There's a pizza guy I stumbled across on Instagram. He has a youtube channel and sometimes I check out what he's doing there. It's mainly a more in depth look at what he does on Instagram. He goes by SantaBarabaraBaker and he makes some really nice looking pizzas.
When I first started watching him he was using a pizza steel in his kitchen. He has since moved up to an outdoor, propane Ooni oven. I think he has the Koda 16 model. Would you believe his name is also pretty close to mine? It's Jonathon. His overall enthusiasm for pizza is contagious.
Well, one of his Instagram posts mentioned that he had been interviewed for a podcast titled "What's Good Dough?" which, if you are into podcasts, is available everywhere. Over the past 2 two days, I was able to sneak in listening to the podcast while walking the dog.
In June 2018, we had a birthday party for my daughter. In my mind, those were the best pizzas I have ever made. Everything clicked. The dough was just right, I was giving them just the right amount of time at room temperature before stretching. The sauce was great. Stretching was a breeze. Launching the pizzas in the oven was smooth, all clean launches, nothing stuck. And the flavor, it was the best crust I ever made
Since June of 2018, I have tried to replicate that crust. I've come close. And even if everything were exactly the same, I'm not sure I would believe it was. The day and the event may have elevated those pies in my mind to better than they actually were. But that particular bake, even though duplicating it is unobtainable, that's the bake I chase every time.
Because pizza is fleeting.
That's a fine treatise on the fleeting, ephemeral nature of life itself, pizza included. It's like the best 'anything' - sometimes it lives in infamy, and other times it can be superseded at the most surprising of times. Albeit the fact I've been to Italy around 10 times, the absolute best Italian meal I've ever eaten was at an Italian restaurant in Torun, Poland (the owners were from Genoa however). Who'd have thought?
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you that fleeting transfers to food in general, not just pizza. One instance that comes to mind is back to back nights at the same restaurant on a vacation. The first night was amazing. The second night was still very good, but not amazing. I think the events of the day leading up to each meal were probably impacted my perception of the two meals more than the food.
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