If you're even a little serious about homemade pizza, The American Pizza Cookbook by Jim Mumford is the ultimate guidebook you need in your kitchen. This isn't just a recipe collection—it’s a deep dive into the craft of pizza making across the U.S. From household names like Detroit-style, Chicago deep dish, and Brooklyn classics, to lesser-known regional favorites you didn’t even know you needed to try, this book covers it all. It breaks down the differences in doughs, sauces, and toppings in a way that makes you appreciate just how diverse and delicious American pizza really is.

Mumford’s passion practically oozes off the page as he explains the tiny—but meaningful—distinctions between styles. With over 100 recipes and 30 pizza variants, it’s not just inspiration—it’s education. Whether you're a pizza purist or a creative experimenter, you’ll find something new to love and try here. Expect helpful tips, crave-worthy combos, and the kind of insight that makes you feel like a pizza pro, even if you're just starting from scratch.

There are so many interesting recipes in this book, I can’t wait to make them all! Everything sounds amazing!

This pizza book has so many pizza ideas. It’s nicely laid out and categorized by different areas and doughs. I have so many new pizza night meals I want to try. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of pizza based on location. Thank you to the publisher Fox Chapel Publishing and NetGalley for helping make Pizza night interesting and themed. #PizzaPediaFoxChapelPublishing #NetGalley

Pizza Pedia by Jim Mumford is an absolute treasure for anyone passionate about pizza, whether you're a seasoned home chef or just starting your culinary journey. This comprehensive encyclopedia takes you on a delicious tour of American regional pizza styles, from classic New York slices to the rich depths of Detroit and Chicago styles, and even some hidden gems from lesser-known regions. Mumford’s expert explanations of dough textures, sauce differences, and toppings are incredibly insightful, making it easy for beginners to understand while still offering valuable tips for seasoned enthusiasts. The hundreds of recipes and variants, totaling over 100 creative ideas, inspire you to experiment and perfect your craft. I especially appreciate the detailed guidance on achieving authentic flavors and textures, which has truly elevated my homemade pizzas. Whether you're looking to master a traditional recipe or explore new flavors, Pizza Pedia is your go-to resource. It’s more than just a cookbook—it's a complete guide to becoming a pizza connoisseur. Highly recommended for anyone serious about pizza mastery!

My son is the ultimate pizza lover, so I thought we could give this a go! I think it's very helpful, especially for beginners as it had tips about kneading, rising, rolling and shaping. I felt like it was very easy for my 10 year old and myself to understand as we were making several of these recipes. So far we've tried 9 of them! My son's favorite was the Chicago Deep Dish and the Calzones! I loved them as well but my favorite was the Neopolitan Margherita! But honestly all of the recipes we tried were absolutely delicious!! It was super helpful with equipment and ingredients as well! In the beginning it stated the exact best flour and other ingredients to get the best outcome for the pizzas and other recipes. I loved that as most don't specify it out like that in it's own chapter it just has generic ingredients listed on recipes. I loved this and my son was super thankful it had images as a lot of the ones he chose got us to make were by the images lol overall a spectacular Cookbook with reasonable recipes and brilliant tasting foods!!

I received an ARC of this Cookbook from Fox Chapel to read, cook from and review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this cookbook and trying multiple recipes.

I tried making pizza once years ago and it was an epic fail. I came across this on NetGalley and was able to receive an ARC (thank you NetGalley and Publisher!) to finally try again.

The positive: The recipes. These were actually so delicious. The book has many different pizza dough bases to try from, and I tried four different pizzas all from the same base. They were delicious. They were amazing. I never thought homemade pizza could taste so good and I fear I'll have to keep making pizza now.

The not so fun: As a beginner, I didn't find this as friendly as I hoped. I'll admit it doesn't state it's for beginners anywhere, but it's very difficult to make the pizza without the correct tools. And although a pizza stone is very important, I think the item that should've had more focus was the pizza peel. A very small point, but important when you're trying to decide which tools to start with as a beginner. It won't taste the same without a stone, but you won't get the shape or baking right without the peel.

Another item that did tick me off was how the author mentioned each dough requires a different stickiness to it; some stickier than others. However, none of this was mentioned in the actual instruction on making each dough. It was very hard to decide whether my dough was supposed to be stickier or smoother before beginning the fermentation process because of that beginning note and lack of instruction.

Having said that, I will continue making pizzas using the base dough recipes because my household can't get enough.

The book was inspiring and made me want to try all the recipes. It was laid out well with lovely pictures. It is a must for any pizza lover.

PizzaPedia focuses on pizza recipes and doughs from all over from Neapolitan to Sicilian.

The Sections are the right equipment, ingredients for success, techniques, tips and tricks, Neapolitan style, pan style, Sicilian style and thin. Discussing the different types of dough and toppings. Each recipe has a blurb, ingredients, equipment, and directions. Plus a photo to accompany.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I never realized there was so much to learn about Pizza 🍕.

There is nothing like indulging in a gooey slice of pizza. I was thrilled to see that Jim Mumford took the time to research and provide so much detail on pizza in America. This book gave history, great recipes and best of all pictures. There are so many recipes I want to try. The author also included gluten free alternatives to many of the recipes. If you are a foodie, or pizza enthusiast I highly suggest you add this book to your library. Pro tip- Keep this book wherever you prepare meals. You will want this one close by. 😁

Thank you NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was a great cookbook. Very easy-to-follow recipes. I can't wait to try these recipes. I would highly recommend this book.

