Wine Spectator Article on Pizza

[bakerbill]

The June issue of Wine Spectator has an informative and well illustrated article on the best pizzerias in the country. Of course, it includes a lengthy list of wines to accompany pizza. Most intriguing, however, is the account of of Silverton's La Brea pizza which  "starts with a sponge that has the consistency of pancake batter.  It contains no salt so the yeast can work unimpeded."  A short description follows of the rest of the process.  I wonder if anyone on the forum has eaten this pizza and what they thought of it. I also wonder whether there is a more complete recipe along with the process for producing the pizza.

bakerbill

[pizza concerto]

Hi bakerbill,

Look at the review section here:  http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,4623.0.html

There is alot of info about Mozza, though no recipes.  No one has gone after it, its a bit intimidating!!

Dan

P.S. I picked up that article in Wine Spectator June 30 issue...it looks like some great info in there, thanks for the heads up...

If you click on this link, there is a video interview with Nancy Silverton by the writer of the article...http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Free/Video/0,4258,353549860_1507859768_1586318808,00.html

[scott r]

Bakerbill, unfortunately the few times I have been to Mozza the pizza was baked until there is no moisture or tenderness left to the dough.  The toppings are amazing quality wise, but often misguided in their application.   I can't tell you how many people have complained to me about both the "overly crispy and tough" crust or the huge dollops of cold (yes cold) mozzarella that are put on top of the pizza AFTER it has come out of the oven. Luckily they only do this for the "upgraded" cheese pies, so if you stick to the normal default cheese it is baked on the pizza.  It's very sad how much potential this place has and how short they really do fall.  I have sent a few pizza loving east coast transplants there just because I figured I must have just had their pizza on bad days.  Every time my friends say they would never go back again.  If this place were in NY it would have shut down already, but in the dismal LA pizza scene it actually comes off as decent california style pizza.  This place to me is just proof that amazing bread bakers are not necessarily amazing pizza makers, and how even having the best toppings in the world wont make a decent pizza if the crust is not right.

[pizza concerto]

Hey Scott,

I have tremendous respect for your pizza knowledge but with regards to Mozza, I actually like the pies...they are truly different than anything else I've tried.   It is set apart from the masses.   The amount of puffiness and crispness to the rim is Nancys goal I'm sure.  I know she could achieve a more Neapolitan style if she went for it, but she chooses to do this one.

I agree about the toppings on some of the pies, but then again, the whole package feels right to me because its moving pizza in a slightly new direction.

I have yet to go anywhere else in the world that serves a pie like hers.

Dan

[scott r]

I have yet to go anywhere else in the world that serves a pie like hers.

That's for sure!  My mouth hurt after eating the pizza because of the shards of incredibly dry crust.

[tinroofrusted]

I just got the June 30 issue of Wine Spectator and read the article on pizza voraciously.  It was really good; almost required reading for us pizza nuts.  I was amazed that Nancy Silverton was so forthcoming about her technique for making the pizzas. I have some sponge fermenting right now and I'm going to try to replicate one of her pies as best I can.  I have eaten at Mozza and it was really one of the highlights of my pizza eating career. Fantastic flavor and great toppings. I really enjoyed the experience. 

The Wine Spectator article lists some of the best pizzerias in the U.S. (22 in all). It might be interesting for others to respond and say how many of these they've been to, and which was their favorite.  I was able to check off seven of them (Pepe's is my favorite by far) and I'd love to be able to visit them all someday.  Here are the 22 pizzerias that they cite as some of the "leading pizza venues in the United States:"

Al Forno, Providence, RI
Antica Pizzeria, Marina del Rey, CA
Apizza Scholls, Portland OR
A16, San Francisco, CA
Caioti Pizza Cafe, Studio City, CA
Di Fara Pizzeria, Brooklyn, NY
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napolitana, New Haven, CT
Grimaldi's, Brooklyn, NY
Lombardi's, New York, NY
Lou Malnati's, Chicago, IL
Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, New York, NY
Pizzaiolo, Oakland, CA
Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix, AZ
Pizzeria Delfina, San Francisco, CA
Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles, CA
Sally's Apizza, New Haven, CT
Serious Pie, Seattle, WA
Spago Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills, CA
Tacconelli's, Philadelphia, PA
Tommaso's, San Francisco, CA
Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano, Brooklyn, NY
Una Pizza Napolitana, New York, NY

[tinroofrusted]

Here are the exact clues given in the Wine Spectator article about Nancy Silverton's technique at Mozza in Los Angeles:

Her pizzas have a "remarkably light" crust, puffy at the rim, thin in the middle, crunchy enough to support the toppings.

