Tony Gemignani and The Pizza Bible

Posted on September 10, 2014 by pizzatherapy

Tony Gemignani has a new book
coming out called The Pizza Bible. The Pizza Bible, will be officially released in October, but already it is making waves in the world of pizza.

Tony Gemignani, Pizza Master

You may be familiar with Tony as a world class chef who has appeared in
every cooking show imaginable. Tony has entered in Pizza Contests
Internationally and has beaten out many other Master Pizzaioli.

He has a number of incredible pizza restaurants
including Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, San Francisco and
Pizza Rockin Las Vegas as well as Pizza Rock in Sacramento.
In addition Tony runs his own pizza school where he teaches the art
of making pizza. It’s called

Tony Gemignani’s International School of Pizza.

I was honored to be given a private tour of
Pizza Rock, last time I was in Las Vegas. No kidding a very private tour: just me and Tony! Tony took me through every part of Pizza Rock, from the Wood Fired Oven, to the gas fired ones, to the prep
tables. I saw all manner of pizza emerge from all of the pizza
ovens! From the flour storage to the side window leading to the
street that sold slices. I was shown every square inch of the restaurant. He told me he wanted to make several different types of pizza. He is aware of the many regional styles of pizza and wanted to offer pizza for every taste. “Something for everyone”, he explained.\

Tony Gemignani and Albert Grande at Pizza Rock, Las Vegas

What an amazing experience. A personal tour
from one of the true pizza masters of our time! I will never forget
it! Tony loves pizza and he loves sharing his pizza passion. Let’s
face it, you hang around with him for a few minutes you cannot
help get excited about pizza. You get bitten by the Pizza Bug and
you are now are pizza infected!

Pizza at Pizza Rock

In The Pizza Bible, Tony share every thing he knows about pizza
including all of the different regional styles. “It’s my life’s work
about pizza, put into a book” he explained to me.

This book is an amazing resource for any pizzalover.. In this new book, Tony puts forth his entire heart and soul.
The Pizza Bible: The World’s Favorite Pizza Styles, from Neapolitan, Deep-Dish, Wood-Fired, Sicilian, Calzones and Focaccia to New York, New Haven, Detroit, and more

From his website:

The Pizza Bible is “a comprehensive guide to making pizza,
covering nine different regional styles—including standards like Neopolitan, Roman, and Chicago, as well as renowned pizza
sub-specialties like St. Louis and Californian—from chef, 11-time
world Pizza Champion, and Guinness world record-holding
pizza-spinner, Tony Gemignani. Pizza is one of the world’s most
well-known and beloved foods, and everyone has their favorite style.

I will be offer my review here as soon as I
get a copy. I know I will not be disappointed!

Pre-order your copy:
The Pizza Bible HERE.

<br />

La Strada Pizza on Pizza, Secrets, Best Pizza Places

Posted on February 16, 2014 by pizzatherapy

La Strada Pizza logo

Here is an interview I did recently with Nick Schneider, owner of La Strada, Pizza in Matunuck Rhode Island.
The pizza was excellent. A thin crust with lots of taste. We were all impressed. I had to ask him
what were his secrets. How did he learn to make pizza?

Nick gave me more than I asked for. He was honest and forthcoming…
and don’t even call him a pizzaiolo…he’s a pizza guy!

Albert: Nick, tell me how you got into the pizza business?

Nick: I got into the pizza business through my father Paul.
He’s been making pizza for over 50 years now. He opened his first place in his late teens
in Provincetown, Massachusetts called Spiritus Pizza, which is still there.

Paul, my father and John Yingling, (Jingles) opened Spiritus together. So it’s been around a long time,
then he opened a bunch of other places. He is one of the original East Coast, New York Pizza Guys.
I’m not saying that because he is my father but Paul Schneider is one of the original old school guys
and a lot of people have learned from him and used his recipe and are kind of pushing on.
He’s still around and that’s
where I got all of my pizza stuff from.

He’s an artist and sculptor and a cook and a really interesting guy. That’s where my pizza
comes from and where my esthetic comes from.

Albert: Is he still making pizza?

Nick: Oh yeah, he’s go a great place in a very unassuming spot,
in Ellsworth, Maine called, Finelli’s Pizza.

People are walking in there all the time with their chest out, saying I’m from New York, I’m from New Haven
and we know pizza. We’ve heard all about this place. And once they have the pizza, they become believers.
And he’s still there in Ellsworth, Maine and he’s still doing it. He makes the best pizza I’ve ever had! Ever!
Way better than mine.
Yeah, the best.

La Strada Pizza Oven

Albert: So you learned to make pizza side by side with your Dad.
He took you by the hand and showed you how to make pizza.

