Pizza!

Pizza! is a cookbook and culinary ode to what is arguably America's favorite dish. Originally published in 2006, this reformat and re-release with new content, out 15th Oct 2019 from Fox Chapel, is 192 pages and available in paperback format (other editions are available in additional formats).

I didn't count the number of recipes (varying data in the promo materials, but it's a -lot-). With combinations of different doughs (including gluten-free options) and toppings and sauces, there's enough variation here to keep most people experimenting for the foreseeable future. In that sense, this book can be considered more or less the definitive pizza cookbook.

The book follows a logical easily accessed format. The introductory chapters (~17%) cover some pizza history, ingredients, tools and equipment. The following chapters 'build' the pizza from the crust up, offering a generous array of bases, toppings, and sauces. Although the battle lines are drawn for most pizza lovers, the authors -have- included a chapter on sweet pizzas including sweet crusts and various sweet toppings. Most of the recipes at least maintain some decorum as far as 'culinary worthiness' is concerned and there aren't many recipes included in the book which wouldn't fit in perfectly well with a casual dinner with friends (including 'foodies'). That is not to say that the recipes are full of odd or difficult to source ingredients. Most of the ingredients will be easily found at any well stocked grocery store in much of the western world.

The authors have included a cross referenced index including searchable ingredients (so if one has anchovies, it's a snap to find all the recipes which reference the salty little things (it's 5, for the scorekeepers)). There is also a separate alphabetical index for all of the veg*n friendly recipes. The authors have included a links list for further reading, along with a short bio.

The photography is very good for this edition. Some (not all) recipes are pictured. There are no step by step process photos, then again, pizza is generally a simple enough dish that they're not really necessary.  All of the recipes contain a one word 'thematic' connection such as 'simplicity', 'perfection', or 'comfort'. I couldn't find a listing or explanation for the words chosen. Each recipe also includes yields, ingredients lists (given in standard US and metric measurements), and step by step instructions. Most of the recipes are short, roughly half a page.

Four stars, the recipes we tested were simple and tasty and worked well.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes