Book Review: Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day

Do you like pizza? For most of us the answer is a resounding yes!! The third book by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoë François, Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day, provide a wealth of information on how to prepare this world famous dish in your own kitchen in minutes. The key to doing this, the authors contend, is by mixing enough dough for many pizzas or flatbreads in advance and then storing it in the refrigerator or freezer. With a ready supply of dough already prepared, anyone can make a wide range of pizzas or flatbreads in 30 minutes.

The book includes an extensive discussion of ingredients including different types of flours, tomato sauces, cheeses, meats, seafood, eggs, yeast, oils, and sweeteners. The authors also discuss the four pieces of equipment that you will need (a baking stone, cast-iron pan, or perforated pizza pan, a pizza peel, an oven thermometer, and a dough scraper) to make pizza plus other, optional items that can make the job easier. A chapter devoted to helpful hints and frequently asked questions is also included that draws upon feedback that Hertzberg and François received about their earlier two books, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. After this valuable introduction to the basics of pizza making, the authors walk you through the process of making the book’s master recipe, Classic Pizza Margherita. By preparing this basic dish, the reader learns the key steps necessary to prepare any of the later recipes in the book. Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day includes over 100 different recipes for pizza and flatbread, as well as sauces, dips, and even desserts.

In our review, we tried two different types of dough, the Savory Brioche and the “Crisp-yet-tender Pizza Dough (Naples Style).” Using this dough, we made the Balthazar Goat Cheese and Onion Pizzette, the Turkish Spiced Flatbread (Lahmacun), and the Individual Breakfast Pizza in a Cup. We wanted to make the recipes during the week, so we decided to mix up the two different types of dough on Sunday using a standard Kitchen Aid stand mixer. We then stored the dough in the refrigerator to use as needed during the week. On Monday, we wanted to try the Balthazar Goat Cheese Pizzette so we used some of the Savory Brioche dough. While the oven heated up to 475 degrees Fahrenheit, the dough warmed up to room temperature, and we prepped all of the toppings. With baking time only 8 minutes, we were indeed able to prepare a restaurant grade pizza dish in about half an hour. The next morning, we tried the breakfast pizza in a cup again using more of the Savory Brioche. This dish was easy to prepare and would be ideal for serving to guests at a weekend brunch since it takes very little time to make using ingredients made in advance.

The book includes a short interview with the authors in which Zoë François was asked to name her favorite recipe. Her response: the Turkish Spiced Lamb Flatbread. So we had to try this recipe too. For this recipe we used the Crisp-yet-tender pizza dough with seasoned ground lamb, onion, parsley, lemon and tomato. We could see why this recipe was the author’s favorite. It had a great combination of rich flavors accented with the fresh acidity of the tomatoes and lemon. This is also another good recipe for entertaining or an easy meal during the week as the spiced lamb can be prepared and refrigerated up to 3 days in advance.

Overall, this is an outstanding book for working parents that are interested in serving healthier meals to their families during the week. It provides a system that, with a little planning, can be used to create healthy, delicious dishes from scratch in less than an hour. We give this book four out of five stars.