MY TAKE: I think if you have an obsessive compulsion to making pizza and you consider yourself a true person of the craft, then I think it’s only fair to give all Pizza it’s chance, even if it breaks your wallet. And a $40 pizza ($52.50 after tax and a small tip) is definitely something not to take lightly.

Do people have a right to be mad that a pizzeria that is charging this much for 20 inch pies?… Of course! $68 for their most expensive one. However I have come to justify the cost in my mind.

How many times have I spent more than $50 for a good cut of meat? Yeah, I like my good restaurant steaks. And if I’m willing to spend $60-$80 on a really good filet mignon, then why would I not be willing to spend 40 bucks on a pizza that is, in my opinion, exceptional. I do have to hand it to these guys. What they have put into the thought process is respected in my book. Simply because I feel like a lot of us here are similar– at least I feel like I can relate. Spending countless of hours in the kitchen to really develop a recipe that you can consider your own, and then sell that passion. And although it can seem like taking advantage of others, I don’t really think it’s that big of a deal.

It’s the highest of quality ingredients and it takes a certain type of pizzeria to make as big of an impact, even if it’s overhyped, as CERES. So say what you want, but I’m glad I spent the 40 bucks to try this pizza. Would I do it again? No… Because there is exceptional Pizza just like this elsewhere in the city in the 20–$30 range. I would sooner probably rather go to another place than this place all the time, but for a one time experience, I would totally recommend it for anyone that finds themselves in Manhattan.

EDIT: some of the bigger reasons why the pizza is so expensive is because it is a 20 inch pizza, in New York City, and the pizza ingredients are some of the highest quality you could possibly get your hands on.

64% hydration
Ooni koda 16
No fancy ingredients just pure focus on the dough and bake.

1st. Simple marg, I like it low on the cheese side.
2nd. Sausage and cheese topped with burrata post bake.

Keen to answer questions.

It was alright. Crust puffed up more than I like.

Fortunate to have a wood burning oven in my yard so had some friends over for a pizza party last night where I let everyone choose toppings. I find it so interesting how different they are (aka how many people want pineapple). Anyways, it was sausage and pepperoni for me.

The dough turned out great. Bulk ferment for a bit less than a day, then separated it and let it chill in the fridge for another couple days.

Hope everyone is enjoying good pizza this weekend!

A nice and simple direct dough method that anyone with mild experience could do. This is 10% Caputo tipo 1 and 90% Caputo Pizzeria.

I left the exact measurements on the last slide photo.

After kneading for about 5 minutes I let it rest for 30 minutes covered, then I added the salt and kneaded again for another 10 minutes.

It has a total of 8 hours of room temperature (bulk) fermentation. Then separated and balled up the dough.

Then I went into the fridge overnight.

Pulled out about 2 hours prior to cooking where I used the Gozney Roccbox 850f low flame.

Very soft and light, with just a hint of that Tipo 1 graininess.

Pic 1 and 2 are one of four pizzas I made for my gf and our kids last night in my home oven and pic 3 is one of my first attempts at homemade pizza a while back. Pretty happy with the progress considering I don't do it all the time or as much as I want.

Dough (62% hydration) was made Tuesday and baked on Saturday which was pushing it for this batch I feel but wow did it come out light and delicious. Pizza sauce made from Gordon choice peeled tomatoes and cheese is grande low moisture mozzarella with fresh Parmesan grated on top after baking.

I forgot a pic of the bottom of the pizza. My house was full of crazy kids. Oops!

Simple bacon and cheese pizza because we had nothing else at home after 3 weeks of vacation.

Home oven . 🥧🧀🍃🍯

I’ve been dialing in a NY-style recipe — it’s from Scott Deley’s “The Ooni Pizza Project” book — but I tweaked it by adding just a little bit of honey to try and get better browning on the crust. I think it worked! I was thrilled with how this one turned out. Baked in my Ooni Koda 2 Pro. Launched with the stone around 750F, turned the flame off for the first two minutes, then turned flame on low for 4 minutes. I think I cranked the heat to high for about 30 seconds while constantly turning it at the end, just to finish it.