Nick: I remember sleeping on flour bags as a kid. I’d always stay there because there was a
rush (of customers)
and he would work really late, and I was a kid and I would stay in the pizza shop…

Albert: Do you make your dough the day before?

Nick: I make my dough a couple of days before. I at least make it a day before, I like to make it a couple of days
before…Depends on how busy we are.

Albert: So you use a cold ferment method, as opposed to a warm ferment?

Nick: Both actually. I use a warm (proof) ferment, then a cold ferment and then a warm ferment.

Albert: So you think that is the secret to great pizza?

Nick: It’s not a secret anymore, cause you just screwed it up for for me. It was a secret!

You know when you came in here you asked me if I was a pizzaiolo, and I said no, I’m the pizza guy.
My dad’s a pizza guy, he’s not a pizzaiolo either. That stuff I think a lot
of this stuff and secrets that is out on the Internet now,like the DOC stuff is coming from these certifications.
There is a school that says you have to use this flour, you have to use this method, you have to use this water.
You have to do this and you have to do that.

I don’t think that is the case. I’m not a Prima Dona I don’t know anything about anything.
You just got to do what you
do and love it and that’s it.

And the most important thing I believe is the way the dough is handled.
My father calls this dough management.
The way the dough is handled, when it comes out, how long it is sitting around for before
it goes into the oven.
And of course the temperature of
the oven.

Your oven’s got to be hot, hot hot!

And that’s it…

Nick of La Stada and Albert of Pizza Therapy

This “your oven’s got to be made here by this guy, who is from this part of Naples, and using this flour,
that’s all”
a little to much, … I’m in Matunuck Rhode Island. I’m not brining in the water from New York. I don’t bring in any crazy stuff.
I just do it the way I was taught, which is the way my dad taught me. And it seems to work for us…

Here is the interview on You Tube:

You can watch the rest of this interview here. You can also listen if you wish and download for later listening….

[display_podcast]
Find La Strada, here:
La Strada
920 Matunuck Beach Road
Wakefield, RI 02879
Shop: 401.284.2253 Mobile: 401.533.2019

Anthony Mangieri, Legend of Pizza

Posted on April 2, 2012 by pizzatherapy

Anthony Mangieri is truly one of the Legends of Pizza.

He has true passion and puts part of himself in each pizza he creates.

Peter Reinhart first told me about Anthony:

He’s dedicated to the craft of pizza making. He makes so much pizza and so many dough balls a day. When they run out, he closes. That’s it. This is what I do. He doesn’t sell anything except pizza there and you can’t even buy…I don’t think he even sells bottled water there. He says: It’s just pizza because this is what I do.

Chris Bianco says of Anthony;

Now, with this great fervor of…you know, like for instance, I think Anthony at Una Pizza Napoletana does a great job. He is someone who is incredibly dedicated and I respect immensely.

I think he is someone that is doing something that is really important in our industry as far as a pizzaiolo. He’s in New York at Una Pizza Napoletana and he is doing something that is really important as far as really understanding technique and old method and kind of time honored Neapolitan recipes.

Peter Reinhart and Chris Binanco in Legends of Pizza, Volume 1

From:”Il Fatto Quotidiano”, daily italian paper:

Stands out as one of the best pizza makers in the world, Anthony Mangieri at Una Pizza Napoletana, doing an extraordinary job with mostly local products: just open Wednesday through Saturday, no reservations, just five kinds of pizza and five different italian wines on the menu.

You can watch this incredible movie of Antony here. Lisen to his unique pizza pholosophy. He has a sense of humor but he takes his pizza very seriously. For Anthony, pizza is his life.

Anthony has moved his operation to San Fancisco:

Una Pizza Napoletana
210 11th St + Howard St San Francisco, CA 94103

HOURS OF OPERATION
Wednesday Thru Saturday 5pm until out of dough

Website: Una Pizza Napoletana

Facebook: Una pizza

Thank you Anthony for all that you do. Pizza Therapy salutes you. And wishes you the absolute best!

You can watch another film about Anthony called Naturally Risen, here.

Anthony only uses Caputo ” 00″ Pizzeria Flour 25kg (55lb) Bag

You may not need a 55 pound bag of flour: Antimo Caputo 00 Pizzeria Flour (Blue) 12 Lb Repack

The Art of the Pizzaiolo

Posted on November 5, 2010 by pizzatherapy

Pizza! As a pizza professional you know how much the world loves pizza. And the Pizzaiolo, the master who creates pizza deserves to be celebrated. Now sculptor Jeff Tritel has done just that. He has created “Pizzaiolo,” a limited edition bronze sculpture celebrating Pizzaiolos everywhere! “Pizzaiolo” captures the art of the dough. Our Pizzaiolo is spinning pizza dough and that spin is shown in the spin of his body.

