I just made my first pizza two nights ago, and I I’m ready to join the club. I think I’ll write up a post, too — a different kind of post, to reassure beginners. (No offense, but you passionate pizza people can be a little bit intimidating.) I’m definitely going to get a pizza stone and pizza peel now, but I was able to do without them this time and I still got a nice crust. What surprised me most was that making pizza “from scratch” was no more labor intensive than most of our weeknight suppers. I used Barilla tomato sauce, mushrooms and shallots sauteed in white wine, and fresh mozzarella — delish!

Howie, if you’re around, I am also curious the cast-iron pan idea. Without a pizza peel, getting the pizza in and out of the oven is a bit of a challenge, and having a handle would help a lot. (Unfortunately, I can’t use my cast iron crepe pans in a 500 degree oven because — unbeknownst to us when registered for them — they are coated with teflon :-(

joe benjamin: Good pizza can be found anywhere, and is a matter of personal taste. While I can name many NYC pizzerias with sub-par pizza, my interest was in New York Style pies.

While there are many ways to get delicious pizza, I maintain that for a true “New York Slice” – crispy, bubbly crust, thin, floppy slices – the high heat bake is the only way to go. Jabbet’s Pizza (at least for this post :) ) appears fairly doughy. Baking in a cast-iron pan is interesting – can you get a thin crust?

Howie: An Israeli pizza place was also the first place I ever saw hard-boiled eggs on pizza.

The first time my kids were given the choice for pizza toppings, they chose tomatoes, corn & spaghetti – all together! I’m open minded when it comes to pizza toppings – just no anchovies.

Another great article. I will have to revisit the mozzarella di buffala with the salt added to the brine…

I will have to agree with jabbett though about the oven temperatures. My oven does not get hotter than 550, and I usually bake pizza at 500. I usually don’t make enough for leftovers, but the one time I did, it was perfectly fine.

I partially pre-bake the crust, making sure to dock it thoroughly so it doesn’t puff up.

Using a cast-iron pan will yield the best crust, and I usually use a 10-inch lodge cast-iron skillet for pizza, and I find that it makes great deep dish pizza as well.