Add Prime to get Fast, Free delivery

Kindle
$5.99

Available instantly

Hardcover
$22.40

$22.40 with 20 percent savings

List Price: $27.99

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Thursday, March 27 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 3 hrs 13 mins

Or Prime members get FREE delivery Monday, March 24.

In Stock

$$22.40 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

30-day refund/replacement

Payment

Secure transaction

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

$9.87

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service. Free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime! Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service. Free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime! See less

FREE delivery Thursday, March 27 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 3 hrs 13 mins

Or Prime members get FREE delivery Monday, March 24.

Only 2 left in stock - order soon.

$$22.40 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Sold by Zoom Books Company and Fulfilled by Amazon.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (72) from $2.30 + $3.99 shipping

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Name: American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza: Reinhart, Peter: 9781580084222: Amazon.com: Books
Price: 22.4 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.6 (402 reviews)

Peter Reinhart

Follow

American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza Hardcover – November 4, 2003

by Peter Reinhart (Author)

4.6 402 ratings

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$22.40","priceAmount":22.40,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"22","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"40","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"4duMn36ZsDkPXsMwRSK2xtk%2FcNk3WLZ%2BhZbw317KDAo0iG0aP%2BWFOs6ID9GM0JJhdbntn22zFz8YnwfG9ljSDbJANFK4lFTFRCDiZd7eOKvRcG8Tn9jH1V4w3zXPtJz0UoQRvCGaw5w%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$9.87","priceAmount":9.87,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"87","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"4duMn36ZsDkPXsMwRSK2xtk%2FcNk3WLZ%2BzPQ%2BuOVZSlCn%2BwByOoVVL2hY12FiQTjTB6XpYJWLCDucqzYPPLh82yJOAHg%2FL4KbLhzzbKzQIWq%2FE8EB1BTQuUS6F1t5p2OjM%2FIbgwDrHO65K%2BOxHjutKl3C2t1PWAWz4A7fIkJpQpJQhER4r%2BGABBkk3FLM4deO","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Master bread baker Peter Reinhart follows the origins of pizza 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 countryside in search of the fabled focaccia col formaggio. He next heads to Rome to sample the famed seven-foot-long pizza al taglio, and then to Naples for the archetypal pizza napoletana. Back in America, the hunt resumes in the unlikely locale of Phoenix, Arizona, where Chris Bianco of Pizzeria Bianco has convinced many that his pie sets the new standard in the country. The pizza mecca of New Haven, grilled pizza in Providence, the deep-dish pies of Chicago, California-style pizza in San Francisco and Los Angeles—these are just a few of the tasty attractions on Reinhart's epic tour.

Returning to the kitchen, Reinhart gives a master class on pizza-making techniques and provides more than 60 recipes for doughs, sauces and toppings, and the pizzas that bring them all together. His insatiable curiosity and gift for storytelling make American Pie essential reading for those who aspire to make great pizza at home, as well as for anyone who enjoys the thrill of the hunt.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

Review

“Peter Reinhart has taken a deep look into pizza, one of the best and simplest of foods, embracing all its variety. He probes American pizza especially, but he has tasted the original in Naples and visited elsewhere in Italy to learn about variations and relatives. He tells vivid stories, and his recipes and techniques are thorough and practical. A splendid book.” —Edward Behr, editor, The Art of Eating

“I doubt whether anyone else could be as passionate as Peter Reinhart about pizzas or have made such extensive and exciting journeys in pursuing them. He has collected great anecdotes and wonderfully detailed recipes in the course of his intercontinental hunt.” —Alan Davidson, author of The Oxford Companion to Food

“We all know that Peter Reinhart is a great baker and teacher, but now that he's fallen in love with pizza, we can see he's also a great tour guide as he takes us to the best pizzerias in Italy and America. Secrets are divulged, expert tips provided, and stories told. Much more than a collection of recipes, this is a book that is as fun to read as it is to bake from.” —Carol Field, author of The Italian Baker

From the Publisher

A fascinating look into the great pizzas and pizzerias of Italy and America.

