PizzaManiac.com - The Pizza Maker's Journal » Pizza General

Sausage wins as favored topping according to Google

PizzaBill — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:23:22 +0000

I was experimenting with Google Insights for Search this evening and I’ve discovered that Sausage is the Worlds most searched for pizza topping! Here’s a link to the statistics: Sausage vs Pepperoni vs Mushrooms on Google Insights

It’s also interesting to note that mushrooms is beating out pepperoni in the US, but not Canada or the UK. How does your favorite topping fare?

PS: Check out this surprising comparison of Chicago vs. New York Pizza

Perfect Pizza videos from Heston Blumenthal

PizzaBill — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:04:36 +0000

Is this a trend or is it a coincidence that this episode of “In Search of Perfection – Perfect Pizza” featuring the self proclaimed culinary alchemist Heston Blumenthal covers a recipe very similar to the dough that is in my refrigerator right now? The videos show Heston traveling to Naples and bringing back some wonderful advice for making pizza at home. It’s inspired me to seek higher temperature bakes from my oven.

Thanks Slice

Pizza Quiz: Test your pizza knowledge

PizzaBill — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 13:36:57 +0000

Our friends over at my favorite pizza blog, SliceNY.com have raised a challenge to all pizza aficionados to test your knowledge of our favorite food. The Pizza Quiz is full of tough and tasty questions like “What year did the world’s first pizzeria opens its doors?” and “The Margherita Pizza was first created in what Italian city?”. If you consider yourself to be a pizzamaniac, it’s time to put your number 2 pencil where your mouth is…

Take the Slice-Serious Eats pizza test

2007 Carlisle Pizza Tour

PizzaBill — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:28:02 +0000

This summer some friends and I have been enjoying a pizza tour of Carlisle, PA. With over 20 different pizza establishments (including chains) it’s been pretty interesting. We visit one restaurant each week. Here’s a map in case you would like to take your own pizza tour of the area. If I find any interesting pizza, I’ll be sure to report back.

View Larger Map

Can you run your own pizzeria?

PizzaBill — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:19:24 +0000

Imagine this… you come to work at the pizza shop you deliver pizza for, only to find a note asking you to run the shop for a day! Can you handle it? Ok, so I’m not talking about real life, but rather a great new online flash game called Papa’s Pizzeria. The goal is to see how well you can take orders, make pizzas to spec, bake them just right and serve them to your customers. Multitasking quickly becomes the name of the game as you are required to flip between the various stations to get your orders completed.

It’s great fun and has the potential to waste lots of productive time, so be careful! Check out the game here: Papa’s Pizzeria Game

Here’s a tip – pay attention to where the customer wants the toppings on the pie! It’s not just half and half, they actually tell you top, bottom, left or right. Keep you eyes on your oder slip! Enjoy…

Pizza Man Runs for Governor in Delaware

PizzaBill — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 01:09:02 +0000

Robert Foraker delivers pizza for a living, but he wants to trade his pizza stickers for campaign stickers as he is running for the office of Governor this term. Most appropriately, his campaign headquarters is also a pizza restaurant. With crime as his platform, Foraker aims to turn Delaware into a safer place. I say any man of the pie has my vote!

Read more about Foraker and his campaign [via: delawareonline.com]

I have so much to tell you

PizzaBill — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 03:37:30 +0000

Now THAT was a long break! Taking a short break from posting turned into a long dry spell and for that I apologize. The good news is that I was still making pizzas and taking photos during that time. I’ll be posting a few new experiments here in the next few weeks.

Sorry to all of you that have been wondering where I’ve been!

New Dough Mixer for Christmas

PizzaBill — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 01:15:11 +0000

I got to unwrap a new Kitchen Aid 600 series professional mixer for Christmas this week! The mixer has a spiral dough hook designed for large batches of dough. It’s supposed to be able to handle 14 cups of flour, which by my rough calcualtions, would be about 8 full-size pizzas! I’ve already used it to make a double batch of Bill’s Traditional dough and you can bet I’ll be putting this baby to the test in the months to come. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Hmm, I wonder how long it would take to bake 8 pizzas in my oven…

Customer tries to pay Pizza Man with his own credit card

PizzaBill — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 03:10:29 +0000

Ok, I normally don’t bother with all the pizza news about pizza delivery people being robbed or chased, but this one was too good to ignore! Apparently, Vegard Sjaastad delivered a pizza near the western Norwegian town of Aalesund and was given his own stolen credit card to use as payment. I just keep trying to think of what I would say…

Read the full story

My Fourth 50 Pound Bag of Flour

PizzaBill — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 01:06:23 +0000

Wow, I bought my fourth 50 pound bag of Pilsbury Hi Gluten flour today. Man, that stuff goes fast!

