, she urges home cooks to invest in a digital scale for measuring ingredients by weight instead of volume, as well as a baking steel for home ovens, which helps mimic the heat in commercial pizza ovens. Jensen also provides tips for evaluating ingredients, recommending San Marzano tomatoes for their sweetness and sharing that she opts for a combination of fresh mozzarella packed in water and low-moisture grocery store mozzarella that she shreds herself. Home cooks can choose from 13 dough recipes, including a “same-day” dough that can be ready in six hours; a beginner-friendly variation using poolish, which yields sweet and nutty flavors; and another made with finely ground double-zero flour to create a “light, pillowy crust with a crisp interior.” Red and white pie toppings range from the classic to the inventive, including pancetta and brown butter pineapple; fig, date, and mascarpone; and peach, red onion, and caper. Jensen also shares recipes for pizza-adjacent bakes, including multiple types of pita and focaccia, and a handful of desserts to accompany pizza night, such as brown butter chocolate chip cookies and no-churn vanilla ice cream. Complete with detailed explanations of techniques, thorough instructions, and helpful tips, this comprehensive volume is perfect for bakers of all levels who are serious about pizza making. (Apr.)