Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Pizza Manual: Make Pizza Like the Pros... Used To!

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book is great in every aspect it contains. I dont give it 5 star because its not The Ultimate Pizza Manual cause it only contains plain cheese and sauce pizza recipes. But dont get confused, the information that contains is GOLD!!! especially the crust recipes and preparation techniques! They mean a world of difference for your pizzas!!

Excellent Book!

Have you ever wondered why you can't make pizza at home as good as you get in a pizza joint? It's because all the pizza cookbooks gloss over critical details and give you easy instructions rather than correct instructions. There's more to making pizza than merely using a stand mixer and an oven stone. This book fills in the rest of the details.

Yes, it is only 44 pages long, but it goes into exhaustive detail all of the minutiae of making a GOOD 18" NY style pizza. Where most "cookbooks" will put a pizza recipe on 1-2 pages, this expands it into 44 pages. Every little tiny subtle detail of every aspect of pizza prep is covered, and there are pictures for everything. Think of it as a comic book with photographs.

The author tells about weighing the dough ingredients, rising the dough, pressing it out, docking it, and prepping it on a screen. In fact, he bakes on a screen, not on a stone. I think this is because the pizza is so darn big that you can't find a stone big enough to fit in your oven, and the 19" screen he recommends takes up every inch of depth in the standard oven.

I have not tried the technique yet (It's July and I am making pizzas in my wood burning oven), but in my opinion, this book has been needed for years. It is short on theory, but it gives enough details, subtle nuances, tips and tricks to avoid all the pitfalls of all the hundreds of useless "make pizza at home" DIY recipes. It is not just another book on how to make "any" pizza. It targets how to specifically make a certain kind of NY-style that closely approximates, if not duplicates, the "pizza by the slice" you get in NYC.

I highly recommend this informative and fascinating picture book. It's short enough to read in a few minutes.

First, let me say that I almost NEVER do product reviews. But this book led me to finding the best pizza ever right here in my own kitchen, so I really had to take the time to speak my mind here.

How many pages do you need to learn to make the best pizza? The pages in this book make it clear as crystal. If you don't know the abbreviations for TBS and tsp, don't even go there --- into the kitchen, that is. And we all know ounces of flour is measured by weight and liquid is measured by volume.....right??

It's NOT a "recipe book." It's a pizza manual, professionally produced, for home chefs to make real pizza -- NOT cinnamon buns, NOT french baguettes, NOT pasta. Just real pizza.

That said, there are several incredibly wonderful things about this pizza manual that are so different from any other out there.

Until I learned the tricks in this book, it was previously impossible for me to make a pro thin-crust pizza at home. Deep-dish, too. This book made it easy. But you have to know where to get the stuff you need to make the dough and the wonderful sauce. This is the first book I've read that goes into exhaustive detail (even with web addresses) to tell you exactly what you need and where to find it and even how much it costs. (It even tells you where NOT to go for something and for good reasons.)

It has step by step instructions with all color pictures showing you exactly what to do and what all the steps should LOOK LIKE, not just the final result. I wish all "cookbooks" were made this way, but of course, they are not! I work for a magazine and know this: What cook-chef-author has the financial resources to produce such gorgeous artwork on *every page?!* Plain words on white paper are easy, cheap, and fast (like my "no kneading" bread book that has obviously untested and error-filled recipes).

Pro photography and layout like in this book are time-consuming and expensive. And how about the cost of color printing on every page!! How did Francesco Brunaldo do this??

Like I said, this book should have cost $1200 per ounce for the secrets it contains and the perfect pizza that you get from the simple tricks laid-out clearly in all full color photos.

Wish I could give it 10 stars.

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Update 1/22/2011 in response to Seawolf's "review":

Seawolf... First of all, I don't get it... You've changed all the methods and recipes to suit yourself, so why are you reviewing this book at all? None of what you are doing applies to this book.

Secondly, you are "building the pizza on the peel"; this is totally CONTRARY to the instructions in THE ULTIMATE PIZZA MANUAL. This is why you are having the problems you are having...

Water temperature and "fragile" dough: There is no problem with 120-degree water. By the time you use the water after stirring and all (especially in cold weather), the water temperature will drop to 100-110, which is perfect, and the dough WILL blow up like a balloon and will not be "fragile" or difficult to handle if you follow the instructions given in The Ultimate Pizza Manual (kneading, dusting, handing, etc.). I have never had this problem with the Ultimate Pizza Manual dough (other books HAVE given me this problem). The dough is SUPPOSED to be delicate to a certain degree (but NOT fragile) so that you get the wonderful results this book and historical Italian New York pizzas are famous for.