Includes in-depth pizza-making techniques; more than 40 classic pizza recipes; and an engaging narrative of Reinharts pizza hunts with such food luminaries as Rick Bayless, Jeffrey Steingarten, and Joanne Weir.

Peter Reinharts last book, THE BREAD BAKERS APPRENTICE, was named Cookbook of the Year by both the James Beard Foundation and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

About the Author

Peter Reinhart is a full-time baking instructor at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was the cofounder of the legendary Brother Juniper's Bakery in Santa Rosa, California, and is the author of six books on bread baking, including Brother Juniper's Bread Book and the 2002 James Beard and IACP Book of the Year, The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

For a long time, I thought the best pizza in the country was from Mama’s in Bala Cynwyd, just outside of Philadelphia. And then something happened.

I grew up on Mama’s, even worked there briefly as a delivery boy, and found warm comfort in its stringy cheese and crisp, yet floppy crust whenever I’d been rejected for a date, lost a basketball game, or got together with high-school friends for a Saturday-night poker game. My family was equally hooked, and we often picked up a Mama’s pizza for dinner when my mom wanted a break from cooking, especially if going out for Chinese food, our other favorite pastime, seemed like too much trouble. We knew the owners of Pagano’s Pizzeria in West Philadelphia and often went there when we wanted an actual restaurant experience to go along with our pizza, pasta, and broasted chicken (they were pioneers in this now rarely seen pressurized frying system). But as good as Pagano’s pizza was, it never measured up to Mama’s for deeply felt satisfaction, a culinary balm of Gilead. More than forty years after eating my first Mama’s pizza, almost always made by Paul Castelucci (though I never knew his last name when I worked as a delivery boy), the business is still in the family, and the pizzas are now supervised, but not made, by Paul Jr., Paul’s son. Mama’s is still extremely popular, with long waiting times not only for pizza, but also for fabulous stromboli, hoagies, and cheese steaks.

My brother Fred, who now lives forty-five minutes from Mama’s instead of the five minutes of our childhood, continues to make the pilgrimage whenever he needs a fix. He brought us a Mama’s pizza when my wife, Susan, and I were in Philadelphia for a big food event. Susan had sprained her ankle at the airport just after we landed, forcing us to cancel our dinner plans so she could keep her foot on ice. When I called Fred to explain our plight, he said, “No problem, I’ll pick up a pizza and some cheese steaks at Mama’s and we’ll eat in.” I loved the idea. It had been years since my last Mama’s pizza.

The pizza arrived ninety minutes later, accompanied by Fred and his wife, Patty. I rushed through the greetings—hug, hug, “great to see you”—while Patty comforted Susan. I was captivated by the aroma of the pizzas and cheese steaks, and my mind floated away to distant times. It was like a long-lost friend, triggering painful and joyful memories that were flashing like a deck of cards rifled in front of my eyes. I’d deal with those later. For now, as far as I was concerned, it was about opening the pizza box, unwrapping the butcher paper from the cheese steaks, and getting everyone to stop talking and start eating. We divvied up the cheese steaks, which tasted even better than I remembered them to be, and then, at last, passed around slices of the pizza. I took a bite and stopped, the pleasant image-streaming of food memories suddenly interrupted by a mental disconnect. I shook it off and took another bite expecting an automatic memory flash to kick in so I could resume my forty-year flavor retrospective. Instead, I got a blast of “Whoa!

There was definitely something amiss. The words just came out without forethought. “Fred, they’ve changed the crust.”

“No they haven’t.”

“Yes they have.”

“No, they haven’t. Maybe it’s you.”

“I don’t think so. The crust is thicker and there are no air bubbles in the lip. Definitely not the Mama’s I grew up with.”

“I think it’s you.”

“No, it isn’t.”

Fred took another bite. “Well, it does seem a little thicker than usual. I heard they were breaking in a new pizza guy. But, I gotta tell you, it’s still pretty close to usual.”

“Maybe it is me,” I thought. It wasn’t just that the crust was a little different. The cheese and sauce certainly still resonated with old memories, and even if it wasn’t the best Mama’s, it was close enough that it should have elicited, within my usually tolerant margin-for-error forgiveness code, at least a sigh of pleasure. But something had changed within me. My expectations, an internal bar of standards that is both conscious and subconscious, had been violated. A slow wave of realization set in, one that I couldn’t suppress even though I tried.