Read about my flour counter …

Happy Birthday to Pizza in America!

PizzaBill — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 01:47:12 +0000

American pizza came to be 100 years ago . That’s when Gennaro Lombardi received the first license in New York City to run a pizzeria. The immigrant bread baker opened Lombardi’s pizzeria in 1905 at 531/2 Spring Street in New York City in 1905. Happy Birthday to our favorite food!

Read about this and other interesting pizza firsts Here

Read about Lombardi’s

Pittsburgh Square Pizza Tour – Pizza House (aka Police Station)

PizzaBill — Sun, 07 Aug 2005 03:45:54 +0000

The third and final stop in our Pittsburgh Square Pizza tour was another well known pizzeria called “Police Station Pizza” in Ambridge, PA. I learned that the real name is Pizza House, but no one calls it that. We almost didn’t make it in time to order as we arrived 10 minutes from closing time.

We were greeted by a friendly employee who asked us how many slices we wanted. You don’t have to tell them what kind you want because they don’t add toppings until the slices are ready. In fact, they only bake the pizza with sauce and cheese. Since we ordered pepperoni and mushrooms, they were piled onto our slices right before they closed the lid on the carry out box! A man next to me ordered extra cheese and was asked if he wanted that “melted”. This is because many people ask for uncooked shredded mozzarella to be added to the top of their pie after it comes out of the oven.

While I waited for the slices to cook, I asked if I could take a few photos. The gang at Police Station were great sports and actually came together for a group photo by the counter. They all said “pizza” and I snapped my favorite shot of the night.

Once our order was up, we headed for the van to eat our pizza before midnight. I must say that this was an outstanding pizza. The flavor of the sauce went perfect with the firm but tender crust and quality toppings. The fact that the toppings were uncooked didn’t bother me at all. The only negative thing about Police Station pizza is that it is about 5 hours from my home town! What a great ending to a perfect pizza night.

Stay tuned here at pizzamaniac.com for some square pizza as I try to imitate some of the inspiring shops I visited tonight!

Visit the Pizza House (aka Police Station Pizza)
1007 Merchant St
Ambridge, PA 15003-2329
Phone: (724) 266-3904

Tell em Pizzamaniac sent ya!

Pittsburgh Square Pizza Tour – Beto’s

PizzaBill — Sun, 07 Aug 2005 03:00:28 +0000

Our second stop in our Pittsburgh Square Pizza tour took us to Beto’s Pizza on Banksville Road. As soon as I got to the counter, I noticed a very tall man taking a large tray of pizza out of the oven. It struck me because there was only sauce on top of the dough. He proceeded to cut the sauced dough into square slices and place them in to go boxes. Then, he reached into a large bowl of wonderful looking fresh, shredded mozzarella cheese and placed a huge handful of it onto the slices that he just boxed. After piling cheese on, he loaded the box with pepperoni (there must have been a half pound of it), closed the lid and yelled “order up”!

As it turns out, Beto’s is famous for serving pizza this way – hot square crust topped with delicious sauce and cold but fresh toppings! We ordered four slices of pepperoni and mushroom pizza and the cashier told us that it tastes best if you eat it right away. So, we sat on a bench outside and opened our box. Once we figured out how to hold a Beto’s slice, we were digging in. I’ll admit I’m not the biggest fan of cold pizza and the cold toppings made me feel like that’s what I was eating. I should say, however, that the flavor and freshness of the cheese and toppings more than made up for the temperature. I can see why it is a favorite for many people.

It would be hard to eat more than two slices of this pie – mainly because of how much was piled on to the top of it. I held myself to one slice and we jumped into the van for our trip to yet another famous pizza place.

Visit Betoâ€™s Pizza
1473 Banksville Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15216
Phone: (412) 561-0121

Tell them Pizzamaniac sent ya!

Pittsburgh Square Pizza Tour – DiSalla’s

PizzaBill — Sun, 07 Aug 2005 02:32:46 +0000

My dad works in Pittsburgh, PA and has been telling me that he wants to take me to his favorite pizza joint for a while now. This weekend, we finally got the chance to go for it! Our first stop was DiSalla’s in Munhall.