Here are Jeff’s words about his inspiration for “Pizzaiolo,”

There’s an element of magic in spinning pizza dough and for me, images of joy, wonder, skillful execution and old world charm appear in my mind’s eye. To capture the feeling of spinning dough in a sculpture, I’ve given our chef a radical body twist that adds torque to the image. While I was working on the design I had visions of wide-eyed children, mesmerized by the spinning pizza dough and thinking, “this is soooo cool.” I know that for me the idea of spinning dough is so compelling that the spinner of that dough deserves to be immortalized in bronze.

“Pizzaiolo” is currently in pre-production. This means that the wax design is complete and we expect to have the first finished bronzes ready to deliver approximately March 1. During this pre-production time, we are offering “Pizzaiolo” at a special introductory price of $1,300 which includes the finished signed and numbered bronze sculpture and a Certificate of Authenticity signed by the artist. “Pizzaiolo” will be cast in a limited edition of only 200. That means that only 200 lucky individuals will ever be able to own “Pizzaiolo.” To be one of the lucky few, please visit our website.

You can learn more about “Pizzaiolo,” here:

All About the Pizzaiolo sculture.

Wood Fired Oven at apizzo pizzeria

Posted on October 13, 2009 by pizzatherapy

I’ve said this before about Stefan Ambrosch is the next super star of pizza. He is incredible.

He is a dedicated pizzaiolo. He creates his pizzas to perfection. His pizzas are awesome. These are memorable pizzas. The kinds of pizzas you can’t get out of your head.

The kind of pizzas you dream about. Incredible pizza. And makng these high quality pizzas is no accident.

Stefan has studies his craft. He makes his pizzas in a wood fired oven. Stefan’s pizzas are some of the best pizzas I have eaten.

In the following interview Stafan explains why he uses wood to make his pizza.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQp5Ci15PYo[/youtube]

If you get a chance, visit apizzo.
They are located in Pawcatuck, Connecticut.
Here is their website: apizzo

Here is a great wood fired pizza oven resource:

pizza forever,
albert grande
Pizza Therapy

Legends of Pizza Volume 3: The Lost Evelyn Sloman Interviews Part 3

Posted on July 18, 2009 by pizzatherapy

The Legends of Pizza Volume 3 is a series of interviews done with master pizzaiolo, Evelyn Sloman. These interviews contain a wealth of knowledge, pizza history and pizza passion.

Evelyn learned to make pizza while growing up in New York. The Tontonno’s and Lombardi’s operated legendary Pizzerias in New York and Evelyn was able to learn from these masters.

You will discover Evelyn’s insights and secrets about pizza including:

A review of the Lombardi Method
How the master used measurement for their pizza
The Artisan Bread movement and pizza
The importance of fermentation in pizza
How Evelyn learned to rule the dough
The one key ingredient for pizza
High gluten or not high gluten flour…
The use of flour in pizza
The best tomatoes to use for pizza
Why Evelyn’s recipe gets better and better

Thank you so much Evelyn for this incredible knowledge.

This episode of Legends of Pizza, Volume 3, is brought to you by the Pizza Therapy Pizza Book.

Make pizza Be Happy,

albert

Listen Below:
Just Press the Play Button

Legends of Pizza Volume 3, Evelyn Sloman, Part 2

Posted on June 21, 2009 by pizzatherapy

This is part 2 of Legends of Pizza, Volume 3

Evelyn discusses how pizza came to the United States
She explains how she gained her knowledge about how to make pizza
Who was the very first pizzaiolo in the United States
Why bread baking is closely related to pizza making
How U.S. pizza is different from Italian pizza
What is the "Lombardi Formula"
What did Evelyn learn from the Jerry Totonno and Jerry Lombardi
How the skill of pizza making "flowed out of Lombardi’s and Totonno’s fingers"
How to "listen to the dough"
Why the Italians give their dough a "rest"

Legends of Pizza, Volume 3: Evelyn Sloman

Posted on June 14, 2009 by pizzatherapy

I’m very excited to share with you Part of Legends of Pizza Volume 3 Part 1.

These interviews were conducted a while ago. I had started to edit them and was ready to release Legends of Pizza Volume 3.

I was very excited about all of the knowledge that Evelyn brought to the world of pizza.

Then disaster struck: my hard drive crashed, leaving me with nothing but digital dust of an incredible conversation with Evelyn Sloman.

Recently after spending hundreds of dollars, I was able to recover most of the files from my hard drive. Luckily, I could save parts of the original mp3’s of the Evelyn Sloman interview

I was able to piece together parts of the interview and hope to release the rest of Legends of Pizza Volume 3.

Legends of Pizza Blog

Making Pizza from the heart…

Tag Archives: pizzaiolo