“Maybe,” I said to myself, “it was never as good as I thought it was, just the best I’d been exposed to during my sheltered youth.” I knew it was something I couldn’t say out loud because Fred and Patty still lived here, while I was going back to Providence and might not have another Mama’s pizza for years. Yet I couldn’t shake the thought.

Since 1990, when I left the communal setting of a religious order in which everyone lived a vow of poverty and thus had limited restaurant experience, I have had the privilege of teaching and writing about food, especially bread. I’ve traveled around the country and beyond, belatedly pursuing knowledge about my taste passions. These passions are simple, not of the great gourmand type. I have learned that one of my inherent gifts is the ability to recognize flavors and textures of universal appeal and show people how to reproduce them. As a result of this gift, I have carved out a career as an educator, writer, and product developer. Which brings me back to pizza.

I have had a steady stream of students who have their own sets of childhood food associations that have driven them to the gates of learning. Food memories, as James Beard and M.F. K. Fisher have shown us, are powerful and compelling forces. Wherever I teach, if I want to get a lively conversation going, I need only ask, “Where do I find the best pizza around here?” Nearly everyone has a pizza story and a strong opinion. Pizza, it seems, lives in everyone’s hall of fame.

In 1976, I worked in Raleigh, North Carolina, as a houseparent in a home for what we euphemistically called undisciplined teenagers; in other words, juvenile delinquents. There was a pizzeria on Hillsborough Street called Brothers Pizza, and although I barely remember the details of the place, I do remember the experience of it. I took the kids there whenever we needed to decompress from the latest dramatic event in our house, and there were always, always dramas. That pizza, and only that pizza among all the pizza shops in town, was a panacea, our emotional salve. It had a crispy, crackly crust, like hot buttered toast, comforting and satisfying. It was perfect. The cheese was stringy and slightly salty. Was it the best pizza I’d ever had? No, but it was “perfect” pizza, a peerless match of textures and flavors that fed more than our stomachs and palates. But if I had it now, all these years later, I imagine it would be like having a Mama’s now. It would be good, perhaps the same as it always was, but it wouldn’t be the pizza of 1976, when teenage boys and girls from shattered families, with broken hearts and raging hormones, felt safe enough to confess their fears to me and to one another as they ate their pizza. That pizza, out of that context, could never be that perfect again.

So here I was, years after Raleigh, in Philadelphia, realizing that I was caught in a nature versus nurture situation. Was it me or was it the pizza that had changed, or was it a little bit of both? I’m pretty sure that when I asked myself that question, I set this whole pizza quest in motion.

--

In the pages that follow, I recount the journey that took place between my two visits to Phoenix, plus some trips that followed it. (This is a journey with no clear endpoint; it doesn’t begin or end with Pizzeria Bianco or Mama’s, but is merely signposted by them.) I had become a hunter of sorts, a pizza hunter, and I enlisted others to join me on the hunts. With Mama’s no longer the benchmark, and with the memory of Pizzeria Bianco serving as a temporary beacon and standard, I sought out great pizza everywhere I traveled, and I traveled to seek out great pizza.

Some of the numerous pizza excursions I choreographed were thwarted by circumstances: trip cancellations, a restaurant Closed sign, logistical mix-ups. But almost every time something went wrong, something else occurred to make it all right. In fact, Plan B was often better than Plan A could ever have been. As result I came up with the Reinhart Pizza Hunter’s Credo, a sound axiom for anyone who decides to adopt it: It’s all about the adventure, not the pizza. The pizza is just grace.

Sometimes my fellow pizza hunters made the hunt itself a more memorable adventure than the pizza did. I had so many interesting conversations around a pizza, on the way to get a pizza, or in anticipation of a pizza, that the pizza itself became the excuse for the hunt. But every now and then, the quality of the pizza transcended the hunt, stopped all conversation and refocused everything on itself, the object and subject, and the thrill of the hunt fulfilled itself in the quarry. When that happened it was magical, and all that mattered again was pizza.

