Pizza Today - January 2018 - 26

Knead To Know
JOHN ARENA

AWARD-WINNING PIZZA MAKER NINO CONIGLIO

Championship Pizza Dough
A new way of doing things is emerging

L

ast October in Atlantic City, Derek
Sanchez hit the jackpot. No, Derek
is not a gambler. He's a world
class pizza maker. On October 18 Derek
captured the Traditional (New York-style)
Division of the hotly contested Caputo
Cup Championship at the Northeast Pizza
and Pasta Show. The people who know
Derek were not surprised, but the New
York-based pizza competitors were floored.
Why? Because not only is Derek a proud
Texan, he also dominated the competition
with dough that he made in San Antonio
and brought with him on the plane to New
Jersey! So much for the time-honored
myth of New York water.
Let's think about that: In a blind tasting
with expert judges, a guy from Texas more
than held his own against some excellent
New York-style pizza makers in their own
backyard. How could that happen? Well,
first off Derek reveres the pizza and pizza
makers from New York, so he has dedi2 6 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / J A N UA R Y 2 0 1 8

cated a good chunk of his life to traveling, researching and learning from some
of the very best New York pizza makers.
Secondly, Derek is dedicated to separating
fact from fiction in his quest to make the
best pizza possible. The interesting thing is
that pizza is Derek's secondary career. By
day Derek runs a thriving physical therapy
practice. That's right, he is not only an
accomplished pizza maker, he's also a doctor. The exacting discipline that he brought
from his medical background is a key part
of his success.
Modern baking is a science as much as
an art. To create the type of pizza that will
keep you competitive in the modern era, it
is imperative to keep abreast of the latest
trends and techniques from the baking
world. So here is a brief summary of what
some of the best pizza practitioners in
the world are doing as we enter the new
golden age of pizza.

EQUIPMENT: The mixing methods are
changing. Dough is being mixed in a very
gentle manner. Pizza makers like Italy's
renowned Franco Pepe are mixing by hand.
That's right! He makes 700 dough balls
per day with no mechanical interference.
For those of us who can't manage that, the
industry is moving towards spiral mixers,
fork mixers or braccia tuffanti mixers. The
Italian braccia mixer actually replicates
the motion of human arms diving into
the dough to gently develop proteins and
combine ingredients with minimal friction.
Planetary mixers have long been the work
horse of our industry because of their
versatility. They are great as an all-purpose
kitchen staple, but to take your dough
to the next level consider a mixer that is
specifically designed to mix dough. Once
your dough is mixed, consider how it is
stored. Most of us use plastic dough trays,
but some of the best pizza makers - such
as Nino Coniglio - swear by individual
JOSH KEOWN
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - January 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - January 2018
