Welcome to my website, my name’s Tom and I’m from sunny England (it’s almost always raining). If there’s one thing that can cheer me up, it’s delicious homemade pizza!
I’ve always had a passion for cooking, maybe an obsession you could call it (I know my other half would)! I cook meals from scratch virtually every night. Not only do I love eating homemade food, I enjoy the process too. Learning about cooking is part of the fun for me and I find it very rewarding.
To me, pizza is one of the most delicious and satisfying foods there is. When crafted with love and care, it really does take some beating. What’s more, I find the whole process quite theraputic.
I enjoy making (and eating) all types of pizza including Neapolitan, New York, and Detroit style amongst others. On this website I’ve got recipes for them all, but it didn’t start out that way.
A few years ago, I discovered Neapolitan pizza and I knew that I had to try to perfect it myself (try being the key word)! To me, it was the most amazing pizza I’d ever tasted and it seemed very different to the takeaway pizzas that I’d had in the past.
It was crispy yet soft. It was smokey yet delicate. It was so complex and yet so simple. The smell was intoxicating and the sight of it was a view to behold. Above all, the taste was to die for!
I was greedy, I wanted to make this pizza myself whenever I fancied it. But, I wanted to make it for friends and family too. I wanted everyone to experience this incredible sensation.
First of all, I took to the internet in search of good recipes, like usual. To my surprise, I struggled to find any decent ones, they all lacked clarity and detail.
For example, they would say “knead the dough until ready”. I thought to myself “how do I knead the dough? And how do I know when it’s ready?”. Another common instruction was to “stretch the dough to size” without any information about how on Earth I was going to achieve this!
Also, each recipe different massively. Some said to use plain flour, some to use bread flour. Some included sugar and olive oil whilst others didn’t. Some recipes used a 1 hour proof while others used a 48 hour proof! I had no idea where to start.
Whilst I understood that there’s different ways to make pizza, it didn’t make sense to me for there to be so much differing advice on how to make the same style of pizza. The best Neapolitan pizzas I’d seen and tried all looked and tasted very similar.
I decided that the best way to learn how to make Neapolitan pizza was to start by developing a deep understanding of it first. The theory was that if I could figure out what made it unique, I would figure out how to make it!
This was a lengthy research process involving many different websites, books, documents, and videos. Many videos I watched were in Italian (which I can’t speak unfortunately). I just watched to see the process of the authentic Napoli style pizza makers (pizzaiolo) in Italy.
One key document that I discovered was the Official Neapolitan Pizza Guide (AVPN). I didn’t realise that Neapolitan pizza actually had a protected status (and still does). In order to be officialy called Pizza Napoletana, it must be made in accordance to the strict rules.
At first this seemed strange – surely there’s many diffferent ways to make pizza? But then it made sense – this was probably why all the best Neapolitan pizzas looked and tasted very similar – they were made to essentially the same set of instructions.
However, let me be clear – the official guide doesn’t give you exact quantities and timings. Instead, it provides you with thresholds – such as between 56% to 62% hydration (water content). It provides a framework with a range of allowable methods and ingredients.
Following the understanding of the AVPN, and after reading countless articles and watching a seemingly never ending array of videos, it all started fitting into place. I understood what made Neapolitan pizza unique and I started to understand the process of making it.
What was surprising to me was that learning about Neapolitan pizza helped me to understand about other types of pizza too. After all, practically every pizza style stems from Neapolitan pizza, which is believed to be the “original” (at least in terms of “modern pizza”).
I still believe that anyone who wants to make incredible pizza should learn how to make the Napoli style first. In my view, this gives you the best understanding of the pizza making process and produces the most consistent results. You can always begin experimenting with different styles once you understand the process.
In fact, even by following the “Neapolitan rules”, you can still make quite different pizzas – each Neapolitan pizza maker has their own “signature”. The guide allows for some variation so you can experiment within the rules, if you like.
You can test differnet flours, different hydrations (amount of water), salt level, yeast type, proof time, and so much more (all within the allowable ranges). Even the shaping of the pizza alone can result in very different outcomes – some people make them with a large crust, others with a very small one.
However, by following the Neapolitan guidelines, you always end up with incredible pizza. At least, that’s my experience.
By providing me with a baseline, the AVPN allowed me to understand what it took to make incredible pizza. From there, I could understand how to achieve certain characteristics in the pizza and what I’d need to change to get there.
I figured that, since I struggled so much to find this information out, I should share it with others on the internet. Also, I knew how much effort it took for me to get to a place of understanding and I wanted to make the process easier for others.
Once I had developed my own recipe (that fell within the guidelines), I set about simplifying the process as much as possible. To me, the key to this laid in explaining every single step in the pizza making process as clearly as possible. I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned and I didn’t want there to be any doubt about the methods used (including why specific methods are used).
The results of this, are the recipes and articles (and videos) throughout this website. I guess the downside is that some of the content is quite long and heavy. (Although hopefully the videos help to speed up the understanding.)
However, I still think that my website offers the fastest and easiest way to make amazing pizza. After all, making great pizza is quite a skill, and that’s why most pizza isn’t actually that great.
By the way, I appologise in advance for spoiling takeaway pizza for good if you start this journey! (Although I’ll admit it can still be enjoyable once in a while.)
Hopefully you find this website useful. Essentially, it’s all the information that I wished was available in one place when I started out making pizza. Yes, I’ve gone into more detail than probably any other site, maybe too much some would argue. However, I would argue that if you want to make the best pizza possible then I’ve gone into just the right amount of detail.
Once you truly understand the pizza making process, you won’t need recipes, you’ll be able to create your own recipes. You’ll adopt your own styles of pizza. You’ll know exactly what happens if you increase the hydration or if you add oil to your dough. You’ll know how changes to the oven temperature effects the pizza, and how shaping alone can have a huge impact on not just the appearance of the pizza but the taste and the texture.
But, more than anything, you’ll know how to make the best pizza you’ve ever tasted at home. And surely, that is worth the effort!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks again for visiting my site and I hope it helps!
Cheers, Tom.
I often get asked what type of oven I use for my pizzas. Well, I use a pizza oven made by a company called Ooni.
The range of pizza ovens that Ooni offers is just brilliant. They cover all bases, and all price points. There's affordable and portable models such as the Fyra 12 Pizza Oven and then there's state-of-the-art models such as the Karu 16 Pizza Oven pictured below.
In all honesty, I would say that the oven makes a huge difference. If you're looking to make authentic Italian pizza, a pizza oven is a must.
By clicking the link below and purchasing from Ooni, you would be supporting this website. I've been using their ovens for a long time now and I wouldn't recommend them if I didn't believe in their products.
Time to make some amazing pizza!
