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| American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza | 
 enlarge | List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $17.32
You Save: $10.63 (38%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 39 reviews)
Sales Rank: 8570
Category: Book
Author: Peter Reinhart
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Studio: Ten Speed Press
Manufacturer: Ten Speed Press
Label: Ten Speed Press
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 1580084222
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.8248
EAN: 9781580084222
ASIN: 1580084222
Publication Date: November 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Baking bread is mysterious enough. But creating truly great pizza--the transformation of next to nothing into something extraordinary--is downright alchemical. It is for no small reason that there are distinct words in Italian for those disciples of these mystic arts who bake pizza and focaccia, pizzaiolo and focacciaiolo. Peter Reinhart, he who gave us Brother Juniper's Bread Book and the multi-award winning The Bread Baker's Apprentice, takes the reader of American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza right into the heart of the matter. Reinhart begins his inquiry into pizza with his baseline palate memory for what a great pizza should be. As a teenager he had worked in a pizzeria, Mama's, and instinctively knew this pie to be the best. Returning as an adult years later, he discovered otherwise. Had he changed, or had the pizza changed? Both, it happened, were true. So what is the nature of perfection, and where do you go to find it? In the case of Peter Reinhart, this journey includes travels through Italy and across the US. This is Part One of the book, called The Hunt. It's not the most enlivening travel writing, which would have helped elevate the insights into the nature of great pizza and the people who make it happen. But it's only a third of the entire package. The best is yet to come. In Part Two: The Recipes, Reinhart comes entirely into his own. Here is the master at work. Chapters include "The Family of Doughs", "Sauces and Specialty Toppings," and "The Pizzas." Reinhart gives you the building blocks, no matter what your kitchen, tools, and oven might be like. And then he unfolds the roadmap--pizzas from the strictly classical to the strictly whimsical. Work diligently with American Pie and in time you will be able to call yourself, without hesitation or rising color, pizzaiolo and focacciaiolo. --Schuyler Ingle
Book Description
In the course of his extraordinary career as a baker, culinary instructor, and author, Peter Reinhart has dedicated himself to exploring the passions and techniques behind the great breads of the world. His most recent pursuit has been pizza—a seemingly simple food that has been hotly debated since Italian immigrants brought it to America more than a century ago. Allegiances run from the general (Chicago- versus New York-style, Neapolitan versus Sicilian) to the particular (Pepe's versus Sally's, Gino's East versus Pizzeria Uno), and newfangled versions like sushi pizza are extending the frontier. In AMERICAN PIE, Reinhart follows the pizza trail from Italy to the States, capturing the stories behind the greatest artisanal pizzas of the Old World and the New. Beginning his journey in Genoa, Reinhart scours the Italian countryside in search of the fabled focaccia col formaggio di Recco. After a stop in Florence for pizza vesuvio, with its black truffles and molten cheese, Peter heads to Rome to sample the famed seven-foot-long pizza bianca, and then Naples for the archetypal pizza napoletana. Back in America, the hunt for authentic pizza begins in the unlikely locale of Phoenix, Arizona, where Chris Bianco of Pizzeria Bianco has convinced many that his pie is the best in the country. Sardinian pizza in Dallas; the pizza epicenter of New Haven; grilled pizza in Providence; the deep-dish pies of Chicago; Yugoslavian pogacha in Bellevue, Washington—these are just a few of the stops on Reinhart's epic tour. Reinhart then returns to the kitchen, where he gives a master class on pizza-making techniques and provides his interpretations of the most memorable pizzas from his journey. His insatiable curiosity—and appetite—and gift for storytelling make this a must-have book for the avid cook, as well as a great read for the armchair pizzaiolo.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 34 more reviews...
 pizza bible June 30, 2008
Boy, how to start? In my youth, I worked in a pizza parlor, and thought I knew how to make pizza. Wrong. This is THE book folks. The first half of the book is about the man's search for the greatest pizza, and the second half is how to do it. Reinhart was already one of the most famous bakers in the U.S. (and the world) but this time he has written the book that you must have if you are serious about pizza. I read the book, had doubts, but did exactly what he suggested. Lord, what a difference. People were actually yelling after the first bite. Now I need a better oven. The one I have only goes to 450 F., and hotter would be good. Just the same, my pizza is now not just better, but a LOT better. Money well spent.
Perfect pie! April 25, 2008
If you want to make wonderful pizza at home, don't let the negative comments about this book put you off from ordering it as I did for too long. The editing oversights are insignificant when you consider what you get out of this book. And, seriously, how hard is it to use Google or Wikipedia to learn about instant yeast or high-gluten flour or focaccia?
My husband and I live in a pizza-challenged suburb of Atlanta. Thanks to this book, I have come as close as I believe possible to duplicating the wonderful thin-crusted pizza my husband and I enjoyed in Italy. Whatever type of crust you enjoy, however, you are sure to find the the way to reproduce it in this book.
If you skip Part 1, The Hunt, you will miss out on the adventure, and you may also miss the point of the photography. The black and white images taken with slow shutter speeds totally complement the nostalgic sentiment of the journey and may spark memories of your earliest pizza experiences. I believe the style of the photography was a deliberate choice as the photographer credited can produce exceptional images of this genre. marencaruso.com
The recipes I have tried have been great. My quibble is one that I have with many cook books. The instructions are complete and accurate, but they are not laid out as clearly as they could be. I recommend that you read each recipe completely before you begin to make sure you understand the total time required. My favorite surprise, at least I hadn't seen it mentioned earlier, is that the weight of flour is included. If you have a food scale, use it. It's much faster, more accurate, and less messy than measuring!
Buon appetito!
Additional praise for the road map to perfect pizza. March 30, 2008
I won't say too much about the book since so many people have already described the book so well. I have successfully make about 12 pizzas since reading the book and studing the recipies. They are very straight forward even for some one with out a lot of baking experiance. Please check out my pizza photos that I added for your viewing pleasure.
The only thing that would have made my reading of the book even better would have been a map of Italy to show exactly where his travels took him during his research for the book. That extra detail would have really added to first section of the book for me (not being familar with Europe).
Other wise it was great.
 a good start March 25, 2008
coming from a novice cook-(a late starter for sure), i found the book an interesting read since i have been flying in and out of the areas he mentioned as well as being a good source of ideas, even for a beginning cook. it appears to have the depth to keep experienced cookers occupied, and those with proper ovens and stone inserts and the patience to "age" the dough. being single, i've had to cut all his recipes in half and convert to metric.
American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza by Peter Reinhart January 2, 2008
This is a great book if you are looking for a little history and a lot of information on different styles of pizza as well as some great recipes. You really can't go wrong when purchasing any book by Peter Reinhart. I highly recommend "The Breadbaker's Apprentice."
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