So, I followed the trail wherever it led. And where it inevitably led, to no one’s surprise, was Italy.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ten Speed Press; Later prt. edition (November 4, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1580084222
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1580084222
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.75 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.35 x 1.1 x 9.34 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #535,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #159 in Pizza Baking
- #552 in Gastronomy Essays (Books)
- #967 in Travel Writing Reference

Customer Reviews:
4.6 402 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Peter Reinhart

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

PETER REINHART is widely acknowledged as one of the world's leading authorities on bread. He is the author of six books on bread baking, including the 2008 James Beard Award-winning WHOLE GRAIN BREADS; the 2002 James Beard and IACP Cookbook of the Year, THE BREAD BAKER'S APPRENTICE; and the 1999 James Beard Award-winning CRUST AND CRUMB. He is a full-time baking instructor at Johnson and Wales University and the owner of Pie Town restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Photo by VerbDared (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

402 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Review this product

Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book's recipes great and delicious. They find the information helpful and interesting, with good information on pizza history and technique. The recipes are easy to follow and straightforward for both beginners and experienced chefs. Readers enjoy the narrative and appreciate the practical tips. However, opinions differ on the visual style - some find it appealing while others feel it lacks illustrations and color. There are mixed views on the value for money - some find it worth the price while others think it lacks valuable content.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more

Recipes Readability Information quality Ease of use Story quality Visual style Value for money

81 customers mention "Recipes"76 positive5 negative

Customers find the book's recipes great and delicious. They say the reference for creating the perfect pizza dough is useful. The classic pizza sauce is uncooked and excellent for Italian dishes like pasta. The grilled pizza section is outstanding, teaching you to make Napoletana, New York style, Americana, and Roman pizzas.

"...To my pure delight, the dough was fantastic. It came out of the bread machine "sticky" just like the book says real pizza dough should be...." Read more

"...He covers all the bases. Finally, the actual complete pizza formulas he gives reflect his quest to find a pizza that meets his unwavering..." Read more

"...have come as close as I believe possible to duplicating the wonderful thin-crusted pizza my husband and I enjoyed in Italy...." Read more

"...The book is full of hunger inducing sentences - "The crust was perfectly crisp, the cheese nicely caramelized, the edge slightly charred and the..." Read more

69 customers mention "Readability"65 positive4 negative

Customers find the book engaging and informative. They describe it as a great reference for pizza making and a must-read for pizza enthusiasts. The writing style is described as terrific and enjoyable.

"...As is typical of his other works, Reinhart writes with unwavering passion, pouring everything he's got into the writing...." Read more

"...Other than thhose 4 nits, this book is recommended...." Read more

"Love this book. Working on trying each of the recipes to decide which one I like best." Read more

"A must read for pizza hunters, pizza makers and restaurant entrepreneurs...." Read more

49 customers mention "Information quality"45 positive4 negative

Customers find the book provides useful information on pizza history and technique. They describe it as a great reference with helpful information for amateur home cooks. The book is detailed with a variety of pizza dough recipes. Readers praise the well-researched content and consider it their favorite source for learning bread making techniques.

"...The pizza will cook up quickly and be ready in 8 to 10 minutes...." Read more

"...followed by baking methods, and there's some very helpful information here for amateur home cooks who've always wanted to learn the basics of home..." Read more

"...the nostalgic sentiment of the journey and may spark memories of your earliest pizza experiences...." Read more

"...interesting collection of pizza related history and styles with recipes for many variations....A section telling of the causes of undesirable..." Read more

32 customers mention "Ease of use"29 positive3 negative

Customers find the book easy to follow with attractive photos and straightforward recipes. It's a great reference for home pizza makers, providing practical tips and techniques. The author is good at presenting his recipes, but not as good at writing about his life.

"...The pizza will cook up quickly and be ready in 8 to 10 minutes...." Read more

"...Basic homemade pizza is fairly easy, and you can always strive incrementally for new levels of perfection." Read more

"...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..." Read more

"...Peter Reinhardt has the rare talent to explain the role of provincial food memories in re-creating your perfect pizza, the challenges of producing..." Read more

11 customers mention "Story quality"11 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's stories, recipes, and tips for making pizzas. They find the narrative interesting, especially the author's journey toward writing the book.

