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pizza pans  |  kitchen scales  |  pizza flour  |  fantastic tomatoes  |  pizza cutters  |  books

ABOVE: An actual Lazy Way 8-inch pizza with serrano chilis, bell peppers and pepperoni, baked in an 8-inch Lloyd Pan for Christmas 2024. It was good. 

Lloyd Pans: the pizza pans the pros use...

Lloyd Pans are not cheap. They're expensive. In the tradition of "ya get whatcha pay for," these pans are built like there's no tomorrow. If you were of a mind to, you could probably weaponize them... ​
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Lloyd Pans Straight Sided Pan 8 Inch by 1 Inch 
This is the 8-inch pan that I most recommend for making the pizzas in The Lazy Way To Pizza book. An 8-inch pizza sounds really small--but two adults can split one of these and feel fully satisfied. It's also a great personal-size pizza for kids (who always love to have their own thing). This, liike all the Lloyd Pans, is an industrial-strength pan that will probably outlast both you and me. The standard dough recipe in the book makes four pizzas this size. 

Lloyd Pans Straight Sided Pizza Pan 12 Inch by 1 Inch
This 12-inch pan is an excellent size for making a pizza that looks impressive and delivers great crunch. The mass of the Lloyd Pans is such that the pizza bottoms crisp up beautifully and deliver the brown crunch you want from a pan pizza. The standard dough recipe in the book is formulated to make two 12-inch pizzas. You can always scale it up by 50% to make three pizzas, or 100% to make four. 

Lloyd Pans Straight Sided Pizza Pan 16 Inch by 1 Inch
​I've been making pizza for over 20 years. Not much surprises me. The first time I made a pizza in this 16-inch pan, I was stunned. It''s a LOT of pizza. That pan crust isn't that thick--but it is substantial. You can feed hungry people with a 16-inch pizza. And the dough recipe in the book will make one this size. Double it, and you've a serious meal on your hands. 

The Scales Fall From Thine Eyes... 

The line is ripped from the pages of Acts 9:18 (or so Google tells me) where Saul recovers his sight, which is symbolic of the beginning of a new life. Not only learning to make killer pizza with very little effort and realizing the power of the kitchen scale looks like a new life to me. (See what I did there?)

Weighing in...

Amazon Basics Stainless Steel Digital Kitchen Scale

If you've read the Lazy Way book, you know I say that weighing ingredients is the laziest of the lazy. This scale is dirt cheap and works well. (I've used one for years.) For more info, click here. 

...at every level.

GDEALER Precise Digital Kitchen Gram Scale 

The challenge with bigger scales is they don't weight tiny amounts with accuracy. Trying to weight out a single gram of yeast? A precision scale helps. I like this one for the same reason I like the bigger one: does the job at a budget price. Click here for more info.

The best pizza is made with the best ingredients. (Again: Simple.)

Flour Power. Yes, we said it.  

Flour seems so simple, and it is until it isn't. There really is a difference between flours, both by brand and by type. The flour specified in The Lazy Way to Pizza is bread flour. And the flour products I recommend across the board are King Arthur products. I prefer the organic--which isn't that expensive when you break it down to a price per pizza figure. That said, the standard version is often in my pantry, especially when testing recipes and turning a lot of pizzas. (I have a few guys on speed dial who will come and eat all the extra pizza before I do.)

One killer tomato...

Whether whole or crushed or fire roasted, these organic, California-grown tomatoes are great. They're also difficult to find, especially if you don't have a Whole Foods nearby. I often buy my Bianco products through Amazon, usually in six-pack quantities for cost savings. 

Cutting A Pizza: Any way you slice it, you're going to need an edge...

If you're baking 12-inch pies, cutting them with a chef's knife is easy. I did it that way for a while. But I also like good tools, so it wasn't long before I began looking for a good cutter. I prefer the wheels. But if you want the dramatic presentation of a mezzaluna, I can't blame you. It's kinda cool to whip out that bog blade and play Samurai Pizzeria. My only recommendation: beware cheap tools. They're usually frustrating to use and don't last.
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Slice it like a pro...

