Red hair, red sauce

Good pizza is really
about the people.

I take pizza seriously. Not in a snobby way - in a "we have a backyard wood-fired oven and I will absolutely debate dough hydration with you" kind of way.

Flames rolling through the mouth of CJ's backyard wood-fired pizza oven, logs burning on the stone hearth.

The backyard oven

We have a wood-fired pizza oven in Campbell and it gets used. A lot.

There is something about making pizza from scratch - the dough, the sauce, the timing of the fire - that demands you be fully present. No multitasking. Just flour, heat, and whoever is lucky enough to be around the table.

My wife Stefanie is an extraordinary cook (her cinnamon rolls and homemade ice cream are genuinely dangerous), so when we host, the bar is high and the food disappears fast. Fair warning if you visit.

CJ Arnesen and his wife Stefanie standing on a path in the fall aspens, both in red plaid shirts, with their two black dogs sitting in front of them.
The people the table is really about: CJ and Stefanie with Scout and Bailey.

Why it comes back to who is around

Pizza is a gathering point - the thing that makes people slow down, sit together, and actually talk. I have eaten great pizza at Neapolitan restaurants, at roadside spots discovered on offroad trips, and out of a box on a mountain at 9,000 feet. Context always matters. It always comes back to who is around.

That said: quality ingredients, time on the dough, and enough heat for a proper char. Less is more on toppings. Do not overthink the sauce.

CJ's Sourdough Pizza Dough

68% hydration Makes 5 medium dough balls

Ingredients

  • 635g King Arthur '00' flour
  • 409g warm water
  • 16g salt
  • 150g sourdough starter (or 1/2 pack dry yeast)

Directions

  1. Add warm water to mixing bowl. Add salt and stir to dissolve.
  2. Add 135g flour and mix. Add starter and blend into solution.
  3. Add remaining 500g flour.
  4. Mix on KitchenAid with dough hook for 2 minutes.
  5. Wrap bowl, let rest in oven with light on for 45 minutes.
  6. Mix on high speed for 10 minutes. (Watch it - the mixer will walk around the counter.)
  7. Wrap again and let rise in oven for 90-120 minutes.
  8. Turn out onto floured surface. Prep olive-oiled bowls.
  9. Weigh out ~240g balls, shape each, place in oiled bowl.
  10. Wrap and refrigerate up to 5 days.

A note from CJ

This process is a bit more involved, but it really brings the dough together. It is worth it.

Bay Area spots and road finds

The Bay Area has a deeper pizza scene than most people realize. Some of my most memorable slices have come from completely unexpected places - a roadside find on an offroad trip, a tiny spot in a Sierra town after a long trail day. Those are the ones I remember.

Current favorite

Oak & Rye, Los Gatos

Wood-fired, unpretentious, consistently excellent. If you are in the South Bay and have not been, go.

Know a great spot?

Bay Area gems, hidden finds, places worth a detour. I am always hunting for the next great pie, and I will absolutely go check it out.

Send it my way