"...The book has two sections. The first is a fascinating account of all Reinhart went through to find what he regards as the perfect pizza...." Read more

"...is that the book is not just a cookbook; rather, it is accompanied by his narrative on the process he went through in discovering great pizza...." Read more

"...That said, his stories and techniques are great and I will most likely buy more of his books." Read more

"This is a great book from Peter Reinhart. It is full of stories, recipes and helpful tips to make wonderful pizzas...." Read more

10 customers mention "Visual style"4 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the visual style of the book. Some find it appealing on paper and enjoy the author's writing style, while others feel it lacks illustrations, colorful pictures, and photos of recipes. There are also complaints about errors and omissions in the book.

"...Aside from that, there are errors and omissions in the book...." Read more

"...Reinhart is a terrific writer; I enjoy enjoyed his style immensely...." Read more

"...and the print and photography (all b&w) is very blurry and not appealing it all...." Read more

"...It has plenty of attractive photos and easy to follow recipes, including ideas that are pretty creative and adventurous." Read more

8 customers mention "Value for money"5 positive3 negative

Customers have differing views on the book's value. Some find it worth the price for the recipes, while others consider it overpriced.

"...Money well spent." Read more

"...taking care in his other books (dough, sauce, toppings), and this was overkill...." Read more

"The part of this book devoted to recipes is money. I've taken my home pizza game to the highest level. Everything in this book to cook is great...." Read more

"...That alone was worth the price of the book. Highly recommended for all those on a great pizza quest." Read more

Reviews with images

See all photos

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

Kindle Customer
Dough recipies are right on the money!
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2005
Verified Purchase

I've made pizza from plain flour and yeast, commercial all-in-one packages, and even tried a bread machine recipe, but the taste and consistency were never as good as a real Pizzeria-made pizza. I beleive in the saying that crust is 80% of a pizza, so I bought this book and tried the first recipe for Neo-Neapolitan pizza dough. Because I'm lazy, I used a bread machine to knead the dough, and topped it with sauce and cheese I picked up off the shelf. To my pure delight, the dough was fantastic. It came out of the bread machine "sticky" just like the book says real pizza dough should be. I cut the ball in half, covered each piece with olive oil, and placed both in plastic bags to rise slowly overnight in the refrigerator, as indicated. The next evening I shaped the dough by applying flour to the backs of my hands as the book said, and baked it on a pizza stone in a conventional oven. The results were incredible. I repeated the feat at my girlfriend's house the next night with the second ball of dough, and she demanded that I leave the remaining pieces at her house for her to eat the next day.

I should mention that I divided the recipe in half because I don't need to make 4 balls of dough at once. And I did make two slight modifications to the recipe: 1) I dissolved the yeast in 105° water for 2 minutes before adding it to the bread machine, then added the olive oil followed by the dry ingredients; and 2) I added 2 tablespoons of gluten to the mix. I buy my flour and other supplies from a local baking store, and they recommend adding gluten to get a better rise. So I just do that out of habit, and it seemed to work perfectly for me. I followed this up with the New York-style crust, which also resulted in a perfectly sticky ball of dough. I may be making pizza every Friday night for the next 10 years, because you can whip this dough up on Thursday night in about 20 minutes, using a bread mixer on the Dough setting. I'm sure I could get gourmet-oriented and try some of the great sauce recipes, and buy some fresh mozzarella cheese, but the pizza tastes great with ordinary sauce and toppings, so for now I'm sticking with these dough recipes for their savory crusts.

As I mentioned above, I use a 15-inch pizza stone which I place in the oven and heat to 450° for 20 minutes while preparing the pizza. A Pizza Peel, the wooden paddle used for transporting the pizza to and from the oven, is essential if you want to bake the pizza directly on the stone. You need to place a generous amount of flour and corn meal on the peel beforehand, or the pizza will not slide off easily. If this happens, have a spatula handy to coax the pizza off the peel and onto the stone. Another way (edit, Apr 11 2013: a piece of parchment paper between the peel and pizza slides right off and on to the pizza stone. Surprisingly, the paper doesn't affect the browning of the dough.) The pizza will cook up quickly and be ready in 8 to 10 minutes.

