The Upper Crust

ANY MAN WHO SAYS PIZZA CAN'T BE GOOD FOR YOU PROBABLY STILL HAS DEBONAIRS ON SPEED DIAL. IT'S TIME TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. WITH A LITTLE KNOW-HOW, YOU CAN SERVE UP DELICIOUS, NUTRITIOUS, RESTAURANT-QUALITY PIZZA IN YOUR GARDEN-ALL WITH A SPRINKLE OF VITAMIN D ON THE SIDE, NATURALLY. WHETHER YOU'RE A PRACTISED BACKYARD PIZZAIOLO OR AN AMATEUR DOUGHBOY, OUR GUIDE HAS EVERY BASE COVERED.

- TOBY TAYLOR, SCARLETT WRENCH & KIERAN LEGG

Pizza, beloved though it is, is unfairly maligned in the health community. It's no superfood salad, sure. But there's a whole world of difference between the cut-price, stuffed-crust, overloaded offerings from your local takeaway chain and an authentic Italian pizza-or Italian-American, if you prefer.

Break it down, and there's little more to it than freshly baked bread, cooked hot and fast, then topped with high-quality ingredients. It's as palatable a delivery system for energising carbohydrates and useful micronutrients as any, and eminently versatile. Choose to eschew the mountains of grated cheese and cheap processed meats, and pizza really can be the nutritional powerhouse you're craving. It's also at its best eaten hot out of the oven, rather than Uber'd to your doorstep-as any true chef will tell you. Outdoor pizza ovens saw a big boost in sales during the pandemic, although that hasn't necessarily raised the standard of our home-cooked fare. However, prepping the perfect pizza in your back garden needn't be prohibitively expensive, nor excessively complicated. You just need a little know-how to get you started.

To help you give your own efforts a lift, we consulted the experts to find the techniques, tools and toppings that will truly amplify your cooking. Here's all the knowledge you need to build a pizza that delivers.

01

The Machine