Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day is out TODAY

pizza party

Today Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day is finally available in stores. That sound you hear is me clinking a glass of bubbly. Please join us on our book tour, which starts TODAY at noon in the Har Mar Barnes & Noble. To find details and dates in your city click on the Events page.

Jeff and I wrote this book because we love pizza. So, when it came to making a video about the process, it had to reflect what a riot we have creating these recipes. You basically can’t bake a pizza without creating a party, whether it is for a night in front of a movie or a big gathering of friends in the back yard. Pick the crust and toppings to suit your mood and within minutes you have pizza, lots and lots of fresh pizza.

We knew instantly who could capture the heart and soul of this project; Todd Porter and Diane Cu of White on Rice Couple. Their work is visually stunning and they have such a joy about them, which is captured in their images. When they said they would do this video with us, I danced around my kitchen, I haven’t stopped yet. We hope you enjoy watching the video just as much as we did making it.

Here are some more images captured the day of the video shoot. All the pictures in this post were created by Todd Porter and Diane Cu and used with their permission. Thanks you two, they are all gorgeous.

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Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day!

Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day | ZoëBakes | Zoë François

This has been a big week in my household. My eldest child turned 12 and got an electric guitar, we celebrated Mother’s day with breakfast in bed, and my first book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day made the Wall Street Journal Best-sellers list. I have all of you to thank for this last piece of good news. We are beyond thrilled and grateful that the book continues to bring homemade bread into so many homes!

Finally, after two years of eating artisan pizza at nearly every meal (my kids love me for it), our third book is available on Amazon for pre-order. It is a thrill to see it alive and in color after working so hard on it. Though the official publication date for the Pizza book is October 25, 2011 (just in time for cooler weather), you can place a pre-order for Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day now on Amazon.

Cheers! Zoë

Please visit breadin5.com for recipes and if you have any questions about the books.

Homemade Pizza

Tossing homemade pizza dough | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

This is my very first Daring Baker’s Challenge. I had a good laugh when I found out that we’d be baking homemade pizza from Peter Reinhart’s book The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. As you might imagine, I bake every day from my own book, but it has been many years since I’ve made pizza or bread from a traditional recipe. I must admit it was great fun! It took a lot longer than I have become accustomed to, but it was a joy to knead the dough, satisfying to see it rising on my counter and, as you can see, I actually spun it over my head. The dough is very similar in taste to the olive oil dough (page 134) in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and I ended up making them side by side. I’ll leave it up to you to do the same and tell me what you think! 😉

I made a southwestern shrimp pizza using some of the Hatch’s Chillies my friend Jen roasted and gave to me, along with grilled corn and goat cheese. I also made a purple potato and bacon pizza with onions I sautéed in the bacon fat. I called Jen as they were coming out of the oven and we had a fabulous lunch!

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