As we went into the shop I immediately felt right at home. Maybe it was the friendly people waiting for their pies or the Steelers paraphernalia I saw hanging around or the old world ambiance that was all around. The counter ran the entire length of the shop with a great looking deck oven in plain sight. It was hot and the place smelled delicious.

With a big smile on his face, my dad ordered 8 slices. It didn’t matter that there were only three of us, or that it was 8:00 PM, or even that we had at least two more pizza stops to make on our tour. The truth is, now that I’ve tasted the pie, I can understand. We got 4 sausage and mushroom and 4 pepperoni and mushroom.

I looked around while we waited and they had some great signs and posters on the walls. I snapped a few shots (with permission) and before I knew it our slices were up.

The pizza shops on our tour all served pizza in trays. I saw a stack of what appeared to be partially baked trays of dough which get topped and baked to completion when an order is placed. The slices are square and the toppings are placed on top of the cheese. I was delighted to see sliced sausage rather than balls of it. I knew from looking at it I was in for a treat.

The pizza was amazing. I think I can safely say that I’ve never tasted pizza like this. The sauce was sweet and the toppings were fresh. The dough had a light, crispy consistency but it wasn’t totally crunchy. It was far from the bread-like crust that you find in most New York style shops. It was love at first bite.

Needless to say, we devoured the slices as soon as we got to the car. Disalla’s square pie was worth the 3 hour trip to Pittsburgh in my humble opinion. It has inspired me to figure out how to bake this style of pizza and I promise you’ll see me trying that real soon.

Visit DiSalla’s Pizza Parlor
948 E 8th Ave
Homestead, PA 15120-2150
Phone: (412) 462-5070

Tell them Pizzamaniac sent ya!

Pittsburgh Square Pizza Tour

PizzaBill — Fri, 05 Aug 2005 16:31:51 +0000

We’ll be traveling this weekend which means I won’t be baking any pizza. But, I’m excited because my dad has promised to take me on a square pizza tour in Pittsburgh, Pa. We’ll be hitting at least 3 different joints and I’ll be writing about them here. I don’t plan to turn pizzamaniac.com into a restaurant review site, but let’s consider this field research for my next experimental recipe!

Stay tuned…

Tough Pizza Driver Takes a Bullet and Still Delivers Pies

PizzaBill — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 16:43:56 +0000

As a pizza delivery man, I had a few shady situations, but God kept me from ever getting robbed or injured during a delivery. Today, I read an amazing story about a delivery driver that was wounded by a gunshot during an attempted robbery then continued to finish his runs! This makes Thomas Stefanneli the toughest pizza delivery man ever, in my book.

Read the full story

Pizza ends a prison riot

PizzaBill — Tue, 10 May 2005 17:18:11 +0000

I’ve often considered my unordinary obsession with pizza to be borderline dangerous. Then I read about a jail riot in Sydney Australia where the prisoners took guards hostage then demanded 50 pizzas be delivered in exchange for their release. Now, these guys must have had a serious pizza itch! I’ll bet the pizza delivery boy was a little uneasy that night.

Read the full story at Reuters.com …

Extreme pizza cutters

PizzaBill — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 21:21:08 +0000

I can’t say enough about the downright sweetness of these Extreme Pizza Cutters designed by Frankie Flood from the University of Illinois. I can only imagine tearing through one of my pies with an all-aluminum, powder-coated carbon fiber custom cutter! Hats off to this extraordinarily talented artist.

Say, this could go along well with the tricked out dough mixer we saw a few months ago…

US Pizza Makers break speed record and two US teams take home 4 medals

PizzaBill — Thu, 24 Mar 2005 03:22:45 +0000

Well if there is one thing that the world should know after last week’s World Pizza Championship it is that Americans can make pizza wicked fast! Brian Elder from the US Pizza Team shattered the competition record for fastest pizza maker by stretching 5 pizzas in just 37 seconds! If taking the gold wasn’t enough, Michael Shepherd of the World Pizza Champions took the silver with another record breaking time of 45 seconds. Now that’s fast folks! The World Pizza Champions also received a silver medal in the team pizza acrobatics competition and Tony Gemignani a bronze in solo acrobatics. Well done guys!!