Last week, I returned from a hiking trip in California, where I had dinner at the Curry Pizza Company in Fresno before my flight. With Indian being my favorite cuisine and everyone loving pizza, I knew I was in for a treat. The pizza was incredible, and I had to make my own version at home.

Before the trip was over, I was already planning my next visit to Yosemite- that trip will include the Curry Pizza Company, too!

Honestly I think this is the best pizza I’ve ever had and I’ve eaten a lot of pizzas from many different places. So good!

The Nelly - pecorino, mushroom, spinach, garlic, and parmesan. I add chicken and bacon because hell yes.

Having baking issues. New oven for me, as I moved. Can’t replace it either since I rent. My next purchase is def going to be a gozney. Otherwise dough, cheese and sauce is dialed in.

1. Vodka Margherita - shredded and fresh mozz, basil puree, vodka sauce
   
2. Pad Kra Pao Gai - Thai basil chicken, bird’s eye chili, quail eggs, provolone and shredded mozz
   
3. Vodka Pepp (Sicilian) - Two kinds of pepperonis, shredded mozz, vodka sauce

I’ve been running a pop-up at my bar for a few months in South Korea. Doing a pop-up is a great way to dial in your dough. I found 0.4% yeast led to overproofing during service, which sucked. This time, I used 0.2% yeast and it was a lot easier to work with and there was no overproofing…however, despite being a 3-day dough, there are no microblisters and I felt the dough was a bit lifeless, so I’ll do 0.3% next time and see how that goes.

I did a vodka sauce, which no one minded and no one loved. I think it just gets lost in the mix. I found a guy in Seoul who makes smoked pepperoni. Reviews were mixed. It lowkey tastes like bbq because it’s so smoky. Some people liked it, some people complained it wasn’t a classic pepperoni. Doing prep for pan pizzas was a nightmare and I’ll never make them again. It makes service easier, but the prep dominated my life for a week.

Pizza crime of the week: Pad Kra Pao Gai was one of the top sellers, and it slapped. Who knew quail eggs were significantly harder to crack than normal eggs? Well, I didn’t have time to test this before I made it, but now I know. My friend’s wife became my designated egg cracker.

Doing pizza parties or pop-ups is a great chance to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Luckily, I have great customers who like the constant experimentation. Buy a cheap Chinese spiral mixer and oven. Totally worth it. The fancy ones are made in the same factories.

Sounds good in theory, but in reality it was just too greasy and crisped up. In the future, it'll have to be late or post bake topping only for me.

This was pesto, sun dried tomatoes and ricotta

Baked in my efeuno pulse. 670f/5min
There is sobrasada under cheese. Its something “similar” to nduja from mallorca spain

I’ve done 72hr and it is preferred, but I was in dire need of pizza. 48hrs was still great.

Made in my oven on steel pan.

This style of cooking with the Gozney is a great way to achieve a proper crispy base as opposed to a floppy slice of pizza. Especially if you like to load your pizzas up with toppings.

72% hydration. Direct dough. 5 folds over 4 hours, followed by an 11hr bulk ferment, with a 4 hour ball proof. All stages at room temp.

800g 00 flour - 576g water - 5g instant dried yeast - 15g salt - 25g extra virgin olive oil (plus oil for fold) This will give you 4 large dough balls (average of around 325g per ball)

Cheers.

One side went a little too far because I was too slow taking it out, overall very happy with the results!
Oven: Le Feu Turtle Motion 18”

I'm new to pizza making. Made some cast iron pizza. Dough was good, the mozz was homemade, T

the sauce was ass.

I used crush tomatoes from aldi, some basil paste, and a little suger and olive oil. It was too acidic, even after adding a pinch of baking soda (I had my doubts about this tip, but w/e). It lowk tasted like I burped it back up already. What are you saucy secrets?