This is my new favorite pizza cutter. You'll see this pizza cutter in a lot of pizzerias. There's a reason for that. Besides the durable construction (and that matters--I've broken more than one pizza cutter), this cutter has a replaceable blade. I have no idea if I'll ever make enough pizzas that I'll need to replace the blade. But it's a nice option to have. (And this blade is sharp.) This is the 4-inch version of the tool. There is a 2 3/4-inch version, though I don't enjoy using it as much. Click here to see the Dexter Russell 4-inch pizza cutter at Amazon. 

So ya wanna do the mezzaluna instead?

​This is my favorite mezzaluna, though it might more accurately be called a pizza knife. In fact, that's what American Metalcraft calls it. It's the only such knife that I've used that I enjoy using. For me, it still doesn't have the same ease as a wheel cutter. But that may be in the practice. (I've given this knife to some pizza-pro friends, and they love it.)  To see the American Metalcraft Pizza Knife, click here. 
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Pizza Presentation: Aluminum pizza trays for that pro-pizzeria touch

To be clear: You do not need these trays. I served pizza on cutting boards for a couple of years before committing to the tray. And as my pizzas became bigger, the cutting board was becoming a challenge. These aluminum trays are light, durable, store easily, and I carry them in my road kit. (I have a flat canvas tote bag that easily accommodates my peels, trays, and large cutting board for stretching dough.)
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​Tray Chic.
​(The classic is still my favorite.)

Once again, American Metalcraft is here for us. I have these trays in five sizes: 16-inch, 14-inch, 12-inch, 10-inch and 8-inch. The smaller ones are really for photo ops with smaller, test pizzas. It's nice to have a tidy presentation for the camera. The 16-inch are the ones I use the most. To see the entire range of pizza pan sizes, click here. 
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Hardwood Hero

​If you feel a need for something more upscale, this is a pretty board. There are a lot of questionable, round serving platters out there. Sometimes they come grooved for six slices and include a mezzaluna. Why would you want to lock yourself into someone else's idea about how your pizza should be cut--and then force yourself to hit those grooves every time? We hunted around for a while before finding this acacia-wood beauty. It handles any pizza up to 12 inches. (We also recommend slicing the pizza on a proper cutting surface and then transferring it to this board. Preserve that finish!) Click here to see the Acacia Wood Pizza Board on Amazon.

Books About Pizza Beyond The Lazy Way​

Want to expand your horizons in the realm of pan pizza?​

If you've never thought about making pan pizza, think again...

If you're interested in exploring the vast landscape of pan pizza beyond The Lazy Way To Pizza, this is one way to do it--and a really good one. This pizza is not really lazy. There's more work involved. But the pizzas are rewarding and real crowd pleasers. Pan pizza has a history of its own, and Peter Reinhart is the guy you want explaining how it to you, as well as sharing recipes.  Highly recommended. Click here to read more at Amazon.

If you've enjoyed The Lazy Way To Pizza, and you think you might like to try a more traditional pizza that doesn't tolerate laziness, this book is a good way to go...

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​Yes, this thing. It's different than the others. It's less cookbook and more how-to manual. You can find it at Amazon, or you can download a free sample of it by clicking here.
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"I went from never having baked anything in my life to making an amazing cheese pizza and now I am not interested in boxed or chain store pizzas anymore! Thanks for writing this book!"
--WKS

"Read about this in my local paper and picked it up. My first outing with the oven, the pizza steel and Blaine’s book took place last night. It was AWESOME! Thank you! So much easier than making pizza on my Big Green Egg, and saved me a fortune from buying a wood pizza oven!"
--Frank W.

"Fantastic book for anyone who wants to make great pizza in their own oven. First cookbook I’ve read cover to cover."
--Amazon Customer