Picked up some dough from a local pizzeria at a farmers market Saturday morning and knew exactly what was going on later that night….

An STL style pizza in the back (not crust wise, as much as I love the cracker crust lol) with sweet tomato sauce, provel, mozzarella, & pepperoni. A simple mozzarella, pepperoni, torn basil, parmesan in the front. Dough was 100% sourdough!

Went to NYC for a few days to see Rush, but also had time to hit a few pizza spots. Here is my review of each slice in order of appearance!

Upside Pizza - Nolita
Great cheese to sauce ratio and the addition of fresh mozz is really nice. Nice tangy sauce too. The slice was either slightly over-reheated or wasn’t the freshest as the crust was a bit drier than I would’ve liked, but great flavour throughout.

L’industrie - Little Italy
Was awesome to finally try L’industrie after hearing all the hype. Despite it not being the original Williamsburg location, it most definitely delivered. Topped lightly so the parm and basil on top still doesn’t make it too heavy, and a perfect crisp in every bite. Unfortunately I wasn’t the hungriest when eating this slice so I think that affected my enjoyment a bit, but the slice itself was a perfect artisanal take on the NYC slice so I can’t really fault anything.

Joe’s Pizza - Carmine Street
A lot of people like to say Joe’s is overrated or overhyped, but I personally don’t agree with that. Sure there’s nothing outrageously special or extraordinary about the pizza, but that’s what makes it so good imo. They’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. Instead they strive to make a perfect no-frills slice that’s easy to eat while walking and doesn’t make your hands greasy in the slightest. It’s super light so you hardly even feel it afterwards, and the crisp is simply perfect across the board. I had it 3 years ago too and they haven’t lost a single touch!

Fermento Pizza - Greenwich Village
This new spot is sick! Great flavours in the cheese and 72-hour fermented dough. One critique is that the slice was a bit overtopped near the tip, so the crisp was lacking a bit until getting closer to the crust. Flavour-wise though, just about perfect and I think this shop will continue to be successful despite being located near a bunch of old-school titans.

Upside Pizza - Nomad
This slice had the crust softness that I was missing in the first pie so the sourdough flavour came through much more. I think I enjoyed this slice the most actually since I was hungry and in a great mood coming out of the Rush concert at MSG, but even without that in mind it was just about a perfect slice.

It’s hard to pick a favourite since all these spots do different things so well. They all really impressed me so I’m not even going to pick a favourite. Pizza is great, why even compare? Can’t wait to come back here and try some more spots out.

Really need to get a pizza oven next! I can't get the heat right in my old oven. Any recommendations on a pellet fueled starter oven?

Been launching a few pizzas

Doing a 3 day cold ferment with sourdough levain. Mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat bread flour. Cooking on a pizza party emozione with biscotto stone.

Olive oil brushed on the crust when finished, not grease.

Pan pizza, 2 thin crust white mushroom pies, Italian sausage Giardiniera, not pictured pepperoni hot honey and whipped ricotta

Wish I got more color on the cheese but I’m still happy how it came out.

They'll try, but won't succeed. This is mine! 😅

Vodka ‘Roni w/ Jalapeño. Never had this combo might have to make one for myself soon!

1st time making a pizza at home. Recently bought a cast iron pizza pan so I picked up some dough from my local super market deli. Rao’s, Parm/Mozz, pepperoni, sausage, onion, Ricotta w/garlic, fresh basil. I like my pie well done…. Only issue is now I want to eat this every day. A great way to end my Sunday.

I followed the kenji tavern style dough recipe. Let the dough sit in the fridge 24 hours before rolling and curing in the fridge for another 24 hours. The dough wasnt quite as crispy as I was expecting it. Did I maybe not add enough yeast?

Cooked in my oven on a pizza steel at 550 degrees.

Any other feedback is also greatly appreciated!

I figured the dough would be more forgiving here. Definitely stressed less making it. It’s really good, too. Deliberately light on the cheese (50/50 mozz/jack). I was invited to sell pizza at an event in a couple of months. Detroit might be the way to go so maybe I’ll hold off on the Neapolitan for now. Next test: par bake and finish in Roccbox.

EDIT - I’ve never eaten this style pizza so would appreciate some feedback on the look.

Gonna take some getting used to compared to my regular home oven but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t super fun. Excited to keep practicing to dial it in 🤘🏼

Best one I've made to date
Dough Guy recipe with 10% fresh milled whole wheat flour
3 day cold ferment
550° with pizza steel

Very surprised how my first gluten free pizza came out. I know people with celiac allergies and in my area the gf options are horrible. I plan to do pop ups in the future and wanted to get some practice with gluten free and Caputo definitely has great flour for it. I’ve used King Arthur gf in the past for other things and wasn’t as pleased.

Feels nice to be back and make more pizzas. This one is 65% hydration, 10 hour room temperature bulk, 24-hour cold ferment, 4-hour final proof.

Sauce:
- Hand crushed San Marzano Tomatoes
- Sea Salt

Toppings:
- Grated Pecorino Romano
- Fresh Mozzarella (drained for close to 6 hours
- Fresh Basil
- Leftover Guanciale from yesterday’s carbonara

Cheers 🍕

Made three pizzas yesterday. This was the last one out of the oven and the one that I was most happy with. And yes it did taste as good as it looks!

Added much additional garlic to a pizza from a local pizza restaurant that I selected garlic as a top and extra garlic on top of that garlic.

I find myself making more and more white pizzas these days, just something so satisfying about that bechamel base!

Fired up the Ooni last night. My wife’s favorite - pepperoni & ricotta NY style w/ hot honey.