My fellow homemade pizza lovers, and bloggers of America...

I stand before you today, a man on an epic conquest.
A conquest, with the intent to lead me and my followers to the perfect homemade pizza.

My friends... America hungers, both literally and figuratively, for a delicious pizza to satisfy their hearts and souls.
America hungers for a recipe to entertain their pizza party guests.

This journey has helped me to grow as a person, it has helped me to learn about the many inequities of America's pizza parties.
Most importantly, this journey has allowed me to see my many shortcomings and failings as a pizza party host, and as a casual pizza maker at home.

Recently, my historic journey has had what many have considered a major setback.
What I am here to say is... what the cynics and skeptics consider a setback, I consider a breakthrough.
Those of us who have the hope and courage for a better pizza party are ready to learn and continue down the path towards this glorious celebration party.

The setback/breakthrough I am referring to came about last week.
As I was casually searching the internet for pizza inspiration, as I do every night, I came across an incredibly thorough recipe for pizza dough.
Instantly I knew this wasn't an ordinary pizza dough recipe. This recipe detailed the importance and unimportance of every ingredient. Years of research had been poured into it. It spoke of the failings of mainstream pizza dough recipes. It preached of the importance of yeast, bacteria, cultures, temperature, quality ingredients, and most of all superb technique.

When I first read through the pages and pages of this recipe, I screamed to the heavens, "I have found it!!! I have found it!!!". With tears streaming down my face, I proclaimed this recipe to be the holy grail of pizza dough recipes.

That was until I read more carefully. The message then appeared not as one of inspiration, but one of desperation. This recipe appeared to be informing me that I was a pizza chump, rather than a pizza champion. It told me that I had been misguided by mainstream pizza recipes, and that I was better off to stay misguided.
For what I would learn would send me to the lowest of all lows in my pizza making career.


I learned that I would never make a quality homemade pizza without an oven that can reached above 800 degrees.


The despair I felt at that moment left me in a terrible funk that was difficult to overcome. For my oven can barely sustain a temperature of 500 degrees, and my landlord is completely unwilling to install a brick oven.

But I am here today, to tell you all that I have overcome this great despair. I am ready to learn from my failings. I am ready to extend my journey years it will take to construct my own oven, one brick at a time.
And most importantly my friends, I am ready to continue blogging about this journey until I have served the perfect slice at the perfect pizza party.

My fellow homemade pizza lovers, I extend to you an invitation to the ultimate pizza party.

Thank you,
Pete-za Pete-za

Pete-za Pete-za to Deliver an Important Message on the State of Homemade Pizzas

Inspired by Barack Obama's major address on race in America, Pete-za Pete-za plans to address his shortcomings, failures and hope for better homemade pizza.

Stay tuned

George Bush at the Gridiron Dinner. March 8, 2008.

Attended by 600 of the most powerful politicians and journalists, as well as Bush and his 13 cabinet members. The event is traditionally off the record.
George Bush sang a song that made light of his many failures in office.

I spend my days clearin' brush.
I clear my head of all the fuss.
Like that big fuss over Harriet and Brownie.

Down the lane I look
and here comes Scooter,
finally free of the prosecutor.

For there's Condi and Dick,
my old compadres
talking about to me about some oil rich Saudi

Dick Cheney's strolling
with documents he's been withholdin'





Barack Obama on Ellen. October 30, 2007.
As a guest on The Ellen Degeneres Show, Barack shows off his dancing skills.

A Pete-za Salute to Spring Training Baseball

Spring Training Baseball started last week!!!!!
Totally stoked.

For the record, Pete-za is a Cubs fan and predicts they'll win the World's Series nearly every year.

Homemade Dough Basics

"Pizza's the kind of food that draws everyone to the kitchen. Everyone can take part."
- Deborah Madison

"The beauty of pizza democracy is its simplicity" - Pete-za Pete-za

I'm on a journey. A journey to the perfect pizza. To me, the perfect pizza is cheap and easy to make at home. All of its ingredients are easily found in your neighborhood. And compared to all chain pizzas, its healthier and tastes better.

Tonight, I begin by establishing a standard pizza dough.