My favorites are: Neo-Neapolitan, New York Style, Pizza Americana, and Chicago Deep Dish dough. One reviewer here gave the Chicago recipe a low score, but I liked mine. The problem wasn't with the crust, it was with all the ingredients in two layers of crust that produced a heavy and moist pizza. I prefer a thinner crust that results in a pizza that two people can polish off in one meal, but the Chicago Deep Dish is a good change of pace once in a while and leaves lots of leftovers for the next day or so!

Also, I finally got to Phoenix and visited Pizzeria Bianco in October 2008. As Reinhart promised, it was a GREAT crust, baked by the dough-maker in a wood-fired brick oven. I spoke briefly to Chef Bianco and gave him the Thumbs-Up, he was very humble and thanked me. When I mentioned I had read about PB in Peter Reinhart's book, he told me he had just spoken to Peter the day before. Good people, good food.

Read more

69 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Matt Morgan
A passion for pizza
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2003
Verified Purchase
I bought this book, having never seen it before, because of my appreciation for author Peter Reinhart's other excellent works, as well as a desire to make good pizza of my own. I have Bread Baker's Apprentice and Crust & Crumb, and because these books are specifically about bread, I assumed that American Pie would be all about the crust. This was a gross misconception on my part; this book is much more than a tome on pizza crust.

The book has two sections. The first is a fascinating account of all Reinhart went through to find what he regards as the perfect pizza. This includes details of a trip to Italy as well as places within the United States where he found excellent pizza on his pilgrimage. The second, larger section deals with the recipes (formulas) he has created, and this section is broken down further into three sections -- dough, toppings and sauces, and finally complete pizzas.

Do yourself a favor -- do not skip the first section and plow right into the recipes and formulas. While you may be more interested in getting down to business, you learn a tremendous amount about what the author regards as a great pizza, and more importantly, you learn just how serious the author was when he set out to find what he calls the perfect pizza. As is typical of his other works, Reinhart writes with unwavering passion, pouring everything he's got into the writing. Finally, many of the pizzas he mentions in the first section are recreated in recipe form in the second section, and it's really fascinating to recreate one of the pies in your own kitchen.

The dough section is a collection of approximately a dozen excellent formulas for crust. Each recipe sticks to Reinhart's trademark method -- slow rise, usually an overnight rising. I have not tried all of these, but those that I have tried have not disappointed. I'm getting rid of my old crust recipe.

The toppings and sauces section contains two recipes for nice sauces, neither of which I have attempted yet but will. Where it gets interesting is his "Specialty Toppings" section -- there are things there that I would never dream of putting on a pizza, such as pureed butternut squash, as well as tried and true items such as sauteed mushrooms and garlic oil. While some of these will not appeal to everyone, there is something interesting bound to tempt everyone.

Included is a brief breakdown of baking scenarios and how to deal with them -- home oven/no stone, convection oven and stone, etc. He covers all the bases.

Finally, the actual complete pizza formulas he gives reflect his quest to find a pizza that meets his unwavering standards. Many of the recipes are clearly a result of his trip to Italy, such as Pizza Vesuvio, and others are accounted in his domestic travels. Again, I have not tried them all (and with eggplant as an ingredient in some of these, it's doubtful I ever will), but those I have tried are so far and away better than what I made before.

All this said, an underlying thought I had was that the search for the "perfect pizza" was Reinhart's search. He was going for what *he* considers a perfect pizza, and that could very well be different than that of many of his readers. He seems to prefer a thinner, crisp crust that is mildly charred, with a good crunch and a finely tuned sauce and toppings combination. If you prefer a thick, chewy crust, you may feel like he is "off the mark" in his search. It is important to remember this when working your way through this book and finding your own "perfect pizza".

If you like pizza and want to make pizza of your own that is just flat-out outstanding, this book will serve you exceptionally well. Even if you don't find what you would consider "perfect pizza" here, you'll find something that's a great foundation.

