Resources

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 So far, everything discussed is very doable in your own home, except now we come to the oven. Authentic Neapolitan pizza cooks for ~60 seconds at 925°F – wowzers that’s hot!!!! But your oven only goes to 500°F, so what do you do? While you can use everything you’ve learned so far and bake in it your home oven, you won’t get that proper Neapolitan taste, texture, and feel that makes it one-of-a-kind. But fear not – there is no need to plop down $10,000 for your commercial wood-burning oven, but instead you can try some other options that reportedly can get you up at or near the 900°F range:

• An Uuni 3  stainless oven for ~$300 (from Uuni, formerly known as Ooni)
• A pizza oven  conversion kit for your Weber grill (~$146 at Home Depot)
• Pizzaiolo Traditional Brick Wood Fired Pizza Oven (~$1800 at Patio & Pizza        Outdoor Furnishing)
• Roccbox  (~$599 direct from them)
• Blackstone (~$285 from Amazon)
• And more (just Google them)

 Scale

Any scale that measures in grams, can go up to at least 2000g, and is accurate will work. Fortunately, there are some really good scales on the market that won’t break the bank. I would first look online or at Wal-Mart, Sam’s, or Costco for some inexpensive quality home scales.

Thermometer

I was in a seminar at the International Pizza Expo in Vegas where the lecturer stressed the importance of temperature in baking (as I also do here). He suggested that you don’t have to spend a lot for a thermometer, and a bad one is better than no thermometer at all. I somewhat disagree. Temperature is critical when making dough, and if your thermometer is off just a few degrees, you won’t meet with consistent success. While I do agree that ‘a’ thermometer is better than none, I suggest investing in a quality thermometer. I use Thermapen from ThermoWorks. It’s a bit pricey (normally ~$99), but will give you great service for a long time; is dependable; accurate; and can be used in a variety of situations in both the kitchen and bakery. And I suggest buying directly from them as there are many fakes on the market claiming to be the real thing.

Peels

While an argument can be made that any type of peel will work, I strongly suggest a perforated peel. Many non-Neapolitan recipes call for dusting the peel with semolina, corn meal, and/or even farina (or as we know it, Cream of Wheat); however, Neapolitan pizza uses just a light dusting of 00 flour. Because you don’t want all that flour on your stone or the floor of your oven (it tends to burn and turn black and can be quite messy), I suggest the use of a perforated metal peel to a solid (either wood or metal). GI Metal is the standard for true pizza equipment, and I use their products exclusively. You can find them at GI Metals.

Oil cans

Again, I’m very much a traditionalist. While you could always put oil in a reusable ketchup squeeze bottle and be able to dispense it in a small enough stream to swirl as a finish on your pizza, I find that the item that works best is a traditional Italian tinned brass and copper oil can. The 37oz can will hold enough oil so you aren’t constantly refilling, and is still light enough to be manageable. Again, my go-to source for those is also GI Metals

Slicer

Traditional Neapolitan pizza is served whole, and in some instances cut with scissors; however, in class we learned to cut with just a plain, round, pizza wheel cutter. You can pick these up almost anywhere. I like the ones where you can swap out the blade when it becomes too dull and/or has to many nicks in it. And of course GI Metals sells a professional one along with replacement blades. They are a bit pricey for home use, and no reason to go to that expense other than if you want a professional, quality, long lasting tool for your kitchen.