UPDATE:I would like to note that this post has been modified based on an email which alerted me to the fact that there are actually TWO pizza teams which compete every year in the World Pizza Championship. All credits for medals and team names have been adjusted to correct the original post. My apologies to those who were misrepresented!

Find out more at Pizza Marketing Quarterly and the World Pizza Champions web sites …

World Pizza Championship – Support the US Pizza Team

PizzaBill — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 00:51:37 +0000

Monday, March 14th is the start of the World Pizza Championship in Salsomaggiore, Italy! The US Pizza team web site is full of information about our countries top pizza chefs and the competition in 5 categories: Fastest Pizza Maker, Largest Dough Stretch, Freestyle Pizza Tossing, Best Gourmet Pizza and Best Traditional Pizza.

Show your support for the US Pizza Team by visiting their web site where you can purchase a t-shirt or even practice dough to help you learn to toss!

Hopefully, those of us who can’t go with the team to Italy will be able to catch the action on the FOOD Network this summer.

Visit the US Pizza Team web site …
Visit the World Pizza Championship web site …

Get a US Pizza Team T-Shirt …

Counting pounds of flour used

PizzaBill — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 04:53:29 +0000

I go through a lot of flour as I go along on my journey to find the perfect pizza recipe! In fact, as I stood in line to buy my third 50-lb bag of Hi-Gluten flour from the baker’s supply shop, it became almost amusing to consider.

The number that is at the top of the site will go up each time I make a post about a pizza that I make myself. I am not counting the actual pounds of flour as I go, but rather I have developed a formula for estimating my usage. The formula is as follows:

Flour Used (lbs) = # of “Pizza Making” posts * Average # of Pizzas per post * Average lbs Flour per pizza

I’ve calculated that my average number of pizzas per post is about 1.1. Each pizza recipe uses an average of 3 cups of high gluten flour which weighs approximately 5 ounces per cup. There are 16 ounces in a pound.

Therefore I use apporoximately 1.03125 pounds of flour each time I post a “Pizza Making” article!

As of today (February 2005) I have used 2 full 50-lb bags of flour and put a dent in my third. I have wasted a few dough balls and given about 10 cups of flour away to friends. That means that my calculations are probably conservative!

Here’s to many, many more pounds of flour!!

Pizza-lovin’ School Bus Driver

PizzaBill — Sat, 19 Feb 2005 05:34:44 +0000

A school bus driver got fired this week for making a stop for pizza with a full load of kids on board! I don’t know about you, but I would have loved my bus driver if he would have stopped for pizza! Maybe pizza would have even kept us in our seats for a few minutes.

I guess throwing a pizza party on a school bus is against the rules or something? That’s too bad.

Read the Full Story at theledger.com …

New helicopter pizza delivery service?

PizzaBill — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 04:08:56 +0000

A British army pilot is in trouble tonight for delivering pizza to his girlfriend. Where I come from, this is not normally considered to be a big deal. I suppose, however, things change a bit when your vehicle happens to be a multi-million dollar helicopter owned by your government!

The man thought some hot pizza would be a romantic gesture for his girlfriend. He proceeded to take his helicopter off-course and stop at the training facility where she was a cadet in training. The stunt gained him more trouble than he expected when he realized that a General had witnessed his landing. He’s apparently been given extra clean up duties for weekends. No word on the condition of the pizza.

Read the full article …

Pizza for Tsunami victims

PizzaBill — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 04:04:26 +0000

I’ve struggled a bit to find a way to help the victims of the Tsunami, but today Pizza chefs in Bagalore, India have teamed up to bake an enormous pizza in order to raise funds for Tsunami relief. This 120 foot pizza was made using 120 Kg of flour and 120 Kg of cheese! Now that’s a great way to use a pizza.

Read the full article …

“Coolest Mixer on Earth”

PizzaBill — Fri, 28 Jan 2005 17:42:24 +0000

Most know that I don’t use a dough mixer (yet). In fact, all of my mixing is done by my trusty breadmaker. But if I did have a mixer, it would be VERY tempting to get a custom paint job on that baby. Maybe metal flake yellow with hand-painted pepperoni?

Apparently this guy took his to get it signed by Alton Brown (known for his show Good Eats on The Food Network). Alton was impressed enough to put a photo on his web site calling it the “Coolest mixer on Earth”. I’d like to take that thing for a “spin”.