Read more

361 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Charles A. Hays
Up Your Pizza Game!
Reviewed in Canada on January 24, 2023
Verified Purchase

Peter Reinhart's definition of pizza is, "Dough with something on it." Truly, pizza is a "big tent" that can cover many styles. I imagine most of us have eaten pizza or its relatives (focaccia, calzone, etc.) most of our lives. Many of us have made pizza, and others have worked in pizzerias. So the idea of pizza is one we may already have, not something we need to learn from square one.

One of the beautiful things about "American Pie" is that even if you've never seen, made or eaten a pizza you will have all you need to step right into the kitchen and crank out a pie. For those who have some pizza under their belts (sorry, I had to..) a review of the fundamentals is good. It makes an excellent foundation for what comes later: moving beyond "make it this way" to "make it YOUR way."

Peter is a consummate teacher. When I read his books I get so much out of them; I feel like I'm sitting at the feet of a true master who not only knows his stuff but can pass it on. The first part of the book tells the story of his pizza journeys, and I have to say I really enjoy reading good food writing. After that he digs deep into the main components, discusses alternatives, and hands over some recipes to try on. He gets into the what, the how and most valuably the why of pizza.

Peter Reinhart is a treasure and so are his books. You will be inspired!

Read more
Report
Giorgos Dimitriou
Exactly what I was looking for
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2013
Verified Purchase
I'm slowly becoming a pizza geek and after a lot of web search for the perfect dough I came across a slow fermentation method by Peter Reinhart, I tried it in a convection oven with pizza stone and in a wood fired oven and it was always great! How could I not purchase this book?

Read more
Report
Nicolas Levy
Les meilleures recettes de pate à pizza
Reviewed in France on January 6, 2013
Verified Purchase
Les cents premieres pages de ce livre sont consacrées à la vie de l'auteur et à son histoire d'amour avec la pizza.
Par paresse et parceque c'est en anglais, je n'ai pas pris la peine de tout lire...

Mais vers la centieme page on arrive aux recettes, c'est là que l'achat de ce livre prend tout son sens.
Grace aux recettes de pate proposées par Peter Reinhardt, j'arrive désormais à faire chez moi dans mon four table-top d'étudiant des pizza plus savoureuses que bien des réstaurants! seules les pizza cuites sur pierre dans d'authentiques fours à bois restent meilleures.
Il y a également de nombreuses propositions de garnitures, toujours utile quand on arrive à court d'inspiration.

Read more
Report
Translate review to English
NN29
Tasty Pizza Crusts
Reviewed in Canada on December 7, 2019
Verified Purchase
A must have if you enjoy making pizza at home for pizza night. The recipes are easy to follow and a variety of crust to try. I have been working through the book trying the crust that interest me. I have not been disappointed and found some new favourites from my standard go to dough.
A tip after the mixing there is some rest time for the dough. I found making the dough the night before and resting in the fridge over night as made excellent eating results.

Read more
Report
Wheatos
Travel and cookbook in one
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2017
Verified Purchase
A must read for all pizza lovers. Half travel book half cookbook. Great experiences and anecdotes from Peter followed up by recipes for the multiple pizza base types and toppings he experienced on his travels.

Read more
Report

See more reviews

Amazon Prime Free Trial

Follow the author

American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza Hardcover – November 4, 2003

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Frequently purchased items with fast delivery

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Review

From the Publisher

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Product details

Videos

About the author

Peter Reinhart

Customer reviews

Review this product

Customers say

Select to learn more

Images in this review

Reviews with images

Additional praise for the road map to perfect pizza.

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

5.0 out of 5 stars Dough recipies are right on the money!

5.0 out of 5 stars A passion for pizza

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Up Your Pizza Game!

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what I was looking for

5.0 out of 5 stars Les meilleures recettes de pate à pizza

5.0 out of 5 stars Tasty Pizza Crusts

5.0 out of 5 stars Travel and cookbook in one

Dough recipies are right on the money!

A passion for pizza

Up Your Pizza Game!

Exactly what I was looking for

Les meilleures recettes de pate à pizza

Tasty Pizza Crusts

Travel and cookbook in one