Seawolf...You are dressing and topping dough that can be slid off a pizza peel. This means you are wanting a tougher dough that holds its shape. The reason you are feeling Francesco's dough is "fragile" for YOU because you are trying to slide it off the peel all dressed and topped and that is CONTRARY to the instructions in the book. (The dough WILL mess up YOUR way.) It has nothing to do with the yeast or temperature of the water. One of the major points of the book is to make a large, thin-crust pizza with NO handing problems.

I also spoke to Joan @ King Arthur: The SAF Instant Yeast is regular instant-acting yeast and is the most popular yeast used. It is used for pizza just like any other bread recipe: IN THE WATER. (Most dough recipes also tell you to "proof" the yeast, which here you do not have to do.)

If "Joan" is giving you other methods, then SHE IS MAKING A DIFFERENT pizza, NOT THIS ONE, just like OTHER books' recipes and techniques that DON'T work well.

"Mixing the dough"? You DON'T "MIX" the dough, you KNEAD the dough. FOLLOW The Ultimate Pizza Manual. Why follow "Joan" from King Arthur flour using the flat mixing blade? Why use HER method to review The Ultimate Pizza Manual?? You SHOULDN'T use the flat mixing blade, you MUST use the DOUGH kneading hook. She says 20 minutes is too long. IT'S NOT. 20 minutes is the MINIMUM time to knead. It takes that long for the dough to smooth out and get less sticky and combine thoroughly all the ingredients.

Seawolf...You say you tried her recommendations and they worked great, yet you also say "Still working hard to make the 'perfect' pizza." Doesn't make sense! I guess her methods DO NOT work so "great".

Seawolf...I don't understand why you would want HER recipe and method while using THE ULTIMATE PIZZA MANUAL. I especially don't understand why you would want to MIX THE ULTIMATE PIZZA MANUAL recipes and techniques with someone else's. It just doesn't make ANY sense.

Oven temperature: Seawolf...Don't use 600 degrees!! Follow The Ultimate Pizza Manual. Why why why are you changing everything??? Doesn't make sense!

Nothing you are doing matches what the ULTIMATE PIZZA MANUAL tells you to do. Why are you reviewing it??

Still working hard to make the 'perfect' pizza?? WHY? FOLLOW THE ULTIMATE PIZZA MANUAL. That's what it's for: so you don't have to work hard to get a perfect pizza. (I'm making one right now, while I type this. It almost makes itself. :)

The book is not a book... it is a pamphlet containing 32 pages with big pictures and advertisements for pizza products. It has 3 recipies for pizza, that's all. The author's big secret is to use hi-gluten flour just like every other pizza recipie calls for.

Moving up from bread machine pizza dough was a real treat. Not so sure on the sauce, it took a while to grow on me and I may experiment more on that but the pizza was VERY good. Even when being reheated in a convection oven the dough was still chewy. For me, this was money well spent.

I couldn't find a good, Italian, thin-crust pizzeria around here to save my life. I decided I had to learn how to do it myself. And I wanted it large! THE ULTIMATE PIZZA MANUAL solves this problem in a very straight-forward, easy-to-understand way. You don't have to be an PhD in Engineering (like other pizza author Dominick DeAngelis) to read and understand Francesco's book and make a REALLY great pizza. I really don't care a lot about WHY something needs to be done, but there is just enough explanation of things in this great-looking and fun book. Nothing about it was disappointing. In fact, it's shockingly excellent!

Now, one of the most important things THE ULTIMATE PIZZA MANUAL explains is that you do need "high-gluten" (higher protein) flour to make the dough. Guess what? NO, you DO NOT have to buy a 100LB bag of high-gluten flour from a wholesaler (if you can find one). AND you don't have to spend a fortune for a tiny 3lb bag... All you have to do is add what I learned about: "Vital Wheat Gluten" to regular Bread Flour and you get an even better-tasting flour and crispier crust. I simply add 0.6 ounce of VWG to 13oz of Bread Flour AND YOU GET HIGH-GLUTEN FLOUR for an 18" pizza! (I like the Honeyville Grain brand of VWG in a 3.5lb can from usaemergencysupply.com...cheap and will last forever!) EASY! I also leave out the semolina from the mix and only put one TBSP on the pizza paddle. A 3lb bag of very expensive semolina also lasts forever, SAVING LOTS OF MONEY! It comes out great.

