Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0936184205, Hardcover)

Homemade pizza can rival the best your local pizzeria has to offer--if you know how to prepare it. How to Make Pizza provides a succinct introduction to this gratifying kitchen activity. In fewer than 100 pages it offers illustrated, step-by-step instructions for preparing thin-crust, deep-dish, and grilled pizza--recipes, tips, and information that all cooks can use.

Recognizing that successful pizza making requires mastery of fundamental though simple techniques, plus proper equipment (including baking tiles or a pizza stone for crisp, thin-crusted pies), the book offers chapters on pizza basics, doughs, and sauces, followed by basic crust recipes and topping formulas. Thus a master recipe for thin-crust pizza dough is followed by variations that include recipes for Pizza Bianca with Rosemary and Garlic, Classic Tomato Pizza with Mozzarella and Basil, and Caramelized Onion Pizza with Oil-Cured Olives and Parmesan, among others. Throughout, underlying techniques are explored and illustrated (such as forming deep-dish pies), and sensible tips abound (for example, even if baking a single pie, make a multi-pie dough recipe and freeze the extra for later).

A true primer, the book is part of the Cook's Illustrated Library series. Like the magazine, the books are dedicated to presenting tried-and-perfected recipes and cooking techniques in a concise, approachable way. --Arthur Boehm