Snow[pizza]man

PizzaBill — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 04:14:47 +0000

The snow was perfect snowman-snow today as you can see. I proceeded to build a snowman with my two daughters. Here is what I have to say about this photo:

YES – this is a real picture of the snowman we built today
YES – that is a picture of one of my pizzas
YES – our snowman was actually holding a broom and a pizza pan
NO – the pizza was not on the pan in real life (everyone knows pizza melts snowmen)
YES – I realize that my children are going to grow up with an abnormal sense for pizza’s place in life
YES – writing this post has made me hungry for pepperoni pizza

Superbowl Fans Like Pizza!

PizzaBill — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 04:50:10 +0000

It was no suprise to me when I read that 68% of Super Bowl watchers choose pizza for their game day meal. An article on pizzamarketplace.com gives some really interesting facts about the pizza habits of American football fans.

Did you know that Domino’s Pizza expects to sell 1.2 Million pies that day – enough pizzas to cover four entire stadium fields?!?

I imagine I’ll be busy baking that Sunday as well. After all, I’m not one to miss an excuse to eat pizza.

Read the facts about pizza on Superbowl Sunday at pizzamarketplace.com …

The skinny on tipping your pizza guy

PizzaBill — Mon, 24 Jan 2005 10:31:25 +0000

The New York Post ran a story yesterday on tipping the pizza guy which may be of interest to some of you. I don’t order pizza for delivery much any more, but I was a delivery driver for many years and I completely agree with the comments made in the article.

In addition, you might get a kick out of reading in detail the suggested tipping structure mentioned in the article. A whole web site is dedicated to the plight of pizza delivery personnel and you can read about it here: www.tipthepizzaguy.com …

Read the New York Post Article “Here’s a Tip: Don’t Stiff Him ….

[Thanks Adam]

Get your kids into pizza making!

PizzaBill — Wed, 19 Jan 2005 23:29:40 +0000

I found this great set of stuff for getting your kids into pizza making! It comes with just about everything you would need to get started. My kids help me all of the time – it’s a great family event. Also, I like the idea of them being able to bake pizza for me some day.

Who knows, maybe you’ve got a junior Pizzamaniac just waiting to toss their first pie?

View details about the Kids Pizza Making Kit …

I want to drive a pizza truck

PizzaBill — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 21:57:11 +0000

I’ve found what I want to do with my life! I can see it now – cruising from city to city looking for hungry people to make pizza for! What a life!

Now if I can only convince my wife…

I want to be Pizza for halloween

PizzaBill — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 02:47:31 +0000

If I were a kid, this is definetly what I would be this year for halloween. Maybe I should have made my kids dress like pizza slices…

If you want to make your kids dress up like pizza, buy this Pizza Costume at BuyCostumes.com …

New pizza web site helps you find pizza joints!

PizzaBill — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:55:11 +0000

I prefer to make my pizza when I can. However, when I’m away from home I like to try out the local pizza. This web site PizzaJoints.com will be the perfect tool for getting me to the best pizza restaurants. You can search for a city and get a list of pizza joints. You can also read reviews, phone numbers and even maps.

I think this is a great idea… …great name too! Find Pizza in your city …

Pizza on Parade!

PizzaBill — Mon, 13 Sep 2004 15:54:39 +0000

Some days, whatever it is I think I see becomes a pizza pie to me. I thought I was seeing things the other day when I giant slice of pizza was waving to me during a street parade in my town… Until a guy from Papa Johns handed me a sheet of coupons. I grabbed this photo and from then on I was hungry for pizza. Come to think of it, I think I’m hungry for pizza right now!

New PizzaManiac.com Web Site Look and Logo!

PizzaBill — Tue, 17 Aug 2004 05:00:03 +0000

I’m up way later than I should be, but I’ve launched the new look for PizzaManiac.com! Good thing I had pizza tonight to keep me going

I still have some things to tweak, so please bear with me. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome!

Pizzamaniac.com is Pizza Makers Journal

PizzaBill — Thu, 29 Jul 2004 01:34:09 +0000

We’re having so much fun here that I just couldn’t resist getting a domain name! Welcome to PizzaManiac.com! I got the idea when one of my friends called me a maniac for being so into pizza. Hey, I’ve been called worse …

Look for a logo and redesign at some point – ideas and suggestions are welcome!

The attack of the Pizza vending machines!

