These peels are an awesome innovation, but maneuvering a fully loaded unbaked pizza on and off a perforated peel can be tricky because unless you work very quickly, the dough can settle into the holes, causing the pizza to grab. So for home cooks, I recommend building your pizza directly on a wooden peel. Once you get proficient, you can reward you

That’s why most of the doughs in this book come in at between 60 and 70 percent hydration. Now that you know about baker’s percentages, you can eyeball any of my dough recipes and instantly see what the hydration level is, just by looking at the percentage number next to the water. Handy, right? As you get used to working with dough, you can try pu

Diastatic malt (see this page); you’ll need only a small amount—a few teaspoons or about 9 grams per pizza; look for it online or at a local home-brewing supply store

I love that effect, and so do most pizzaiolos and bakers. It’s why a lot of recipes out there recommend hydration levels way up around 85 percent. But there’s a huge trade-off. The higher your hydration, the less workable your dough will be. Above 70 percent hydration, dough becomes increasingly unmanageable, especially for a home baker. It’s soft,

Thawing While working on this book, I stumbled on a great water-thawing method for dough, which does two things: It speeds up the thawing process by about half an hour, and it keeps the dough moist so that it ultimately rises a bit higher and bakes a little crisper.

Palm scale (sometimes referred to as a pocket scale) that registers to 0.01 grams (optional, but helpful)

The two most famous types of Neapolitan pizza are marinara, with tomato sauce, garlic, oregano, and olive oil, and margherita, with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil, and olive oil. Da Michele, one of the city’s oldest and best-known pizzerias has served only these two varieties since 1870, referring in their promotional materials to all other

I always bake my Sicilians using a two-step method. First, the dough is baked blind, that is, with no toppings. Then I let it rest for at least 30 minutes before topping it and giving it a second bake. This resting period helps seal the crust so the top and bottom stay crisp during the second bake, when the sauce, cheese, and toppings are cooking.

Press down the surface of the dough with your fingertips to flatten it slightly, being careful not to press down the rim 1. Now, you’re ready to start stretching the dough. Here’s the key. You want to stretch the outside of your circle while leaving the middle alone. The middle will take care of itself as you do this. But if you stretch too much to