2 tsp active dry yeast
3-4 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 cups warm water
salt
A warm place
Patience
Pizza stone - To form the crispy and chewy crust
Pizza peel - To slide pizzas safely in and out of the oven
Pizza party


Combine 1/2 cup of warm water with yeast in a mixing bowl. Stir to prevent yeast from clumping. Let stand for 10 minutes. It should be foamy and cloudy.

Add olive oil, 1 cup of warm water, some salt, and beat in 2 cups of flour with a wisk.


Add flour 1/2 cup at a time and mix with wooden spoon. Keep adding flour until dough forms a ball, but is still moist and shaggy.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth, adding flour to keep from sticking to your fingers. The dough should still be moist.


Put the dough in a bowl that has been coated with olive oil. Turn the dough over to make sure all sides are coated with olive oil (this prevents the dough from drying while it rises).

Put the bowl in a warm place and let it rise for an hour. It should double in size.


Return the dough to the floured surface. This recipe makes enough dough for 2 or 3 pizzas. IF you're only making one pizza, cut your dough in half or thirds, place the left-over dough in a freezer bag for use later.


Knead the dough on the floured surface, adding flour as needed. You need to "feel out" the proper even consistency and texture. When the dough feels ready, begin forming a circle. I never use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. Rolling pins pop the tiny air bubbles that are important for texture.

Stretch the dough by holding the edges of the dough circle and rotate swiftly. Let gravity stretch the dough. I also use my fists to stretch out any thick dough spots in the middle.



Return the dough to the floured surface and smooth out any thick spots and form the circle. Put cornmeal and flour on the peel and place the dough on the peel. Brush olive oil over the dough.



Add your sauce, toppings, and cheese. and slide carefully onto the stone. I've screwed this step up many times, ruining hours worth of work. With enough corn meal on the peel, the pizza should slide off easily. A soggy pizza will stick to the peel and slide on to the stone in a mess.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The ulimate pizza party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Important Presidential Endorsement

Over the past several weeks, I've been reviewing the presidential candidates' stance on corporate pizza reform. I was disappointed by how guarded the candidates were with this issue.

I believe all of the Democratic candidates understand the problems with corporate pizza lobbyists. These lobbyists work to keep Americans bloated with high calorie, low flavor pizza that is frozen from a factory or delivered to your door from some chain pizza restaurant that can't provide any nutritional value.

The situation continues to worsen each day the pizza lobby has a friendly face in the white house. "Supermarket sales have increased more than 60 percent during the past five years, with 2006 sales topping $3.3 billion, officials from the National Frozen Pizza Institute said." (Washington Times March '07). We truly need a candidate whose loyalties are with the Grassroots Pizza Movement.

Hillary claims to have a 3 point plan to get healthier pizza to Americans, I'm still yet to see such a plan. Before Edwards dropped out, he proclaimed the urgent need to keep pizza factories open and their workers employed, however we have a firm stance against factory pizza.

My search for a candidate ended last week when I learned that the Junior Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama hosted a pizza party at his campaign offices in May 2007.

Apparently Barack eats his slices two at a time, starting with the crust (see picture above). This clear dedication to pizza is why I am officially endorsing Barack Obama for president.

In standard Barack fashion, he eloquently explained the importance of the Grassroots Pizza Movement, “If you had a whole pizza, and your friend had no pizza, would you give him a slice?”. Yes we would Barack, yes we would.

Mission Statement

My fellow Americans,

It is my firm belief that the current economic crisis in America can be attributed to the low-quality, high-price, corporate lobbyist pizza crooks who prevent millions of Americans from eating high quality, affordable, healthy pizzas every day. Frozen pizzas in supermarkets, and chain pizza restaurants are ruining America. Enough is enough.

Control your own pizza destiny.

It is our duty as loyal, honorable American citizens to take power away from the corporate pizza crooks and put it in the hands of everyday Americans who are more than capable of making their own delicious pizzas.

Stand with me to restore the pizza democracy in America our forefathers wrote about a long time ago.

This blog is intended to restore our faith in democracy through the teachings of homemade pizza and all things politically and culturally related to pizza.

Yours truly,
Pete-za Pete-za