Her secret is to make the dough wet and give it time to relax. It is a two day process.  They start with a sponge with the consistency of pancake batter which has no salt in it.  After 24 hours, a bit more water is added and just enough bread flour, rye flour and salt to bring it together. She uses a corkscrew dough hook and kneads for about five minutes, until smooth.  Twelve hours later the dough is broken off into seven ounce balls.  It rests for four hours and is then formed into a pizza. 

When I went to Mozza I noticed that the pizzaiolos are very careful to preserve the puffy edge on the dough rounds when forming them.  They begin by flattening the middle of the dough and working outward, gently cradling the dough and tossing it back and forth between their hands.  When finished, the pizza is about 8 inches across and has a very puffy edge (but thin in the middle). 

Regards,

[Boy Hits Car]

Al Forno, Providence, RI
Antica Pizzeria, Marina del Rey, CA
Apizza Scholls, Portland OR
A16, San Francisco, CA
Caioti Pizza Cafe, Studio City, CA
Di Fara Pizzeria, Brooklyn, NY
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napolitana, New Haven, CT
Grimaldi's, Brooklyn, NY
Lombardi's, New York, NY
Lou Malnati's, Chicago, IL
Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, New York, NY
Pizzaiolo, Oakland, CA
Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix, AZ
Pizzeria Delfina, San Francisco, CA
Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles, CA
Sally's Apizza, New Haven, CT
Serious Pie, Seattle, WA
Spago Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills, CA
Tacconelli's, Philadelphia, PA
Tommaso's, San Francisco, CA
Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano, Brooklyn, NY
Una Pizza Napolitana, New York, NY

I know I'm biased since I live in Philadelphia, but Tacconelli's rivals every coal oven pizza I've tried in NY.  They use the most flavorful cheese I've ever had on a pizza.

[pizza concerto]

So far I've only hit 15 of the 22...I need to get busy!  I hate to think about all the bad pizzas I've had, that list would run into the 100's....thanks tinroofrusted for posting the specifics of the Wine Spectator article, let us know how the reverse engineering goes...Peter Reinhart told me Mozza was the best he'd tried, and even he didn't know how she achieved it. (I took a bread baking class with him).

[tinroofrusted]

I know I'm biased since I live in Philadelphia, but Tacconelli's rivals every coal oven pizza I've tried in NY.  They use the most flavorful cheese I've ever had on a pizza.

Is Tacconelli's the place where you call up and reserve your dough ball?  I wanted to go there when I visited my sister in Philadelphia two years ago but we couldn't find a time to go.  Maybe next time! 

[tinroofrusted]

.Peter Reinhart told me Mozza was the best he'd tried, and even he didn't know how she achieved it. (I took a bread baking class with him).

He's a bread guy so I'm not surprised that he loved Mozza. Their pizza seems to be a bit controversial, with more than a few people dissing it for being too bready or puffy.  I really liked it a lot myself, but  I'm a bread guy too! 

[sourdough girl]

tinroofrusted,
Thanks for the posts...glad to see that Seattle made the list!  I didn't realize that Tom Douglas had opened a pizza place in Seattle:  Serious Pie.  He's one of Seattle's premier chefs and gets serious respect from all.  Here's a Youtube that might be of interest:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngxpwrnt7bM" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngxpwrnt7bM</a>

~sd

[Boy Hits Car]

Is Tacconelli's the place where you call up and reserve your dough ball?  I wanted to go there when I visited my sister in Philadelphia two years ago but we couldn't find a time to go.  Maybe next time! 

Yes it is.  You have to call a day ahead of time - annoying but worth trying at least once.