A good pizza, with a perfect crust that is crisp on the outside and tender in the center, is a hard thing to resist. In my area pizza is going through a bit of a popularity surge at the moment, with places that let you choose your own toppings and fire up a personal pizza in seconds in an ultra-hot oven. While this is unquestionably a convenient – and usually tasty – way to get a pizza, it isn’t necessarily my favorite way because I still get a lot of satisfaction in making great pizza at home. In Truly Madly Pizza: One Incredibly Easy Crust, Countless Inspired Combinations & Other Tidbits to Make Pizza a Nightly Affair, you’ll find a cookbook that is focused on making homemade pizza as good as it can be, as well as dozens of reasons to make it more often in your own kitchen.
The book includes only one pizza crust recipe (with one variation) and two different mixing methods so that you have some options when it comes to putting it together. One recipe is all you really need because the fun of pizza is in the toppings. The book has many recipes for sauces and spreads that can be paired with your crust and offers pizzas in a wide range of categories, including Fruit & Vegetable Pizzas and meat-topped pies. They range from familiar combinations to ones you may not have thought to try. There are also chapters for snacks you can make with the dough and salads that you can either pair with your pizza or toss and serve on top of your crust. The beauty of having one good crust recipe is that it allows you to become very familiar with the dough and grown your pizza-making confidence while improving your dough handling technique. You can spend more time worrying about your topping combinations, which is what makes a pizza memorable.
The recipes are complimented by beautiful photos of pizza that will get you inspired to bake, as well as plenty of tips to help your pies turn out perfectly every time. You will also appreciate the suggestions for making the most out of your leftovers (both from making pizza and other dishes that could turn into good toppings down the road) and for what ingredients to use. You’ll need high quality ingredients, but nothing too unsual, which makes this a great everyday book that you’ll find yourself coming back to again and again.
What do you think?