PizzaBill — Thu, 22 Jul 2004 16:05:27 +0000

Now I’ve seen it all! Someone has figured out how to get pizza out of a vending machine! Apparently there is some debate about who was first to attempt this amazing feat. After looking online, I found a few references. First, we have a claim by Lew Cenotti who apparently built an elaborate Pie-O-Matic Pizza Machine in the 1950s!

Then I found a company called Wonder Pizza Italy who apparently has been installing the modern version all over Europe. Created by entrepreneur Giovanni Demaggio, the machine holds over 100 pies and serves a four-slice pizza in 90 seconds, for about $5.

Paul Pattaini of Wonder Pizza USA has launched a venture to bring Pizza Vending Machines to America. There’s already one on campus at Brown University.

I think I’ll keep making my own, but keep an eye out for Pizza Machines in your neighborhood!

I got blogged at Slice!

PizzaBill — Fri, 16 Jul 2004 11:19:47 +0000

Yesterday was a great day! I got a note from Adam at Slice (www.sliceny.com) telling me that he checked out this web site and that he blogged about it on his site! It made my day!

I appreciate the gesture very much since I spend a bunch of time over at Slice. It’s a great pizza blog with an incredible amount of information about New York Style Pizza!

Thanks again Adam!

Check out Slice …

Amazing Pizza Facts

PizzaBill — Wed, 14 Jul 2004 16:08:46 +0000

I was amazed to see just how popular pizza is! Did you realize that there are 3 Billion pizzas sold each year in the U.S. alone? I didn’t. Find out more facts about everyone’s favorite food at this Pizza Facts Web Site…

WARNING: There is some extremely loud and cheesy embedded audio on this page. You may want to mute your audio before taking the jump!

100 Things to Do When Ordering Pizza

PizzaBill — Fri, 25 Jun 2004 16:33:16 +0000

Though I wouldn’t recommend doing it on a Friday night, these are funny ideas for harassing your local pizza shop operator! Some of them are pretty funny. (And, no, this is not a picture of me!)

23. Change your accent every three seconds.

Ok, not all that funny – but its better than some of those junk emails you get, right?

Check out 100 Things to Do When Ordering Pizza …

U.S. Pizza Team

PizzaBill — Fri, 18 Jun 2004 12:04:01 +0000

Today I discovered that we have a U.S. Pizza Team! According to the web site, they travel each year to a Worldwide competition in Italy to compete in these 5 categories: Fastest Pizza Maker, Largest Dough Stretch, Freestyle Pizza Tossing, Best Gourmet Pizza and Best Traditional Pizza. It seems the Americans are pretty good too – taking 2nd, 3rd and 5th place wins at the 2003 “World Pizza Championship”. I better start practicing!

Visit the U.S. Pizza Team Web Site …
Watch the U.S. Pizza Team Music Video …
Read about the World Pizza Championship …

I found my theme song!!

PizzaBill — Thu, 17 Jun 2004 23:15:13 +0000

I stumbled across this great song called “Pizza Pizza” and it’s been stuck in my head ever since. That was 3 days ago! I am unofficially claiming it as the theme song for this web site. In fact, if this site generated any revenue, I would license it! Written by Joe Dolce it was even a regional hit in Australia during the mid-1980’s.

Believe me gang, if you love pizza you’ll get a kick out of this song! Check it out…

Listen to the “Pizza Pizza” Song …

Read about the songwriter, Joe Dolce …

Can we call it Pizza?

PizzaBill — Tue, 08 Jun 2004 12:35:51 +0000

Italy has outlined specific guidelines to protect the real Neapolitan pizza! The regulations by the Agriculture Ministry touch on everything from size to ingredients to the type of oven. Read about Italy’s guidelines for pizza-making! I’m willing to argue with them on this.

Pizza in Japan?

PizzaBill — Fri, 21 May 2004 12:25:17 +0000

I came across this Japanese pizza menu for a restaurant in Japan called “Pizza-la”. I thought it was neat to see the things they put on their pizza! What’s a Deramaru?? Their Advertisements are funny, too.

No more cold pizza?

PizzaBill — Thu, 20 May 2004 12:24:39 +0000

Anyone who’s ever been a pizza delivery driver knows the frustration of not finding a customer’s house at night! The guys at PizzaBeaconS.com think they have the solution! They have developed a door hanger that emits bright flashing lights to help the pizza man find his way. I suppose this is the high-tech version of turning your porch light on.

