1. Appeal for a Peel

2. The Search for a Coal Fired Oven: Gary Bimonte from Pepe's Responds

3. I.M. Tailgate's Pizza Dough Recipe

4. Lew Cenotti: THE PIZZA KING'S PIE-O-MATIC PIZZA MACHINE

1. Appeal for a Peel

Mike writes:

"Hello, which pizza peel should I buy? Aluminum., pressed,  or wood? And from who? Or whom?  I want the best quality and the best price. Thank you
 Mike 

Our Response: 

Hi Mike. (For those that do not know, a pizza peel is the tool used to transfer a pizza in or out of the oven. It has also been called a pizza paddle.)
You are asking a great question. I have both wood and metal peels. Both types work great.
I think it really depends on what you feel most comfortable  with. I have been using my metal peel more and more. When I grill pizza on a barbeque, I will use nothing else.

The best price? You can go the cheap route like our friend Espo. Until he broke down, and got a peel (as a gift), he used a piece of cardboard. He said it worked well! Sure, it would catch on fire sometimes, but he could always get another piece of cardboard at no cost! (Alright, I'm exaggerating about the cardboard catching on fire, but Espo really did use a piece of cardboard for a pizza peel and you can , too!)

To tell you the truth, if you are at all handy or know someone who is, you can easily make one for yourself out of an old 
handle and a piece of sheet metal. It will cost you a couple of bucks at the most.

If you want to buy one, check out your local restaurant supply store. I have found the gourmet cooking shops to be very 
pricey. Restaurant supply stores usually have heavy duty commercial products at a good price. (For a decent peel, expect to pay between $10-$15.)

If you want a good peel on line... you came to the right place!
Go to this link and click on the peel at the bottom of the page and buy one (or buy several for your friends!): 

http://www.pizzatherapy.com/tools.htm

We will get a little kick back!!!!
Hey we're only in it for the money!!! Good luck and let us know how you make out. 

Albert,
Peel Master pizzatherapy.com

2. The Search for a Coal Fired Oven: Gary Bimonte from Pepe's (New Haven, Connecticut) Responds

Gary Bimonte, Co-owner of Pepe's Responds to Calogero (Pizza News, April 2004) who was looking for a coal fired oven.

Albert, in response to the person looking to build a coal fired oven:  it is 
basically the same as a wood brick oven, only you have a hearth, (grate) the fire sits on, so air can get in from underneath, 
so the fire can breathe. As you said a good mason should be able to build it, but you may need a diagram or 
something for him to go by. You also need a heavy cast iron grate system to handle the heat, weight, and the ash (coal burns at 2000º f). You also need a system to get the ash out.

 The cost to build it, the last time I priced one was $50,000 for an oven12f t. x 12ft . I don't know how big the person wants to make it, and for what purpose: business or personal. If you never had experience working with a coal fired oven, it is not easy...
Anyway I wish him good luck. Make sure he checks out local laws to make sure you can use coal as a fuel for cooking.

Our Response: 

Hey Gary.
Thanks so much for your response! As a matter of fact I do know that New York City will not let any new coal fired ovens be built due to zoning. All of the old coal fired pizza ovens have been grandfathered in.

Cooking Specials
at this page:

http://www.pizzatherapy.com/holiday.htm
Great Deals, Great Products! Great Cooking!

pizzatherapy.com Specials

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3. I.M. Tailgate's Pizza Dough Recipe

Our friend I. Tailgate offers the following:

"Here is my recipe for Pizza dough that I adapted from a Food Processor Pizza Dough Recipe a while ago". 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 110ºF) 

• 1 tablespoon honey 

• 1 package active dry yeast 3 cups all purpose flour (here I use 1 1/2 cups all purpose and 1 1/2 cups bread flour)

•  1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup water (I substitute half of the 3/4 cup water and then fill to the 3/4 mark with sweet Red Vermouth) 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil 

Directions

1. Stir the 1/4 cup warm water and honey in 2 cup glass measure until blended. 

2. Sprinkle top of the mixture with yeast and let it stand 5 minutes to "proof" the yeast (until it is bubbly). 

3. Meanwhile, pulse together flour and salt in the food processor to combine.

4.  Add 3/4 cup water (Or liquid of wine and water mix.) and olive oil to the yeast mixture. 

5. With the processor running, pour yeast mixture through the feed tube; process 1 minute until the mixture forms a ball. (If the ball is too stiff and dry, add a little more wine/water mix a few drops at a time, to achieve a smooth elastic ball.)

6.  Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning the dough to grease the top of the dough ball. 

7. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. 

Makes enough dough for two pizzas ~12 inch diameter, 2 strombolis, or 2 large calzones. This should take about 10 minutes prep. time. When using for pizza, pre bake the pie crust without any topping at 400ºF on a hot (pre-heated) pizza stone for only 5 minutes. Remove from oven, top with your favorite topping and bake until crust is golden and the pizza top is bubbly and the cheese is melted. Approx. baking time 12 to 15 minutes. In the above recipe, the half and half flours hold together nicely, if you like to throw the dough like the exhibitionist pizza pros do. The dough will not be tough or leathery as much as an all bread dough crust. Conversely, the dough made from all general purpose flour, unless over worked to fully develop it's lower gluten content, will tend to be very light but may separate when rolling out or shaping to make the crust. In short, the amount of "working" (mixing or kneading) affects the gluten in the dough. The 50/50 mix allows a nice gluten without being tough, with a minimum of mixing and kneading."

Thanks for the recipe, I.M. Tailgate!

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4. Lew Cenotti: The Pizza King's Pie-O-Matic Vending Machine 

Lew was the first person to put pizza in a vending machine.

Lew Cenotti's pizza vending machine was featured at
The World's Fair.

I wish I had met Lew Cenotti. He was a famous pizza maker from West Haven, Connecticut who made pizza from 1950's-1978. His pizzeria "Lew's Apizza" served legendary pizzas and incredible subs. I know I would have enjoyed our conversations. He was a dedicated father, husband and pizza professional. His wife, Louise, was known as "Mrs. Lew!"

Lew Cenotti with the Pie-O-Matic

Lew's last day at Lew's Apizza.

Lew's Apizza, West Haven, Connecticut

All photo's used by permission.

 His son Stephen, who along with his two brothers (Lenny and Phil),  lived upstairs from "Lew's Apizza" reports: "Every morning around 6:00 AM he would go downstairs and mix the dough, by hand, fresh everyday. He would also shape some of the dough into loaves of bread. Don't take my word for it. Ask ANYBODY who lived in West Haven then..."

One of Lew's many accomplishments in addition to the first frozen pizza, was the first Pizza Vending Machine. The machine, which actually created pizza before your eyes, was featured at the "World's Fair". This machine made pizza which was a smaller version of the pizza served at "Lew's Apizza".

You can view pictures and read all about the "Pie-O-Matic" Pizza machine at this link:

Lew Cenotti's Pie-O-Matic

That's it for this issue of "Pizza News!" 

"Pizza on Earth, Good Will to All!"

Sincerely,
Albert Grande, The Pizza Promoter
Email: webmaster@pizzatherapy.com

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