After spending many years as an active duty military family, we grew to love the regional pizzas all over the United States. I'd never successfully copied those recipes until now. Jim Mumford has made my entire family happy with the authentic recipes for those pizzas. I love the fact that I have most of the pantry items on hand. With the easy to follow recipes and the tips to success, I've not had a failure yet.....knock on wood! This recipe book has so many positive reviews from my satisfied family and neighbors, it would be a crime to not gift it to an appreciative pizza lover. Whether you are a novice, or an experienced cook looking for a little something to jazz up the dinner rotation, this book is for you.

There is an unimanageable amount of recipes here for pizza, calzones and so much more!
You are shown the tools that are required to make pizza - from pans to graters to pizza stones.
You are also encouraged to learn the different types of cheeses and flours to use, along with rolling out the dough and stretching it!
There is a recipe for basic pizza dough, gluten free pizza dough, deep dish, Sicilian, pan, if you can think of one it is here!
Some recipes are easy to follow and some more complicated, so take your time to try a new recipe! The photographs are amazing and show the dough, toppings, and texture of the pizzas.
There are Sicilian pizzas, Greek pizzas, Colorado Mountain pizzas with drizzled honey, Cuban pizzas with chorizo, Calzones, Stromboli, Il Fungo (mushroom), Philly Pepper Pie and even Buffalo Style Philly Pizza!

PizzaPedia is a plethora of information on all types of pizzas that are found across America. The photo of each type of pizza aided in making me want to try them, as they all looked delicious!

"Transform simple dough, sauce and cheese into over 100 unique recipes" - Yes please!

I really appreciated the right equipment section, which not only listed the equipment, but explained why it is important. As well, I appreciated the fact that although measuring to the gram can aid in baking, sometimes it can't be done, so also including the measurements in cups would mean I could just use the book and not need to pull out a conversion chart or use my phone to figure it out. Also was nice that a Pizza Stone wasn't the hill to die on, and that there are other options to be used.

Making a dough and having a basic foundation that can then be used for multiple pizzas is also a bonus as once you master that you can then expand into the toppings and styles! Which is always fun.

Now for the pizza!

Some of the recipes are delicious and wonderful flavor combos. The "Brooklyn Margherita" and "Colorado Hot Honey Pie" were delicious and I will be hoping to get these even better! There are some combos that I have yet to try, but look so unique "Philly Pepper Pie" and " Old Forge White Pizza" that I will definitely be making them!

This book is clearly a love project by the author and you can see all it through the photos and write ups on each pizza. Would be a very good book for someone who is interested in starting to make their own pizza at home!

- I will post this to my social platforms closer to the publication date -

Who doesn't love pizza? One of my favorite photos of my nephew was when he was an almost toothless baby, eating a nice big slice of pizza. I grew up on New York's Long Island. We were German and Polish and I didn't have pizza until I was school age. But once I had my first bite, I was hooked. I have had a lot of different types of pizza since then and I've even tried to make it a few times, but I was missing a good guide. This book is a wonderful guide! Full of recipes and advice.

The Chapters include
- Ingredients for Success
- Techniques
- Tips and Tricks
- Neapolitan Style
- Pan Style
- Sicilian Style
- Thin

I knew that pizza was also regional. This book contains recipes from many areas of this country. There are recipes from New York City, Connecticut, Chicago, Detroit, Colorado, Greek Style, Cuban Style, and many, many others.

Also included are recipes for Calzones, Strombolis, Scacciata, Focaccia , Philly Tomato Pie, and many more.

What a great resource for pizza lovers. I think you'll find, not only your favorites, but other types of pizza that you've never heard of before. But now you'll need to try them.

Excellent book! So many good recipes. Loved the regional specialties. Especially the Quad Cities and the New Jersey Tomato Pies!
Wonderful!

Warning…..you may try to eat the pizzas directly from the pictures on the pages.

An informative book on the different styles of pizza and how to make them including the different doughs. The author does a detail discussion on the right equipment, ingredients for success, and techniques. The different styles of pizza/dough that he discusses include Neapolitan, pan, Sicilian, and thin. He also includes different ways to top them and explains each pizza in detail. I cannot wait to try and make several of the recipes included.

This review is entirely voluntary and reflects my personal opinions.

What makes a cookbook stand out is a picture of every recipe.., straight forward instructions , and a little bit about why this certain recipe was included. This book hits all 3. Bonus for all the kinds of tomato pie, my favorite! This is a pizza Atlas! How cool is that?
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I am an obsessed pizza lover! I can't wait to try these recipes immediately. The images all looked absolutely mouthwatering and the recipes were straightforward enough that I feel confident trying them...and I am not usually a confident cook.

What a fantastic pizza cookbook! This is the second one I’ve read this week but probably my favorite ever. Mumford covers pizzas from all over the United States, with so many varieties that all look and sound delicious. There’s a photo for every recipe and almost always a gluten free recipe as well (the specialty dishes at the end like calzones are the only exceptions). I didn’t even know variations like Omaha style pizza existed (it’s a more biscuit like dough with lots of meat). Here’s how to make pan pizzas, Chicago style, California style, white pizza, fried, margarita style, you name it. Loved it.

I read a temporary digital loan of this book for review.

PizzaPedia truly is an encyclopedia for all things pizza. The first section of the book is all about the ingredients and equipment you need on your pizza journey. There is a ton of information in this section. There are pictures to show you how to work with the dough plus plenty of resources. There are so many great recipes for all different styles of pizza in this book. Some were familiar to me and some were not. There were also a lot of great photographs showing the pizzas. It is great to have a cookbook solely focused on pizza. This book would be great for any home cook or pizza fan.