My Pizza Background

PizzaBill — Tue, 18 May 2004 12:23:54 +0000

Several readers have asked me why I like pizza so much, so I thought I would take a minute to write out my story… My love for pizza has been with me for as long as I can remember. My love for pizza making started with my first job. I was hired at age 15 as a cook at our local Pizza Hut. My first assignment was to open the restaurant with a senior cook who taught me how to mix, pan and proof 3 types of dough (thin, pan and hand-tossed). I was hooked from the beginning! I stayed at Pizza Hut for 5 years while attending high school and my first 2 years of college. During that time I did some delivery and some waiting of tables, but my main job was cook. By the end of my time there, I had become proficient at dough prep, sauce making, pizza topping, pizza cutting and even washing dishes! It was there, too, that I met my lovely wife. I also saw the major chain grow and change. For example, during my time there we stopped chopping our own vegetables and began getting large bags of “veggie mix” frozen from our distributor. We also began getting personal pan pizza blanks and breadsticks as frozen parbaked products. I think I was blessed to learn what I did before the restaurant got too far away from a traditional pizza operation. We had some good times experimenting with the pizzas and creating our own recipes.

As I began to take on more of a load at school, I began looking for a less demanding part-time job. My brother convinced me to join him at Pizza Outlet which was an up and coming pizza chain that started in Pittsburgh. Pizza Outlet was much more of a traditional pizza shop. I was a delivery driver, but part of our job was to help prep the kitchen. We sliced vegetables, helped make dough, folded boxes and washed dishes of course (there was no dining room). Pizza Outlet gave me a new perspective on pizza since the corporate climate was removed and I saw what a simpler operation was like. There was no “veggie mix” or “meat mix”, just freshly sliced onions, peppers and mushrooms. In addition, the dough process was different there. I learned to retard dough balls and bag dough that would be used for more than one day. Being a delivery driver, I got to see what customers liked and expected from a pizza provider. I also made more money per hour there as a delivery person than any other job I’ve ever had! Pizza Outlet pizza was one of my favorite pizzas.

When I graduated from college, I stopped working in the pizza industry and began buying pizza. I realized that for close to 10 years I had eaten pizza nearly every day and never had to pay for it! It’s still strange for me to visit a Pizza Hut and not go to the kitchen to toss my own pie! I began to try every pizza I could find and really develop my idea of what pizza should look and taste like. Life was good until I moved to central PA.

When I arrived in central PA, the reality of local pizza variance hit me. I could not find a pizza that had the same taste and consistency of the pizza I grew up with. Distraught, I realized I would have to take things into my own hands, literally! I began researching pizza and trying to understand how to reproduce characteristics of pizza that I love (chewy crumb with a lightly crisp crust, etc). I make pizza at home, now, and I seem to like my own recipes better than most pies I can buy. Now that I am a dad, I love to make pizza at home with my children and pizza is more a part of my life than ever.

My goal is to be able to recreate whatever type of pizza I want to at home. I also want to find unique pizzas to add to the family menu. In particular, I would like to someday build a brick oven and learn how to cook pizza with fire. I’m not sure if I’ll ever make pizza for money again, but I’m pretty sure I’ll never stop making pizza…

Heaven on Wheels!

PizzaBill — Tue, 04 May 2004 12:00:41 +0000

Check out these sweet Pizza Trailers! I would love to take this baby on the road. What more can a pizza maker need? Smells like a business idea…

Pizza Drivers must read…

PizzaBill — Fri, 23 Apr 2004 11:51:47 +0000

If you’ve ever been a pizza delivery person (I delivered my way through college) you wil appreciate this web site full of Pizza Delivery Stories! I was laughing out load at some of the downright crazy things that happened to these drivers. Heck, I might even add a few of my own stories – Like the time everyone in the house was running around flushing their drugs down the toilet because they thought I was a cop! Fun times… great read.

Low Carb Pizza?

PizzaBill — Thu, 22 Apr 2004 11:50:13 +0000

Will Low-Carb Pizza ever make it to your local Pizza Shop?

Read about the effect low carb diets are having on the pizza business!

Pizza Making – To Go!

PizzaBill — Wed, 21 Apr 2004 11:48:49 +0000

Biaggia Professional Pizzeria Pizza Oven, Model No. 502

Stumbled across this great deal on a portable pizza oven! This would be great for small offices or for taking your pizza to a park or backyard bbq! The price is right too.