Peter’s Blog, August 8th — Alright, Controversy!!
I’m packing and getting ready for the big book launch over the next two weeks in SF and the Bay Area, so will keep this short. The schedule is listed below in my previous Peter’s Blog, if any of you can make it to any of the classes or book signings. There are still a few seats left for the classes but you’ll have to call the venues for more info.
But this week I think we’re going to have to address the controversy that emerged in the Comments section of my last posting, thanks to someone named Scott007 and a few other voices, including another Scott — Scott123. It’s actually kind of exciting — apparently, I’ve pissed a few people off and am not sure why but would sure like to find out what I did (if you aren’t up to speed, please check out the Comments thread in the recent Peter’s Blog — last time I checked there were 14 comments). So, what I’d like to do is open up the discussion here on this posting, via a new Comments section, the one on this posting, and ask any and all of you to chime in. If I’ve trashed NY pizza culture, as Scott123 accuses, or passed on misinformation about pizza methodology or dough science, let’s get it all on the table so we can clear it up. Scott(s), how about getting specific and make your case — I hear that 123 is a well respected pizza authority so maybe I have something to learn from you. None of us have a monopoly on the whole truth and Pizza Quest was created to be a forum for the sharing of our mutual pizza journeys and celebration of artisanship. I’m open to learn from you but also would like to know the actual specifics of where you think I went wrong, rather than generalized attacks. The only rule for this discussion is civility — I reserve the right to edit out ad hominum attacks, unnecessary language, and nasty language. But differences of opinion — sure, I’m okay with that. So, for those who want to play along, go ahead and express yourselves — but let’s do it respectfully, please.
I won’t be posting another Peter’s Blog till I return at the end of the month, but will try to join in the Comments section from the road if my i-Pad and local WiFi will allow it. In the meantime, let’s get to the heart of it — we’re on a search for the truth (or, perhaps, truths). Let the discussion begin….
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If you had taken a similarly less reverential tack as NY with all of your destinations, I wouldn’t be happy about it, but it would have been a little less salt in the wound. Narrative-wise, you did right by Naples. You performed your due diligence in defining Neapolitan pizza- and then some. Oven, bake time, temperature, flour, standards- all laid out for the world to see. NY may not have anything along the lines of a VPN, but, at the same time, it has very similar, definable standards, practices that no one’s sat down and agreed upon, but customs that everyone adheres to- all of which help to make it great. Well, helped to make it great.
Sure, as far as classifications go, the elements that make Neapolitan pizza great are pretty easy to nail down. You walk into any Neapolitan pizzeria, anywhere, and pretty much all you need to know is staring right back at you, and whatever you can’t see, the owner will be quick to explain. There’s very little secrecy to Neapolitan pizza. It’s all an open book, and, everyone, for the most part, is on the exact same page. As an outsider looking in, getting up to speed on how Neapolitan is defined is almost instantaneous. New York, on the other hand, is garlic, twisted in a knot, wrapped in a calzone. I have yet to meet a Neapolitan pizzeria owner who wouldn’t freely you give you his recipe. Ask a NY pizza guy his recipe, and all you’ll get is a squint. “What do you want my recipe for?” He doesn’t want you opening a place next door. Loose lips sink pizzerias.
Regardless of how difficult it might have been to wrangle secrets out of pizzeria owners, if anyone could have done it, it would have been you. Tell them about the book you were writing, flash them that heart melting cherubic grin, and they may not have given you every key to the castle, but they’ll have offered up at least the information that most pizzeria owners are aware of.
All of this being said, as much as I’m frustrated that you missed out on such a significant scoop, didn’t dig deep enough, said respectful things about midtown Ray’s, got some bad advice, did well by Naples (and New Haven and Phoenix) and ended up featuring some of New York’s least shining examples of pizza, none of these did substantial damage to NY culture or to home pizza making. To cover that, we’ve got to look at the recipe.
The Devil is in the Details
From American Pie:
“Attempting to replicate perfect pizza at home, especially without the high temperatures of a wood- or coal-burning oven, may seem like a daunting task. In fact, you may believe that the limitations of home ovens make it impossible to reproduce the pizzas of the truly great pizzerias. Though many home cooks are adventurous in other areas, most are content to satisfy their pizza craving with a stop at a favorite local pizzeria, home delivery, or a pie out of the freezer. (It is a tribute to pizza’s flavor potency that even when it is prepared on a mass scale, people keep coming back for more.) This is totally understandable if you live near one of the great pizzerias and you don’t believe you can match their pie at home. But what if you can? Pizza is, after all, a peasant food at heart and should be as easy to make at home as meat loaf or macaroni and cheese.
My goal is to win you over to this view by teaching you some basic principles and methods that, when applied, yield wonderful home-baked pizzas in a variety of styles.”
The way I read this, and, correct me if I’m wrong here, you seem to be implying that, even though wood or coal fired results aren’t perfectly reproducible in a home oven, something ‘wonderful’ is still very much possible- in a variety of styles. Since NY style is neither wood, nor coal, it seems to read a lot like “Here’s a recipe for truly great NY style pizza.”
While you later qualify your Neapolitan recipe with the caveat that it isn’t strictly DOC, your NY recipe receives no caveat. For the humble slice, there was no qualification:
“Here is the dough for the pizza with a medium-thick crust that you find in New York City, any college town, or anywhere else that pizza is sold by the slice.”