There are so many MORE TRICKS in this book! It takes me an easy 1/2 hour to make the dough Francesco's way and about 1/2 hour to stretch the dough later and make the pizza. That's NOT hard labor. But be careful!! YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO STOP EATING THIS PIZZA!! (The sauce AND crust are the best I ever tasted.)

What also really helped a lot in THE ULTIMATE PIZZA MANUAL is all the color pictures, including pictures of the kitchen tools, you'll need. (I like to SEE where I'm headed, what I'm getting.) Francesco even gives you merchant names and web addresses for the few items of special pizza equipment you'll need.

What is very important is--as Francesco points out--SIZE MATTERS. This book shows you how to EASILY make an 18" pizza in a home oven WITHOUT struggling to slide a fully dressed pizza dough onto a pizza stone without mangling it!! (HINT: YOU DON'T EVEN DO IT THIS WAY, EVEN IF you could find an 18" pizza stone--which you cannot. And NO 1/2 hour pre-heating!).

You don't have to impress your wife with this pizza, your WIFE will be making this pizza. And by the way, why are other reviewers addressing their reviews to the husbands? WOMEN: You can make pizza, too! It's easy this way!

Reviews for OTHER pizza books say their pizza "looks like it was formed by a two-year-old, when baked." THE ULTIMATE PIZZA looks VERY professional and tastes even better! It's a very exciting thing to see at home. Making it is fun and the smell of it baking is unbelievable!! From your first pizza from THE ULTIMATE PIZZA MANUAL, you will be torn between framing it and devouring it whole by yourself!!

Thank you, Francesco! This book is clearly a labor of love with utmost professionalism.

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Three decades ago as a 5th grader at the state fair, I bought a slice of pizza from a vendor that had a sign that said "Coney Island Pizza" and that was simply the best pizza ever. The next year I went back just to get that pizza again. The vendor did not return. I have searched since and now have found it with this book.

I have waited until I made the pizza in this book before submitting my review.

The book is written into a easy to read and follow step by step in the kitchen.

A fast read in less then 30 minutes.

This book was a real find. This pizza is a home run hit every single time.

The author has it down to a perfect science that will not fail.

The ingrediants are weighed and not expensive at all.

The only real set back is needing a mixer that can knead dough but I still rate 5 stars because I think the mixer will be needed to make any real pizza. Aside from the mixer everything is easily obtainable and in-expensive.

The first time I made this pizza I was impressed. It was so easy the second time I made it I had company over. I had complete confidence by the second time. Our guest said it was the best pizza they have ever tried. And since then they asked if we could get together again for we could have pizza again.

This book for only having so few pages explains so much.

If you like pizza, this book is a must buy! I am glad I found it.

I never was a big fan of pizza, and definitely had no desire to make it myself. Now, since my friend recommended and insisted on buying this book, I can't stop craving for it.

As someone who was not familiar with pizza-making art before I was really surprised it was so easy and it came out perfect the very first time. It's impossible to make any mistake following step by step instructions. I find many cook books complicated. This one with so many pictures is very easy to use. And equipment and ingredient advises are very helpful. I would never know where to get this stuff.

My family is so addicted to pizza now that I have to make it every week. My only answer to they request for pizza is: "With pleasure!"

If you've never made pizza but thinking to try it, this book is for you. If you have, this book is for you also to improve the recipe.

You don't think of women making a real, large pizzeria-style pizza, but this book makes it so easy, even my 12-year-old daughter can do it (with my supervision).

I don't see The Ultimate Pizza Manual as a "comic book with photographs" as one person put it, but it certainly is fun to read, to follow, and to make a real pizza just like Italian New York pizzerias used to make. The results are rewarding and very delicious!!

This manual details how to make a New York style (thin) pizza at home. It delivers on that promise. You'll need a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer to work the dough. I already had one. The author provides full details, including where to buy ingredients and pans/peels. I ordered the mesh-type baking pan from BARI, as the author suggests. I also ordered a pizza peel from them. From King Arthur, I ordered the high protein flour. The pizza that results is amazing. I have made it about 6 times, and the boyfriend and I just love it. The book could be better organized, but the author details the appropriate ingredients and pans/hardware to make the perfect thin crust pizza in your home oven. He does not detail toppings, but you should be able to figure those out yourself. I opt for just pepperoni. For the sauce, I use half the sugar. The author notes that his recipe is for his tomato puree brand, and I get a different brand at my store. The manual should pay for itself (plus the mail order pan, peel, high protein flour) in 2-3 pizzas. This is the pizza for which I have been searching. The Williams Sonoma pizza book (and many others) are now on the shelf. Time to make that pizza crust for tomorrow night.