The Joy of Pizza

Bookplate-signed copies available!

A groundbreaking new work on the art and science of pizza

Pizza is simple: dough, sauce, cheese, toppings. But inside these ordinary ingredients lies a world of extraordinary possibility. Dan Richer has devoted his life to discovering the holy grail of pizza: the secret to making a truly transcendent pies. The pizza at his restaurant, Razza, has been named the best in New York by The New York Times—despite the fact it’s in New Jersey. Richer’s pizza is among the best one can eat in America, if not the world.

For him, the joy of pizza begins with the crust—a rim that is crisp, deeply caramelized, and shatters when you bite through it. The crumb is delicate and floral-scented, with a gentle note of acidity. The crust has large, open holes separated by thin, pearlescent cell walls. And the sauce, cheese, and toppings? You’ll unlock their mysteries inside these pages. Every day, Richer assesses his pizza with a 56-point rubric that helps him come as close to pizza perfection as any mortal may dare.

In The Joy of Pizza, Richer shows how to achieve each one of these ideal pizza attributes in recipes suited to home bakers and professionals alike. He includes instructions for making doughs with commercial yeast as well as sourdough starter, and for baking in ordinary home ovens as well as high-temperature ovens such as the Ooni and Roccbox, and even wood-fired outdoor pizza ovens. The book is rich with step-by-step photography, and features QR codes linking to instructional videos and portraits of every pizza before and after it meets the heat of the oven—so you’ll know exactly what to do to create superior results.

The ingredients are simple. The methods are straightforward. And the results are deliriously delicious.