Customer Reviews

Pizza Napoletana!

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

While this book is beautifully designed and produced, and has many stunning photographs, as a highly experienced pizza maker, we feel it is best left on the coffee table, and kept out of the kitchen.

Unfortunately, form and graphic design are the prime focus.

Master pizzaiolos will not lose sleep over this one; no secrets are revealed.

Those who wish to learn to make great dough are far better off reading Nancy Silverton.

This cookbook covers authentic Neopolitan pizza like I'd hoped to know without actually making a trip to Naples. Pizza history and traditions from the birthplace of authentic pizza are given along with techniques derived from the some of the oldest pizzerias in the world. Recipes are provided for classic pizza dough and Neopolitan pizza recipes (Margherita and Marinara) and a quicker dough version, specialty Neopolitan pizza recipes, and regional Italian recipes. The classic versions are strictly regulated in Naples by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, which is covered in detail in this cookbook. The cookbook photography is outstanding and includes lots of interior shots of Naples pizzerias at work and also excellent food photography. This is a 5-star pizza cookbook and a must-have for serious pizza makers!

As a long-time self-taught pizza chef--I've been struggling for 20 years or so--I'm always immediately attracted to any new book on pizzas. I keep hoping one of them will give me the secret of perfectly round disks of dough (mine usually resemble Australia) or, failing that, offer me fresh tips and little entertainment.

Pamela Sheldon Johns has worked hard at that, and to some extent she's succeeded. She's also been sabotaged by the pretensions of the person who designed her book.

Johns has done a good job of research; she's clearly gone to Naples instead of the Internet. And Naples is the font of real pizza. When I say "real" I am excluding those culinary crimes that come from franchise operations whose sole claim to fame is rapid delivery. I am also excluding that catastrophe known as "Chicago pizza," which in truth is nothing more than "bread with glop baked on it."

And so we learn about authentic ingredients--the right flour for the dough (and how to compensate for the fact that we can't get it here), the best tomatoes, the best cheese. We learn which kinds of pizza are now officially protected species in Italy (this is a complicated bit of legislation best left for Johns to explain). We get a good selection of nicely chosen recipes.

So what's to complain about? Well, the truth is this book is hard to read. Johns, like most cookbook writers (most specialists of any kind, for that matter) is not exactly a gifted stylist. OK, I can forgive the cheap trickery inspired by a too-long subscription to Writer Magazine ("Whipping in and out of the narrow alleys of Naples, weaving through traffic that blared a cacaphony of sounds, going down one-way streets the wrong way and against red lights, and amid the somewhat, and thankfully, incomprehensible words of the taxi driver slung out the window to his driving adversaries, I mustered the courage and vocabulary to ask . . . what is your favorite pizza?" I can even put up with "Of all the components [pizza crust] is the simple combination of flour, water, salt and yeast that makes it unique" (it comes so tantalyzingly close to making sense!). But so what? She tells us how to make really good pizza and doesn't waste much time in doing it.

The saboteur here is the designer, who believes books are to be looked at and admired rather than read and used. The photos are plentiful and attractive. The overall presentation is handsome. But it's hard to read. There's no excuse for using 8-point type (ordinary newspaper size) and for spacing the lines so far apart. The ink should be black, not wimpy gray. The ingredients lists are in eye-straining italics. And whenever possible, tiny italic captions are printed over dark backgrounds.

The reasons for this are 1) book designers like pretty, arty productions and 2) type interferes with their desperate, artsy pretensions. Useful type is legible: It tends to be large and black; it tends to be straight-up-and-down Roman, with serifs that contain the letters rather than let them bleed into the background. Type, in short, asserts itself because it is meant for the use and convenience of the reader. Type of the sort seen here--tiny, fussy, dim, vague--expresses the designer's self-regard--and his contempt for the reader.--Bill Marsano is an award-winning writer on wine and spirits, and travel.

Try the receipes in this book. I used the flour mixture, fresh yeast, the slow rise of the dough. Like the author states, the Pizza is the dough. The results is very satisfying. We are used to piling all kinds of toppings on our American pizza. Using fewer toppings, one can taste each flavor. If you want to get serious about making the Italian Pie, then this is the book to buy. You won't be disapointed! The author has done her homework.

This book has everything you need to make great pizza at home. It's beautifully presented, and the recipes are authentic, with enough variety to stop anyone from getting bored. In addition to the basic recipes, the mushroom and smoked mozzarella is delicious as is the shrimp and pesto.

While the content was somewhat interesting, but I did not feel there were any real new pizza revelations to be gleaned. The crowning disappointment was the inflated price for this little book. I bought a clean used 1999 copy for $49 yet the coded retail on the jacket is $17.95, and new is now selling for $99. In my opinion, the content does not justify the price.

Great photos and overview of pizza in Naples. As in too many specialty food and bread books, the author doesn't dwell long enough on the nuances of the traditional artisan, but offers shortcuts and "try this instead" options. Buy it for the first 44 pages and the pictures for inspiration. The few assembly and "before and after baking" photos are invaluable if you really want to make great Neapolitan pizza. Don't bother with the "quick rise pizza dough."

Pamela Sheldon Johns' Pizza Napoletana! is more than just another pizza collection: the author toured Italy examining the history and culinary traditions of Neapolitan and regional pizzas, and provides a diverse selection of dishes with pair well with photos of the finished products. Pizza fans will find this packed with ideas and information.

Having returned from 3 months in Napoli where I trained in pizza-making through Verace Pizza Napoletan, I discovered this book which accurately describes the way pizza is consistently made throughout Napoli. It's well written and designed, and includes great images, recipies, and insights into a wonderful tradition.

If you happen to have a modern, temperature controlled, wood-burning pizza oven in your kitchen, then this beautifully designed book is for you. If, on the other hand, you're a normal person, then do yourself a favor and buy a book that tells you how to make pizza using appliance (i.e. ovens) of the sort we all actually possess. I've had this book for several years but had never used it. I decided that this weekend was the time until I got to the part in the first recipe that says "pre-heat your oven to 750 degrees." "Well," I thought to myself, "most people don't have ovens that go to 750, so surely she has indicated adaptations for real life somewhere." But, no. She has not. If you don't happen to have a wood-burning oven you evidently don't deserve homemade pizza. I'm all for having the right equipment and ingredients for the job. You might very well find me scouring several stores for just the right kind of tomatoes or making a special trip to Sur la Table for a specialized gadget, but I draw the line at remodeling my kitchen to make a pizza!