Name: Nick Gracilla's review of The Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish
Item: The Elements of Pizza
Rating: 5
Author: Nick Gracilla

Ken Forkish

The James Beard and IACP Award-winning author of Flour Water Salt Yeast and one of the most trusted baking authorities in the country proves that amazing pizza is within reach of any home cook. “If there were ever to be a bible for all things pizza—and I mean all things—Ken Forkish has just written it.”—Marc Vetri, author of Mastering Pasta and owner of Vetri The Elements of Pizza breaks down each step of the pizza-making process, from choosing a dough to shaping your pie to selecting cheeses and toppings that will work for your home kitchen setup. Forkish offers more than a dozen different dough recipes—same-day “Saturday doughs” that you can make in the morning to bake pizza that night, levain doughs made from a naturally fermented yeast starter, and even gluten-free dough—each of which results in the best, most texturally sublime crust you’ve ever made at home. His clear, expert instructions will have you shaping pies and loading a pizza peel with the confidence of a professional pizzaiolo. And his innovative, seasonal topping ideas will surprise and delight any pizza lover—and inspire you to create your own signature pies, just the way you like them.

Unlocking the Secrets to World-Class Pies at Home [A Cookbook]

The Elements of Pizza

Nick Gracilla

If you're interested in bread baking, there's quite a selection of fine books to guide you into the rabbit hole of the craft — and thanks to the efforts of such great writers and bakers, really outstanding bread can come from home kitchens, given time and effort and technique. However, most of these books approach pizza as, well, just bread shaped differently, with stuff thrown on top. Including Forkish himself, in his prior book Flour Water Yeast Salt. 

Here, Forkish — immersed in a deep study of Pizza in Italy — has the revelation. Pizza is not bread. Pizza is it's own unique thing, with myriad traditions and styles across the states, and ALSO across Italy. Getting to the root of making good pizza, then, comes to understanding the style you want to achieve, the ingredients you have available, time, temperature, and technique. 

No other book goes into the history and technique of pizza making quite like this. And while the recipes themselves might be more "examples of what one could do, given this style," it's the emphasis on the dough and technique that makes this a winner. I know I'll be regularly referring to it.

Nick Gracilla &
The Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish

Reviews

Join the club

Nick Gracilla &The Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish

Reviews

Join the club

Nick Gracilla &
The Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish