3-Day Professional Pizza University Class
From Neapolitan-Style to Specialty Pizzas – Tradition and Innovation with Peter Reinhart and Scott Wiener
- May 13, 2024
- 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (Eastern Time)
- Class Capacity: 18 seats
- 10310 Southard Drive, Beltsville, Maryland 20705, United States
Class Overview
Meet The Instructors
Peter Reinhart
Peter Reinhart is an internationally known author, consultant, and a beloved teacher of bread and pizza. His books have won four James Beard Awards, including “Cookbook of the Year” for The Bread Baker’s Apprentice (2002), and his first pizza book, American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza (2003), is credited with helping to initiate the artisan pizza movement in America. He’s been on the faculty of Johnson & Wales University for the past 24 years, and for the five years before at The California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Peter and his wife, Susan, founded the acclaimed Brother Juniper’s Bakery and Cafe in 1986, in Sonoma County, CA, which led to 13 books, numerous television and radio appearances, a TED Talk and, for the past 12 years to his website and podcast series, Pizza Quest with Peter.
Peter has developed pizzas and other products for dozens of frozen food and baking companies, and he has served as consulting partner for two pizzerias in Charlotte, NC, where he is based. His two most recent books, Perfect Pan Pizza (2019), and Pizza Quest: My Never-Ending Search for the Perfect Pizza (2022), provide recipes for over 60 pizzas of every style.
As a self-declared “pizza omnivore”, Peter says: “All pizza is good, no matter what style or form it takes, but my quest is to uncover what separates good from great pizza. And by great, I mean memorable. It all begins with the crust and when pizza is crafted with a great, properly fermented crust, the possibility of greatness is there for the taking.”
Scott Wiener
Calling Scott Wiener a professional pizza enthusiast would be a massive understatement. Since founding Scott’s Pizza Tours in 2008, he’s educated thousands of pizza lovers and professionals about NYC’s top pizzerias. He judges pizza culinary competitions, writes an award winning column for Pizza Today Magazine, and hosts Thrillist’s web series Really Dough (available on YouTube). Scott is the founder of Slice Out Hunger, a hunger relief nonprofit that supports hunger relief and prevention through pizza-related events and campaigns.
Although his pizza making is usually restricted to his popular online classes, he recently celebrated a victory on an episode of Hulu’s pizza competition show “Best In Dough.” As if that wasn’t enough pizza content for one human, he also holds the Guinness World Record for largest collection of pizza boxes with which he shares an apartment in Brooklyn, New York.
Class Curriculum
- 8:00AM-8:30AM – Arrival at Pizza University & Culinary Arts Center – Light Breakfast
- 8:30AM-9:00AM – Introduction by Pizza University Founder and CEO Francesco Marra
- 9:00AM-10:30AM – Dough Mixing:
- Neapolitan
- NY
- High-hydration pan dough
- Sourdough
- 10:30AM-12:00PM – Sauce preparation
- Crushed tomato sauce
- “Secret sauce” (aka “pickled pepper hoagie spread”)
- Pesto Genovese
- Pistachio pesto
- 12:00PM-2:00PM – Pizza baking and working lunch:
- Classic Margherita
- The Monte Cristo (Paulie Gee)
- The Hellboy Slice Pizza (Mike Kurtz)
- Pistachio pesto Neapolitan (Grant Arons)
- 2:00PM-2:30PM – Partner’s presentation
- 2:30PM-3:30PM – Prep for day 2 (panning and mise en place)
- 3:30PM-4:30PM – Lecture: “Dough Science and Fermentation”, by Peter Reinhart
- 4:30PM – Q&A
- 8:30AM-9:30AM – Meet at Marra Forni Elkridge Facility – Marra Forni Factory Tour
- 9:30AM-10:00AM – Drive Back to Pizza University & Culinary Arts Center
- 10:00AM-11:30AM – Partner’s presentation
- 11:30AM-2:00PM – Pizza baking and working lunch:
- The Sicilian (Chris Decker)
- Parma Italian Square Pie (Jeff Smokevich)
- USA Pizza Cup Winner Square Pie with Bacon Jam (Derrick Tung)
- Rita Bella Pizza al Taglio (Dereck Sanchez)
- The Patty-Style Grandma Pizza (Audrey Kelly)
- Roman-Style alla Scarola Napoletana
- Chiava Romana (Massimiliano Saieva)
- 2:00PM-3:00PM – Lecture: “The Pizza Landscape”, by Scott Wiener
- 3:00PM-4:00PM – Prep and mise en place for day 3
- 4:00PM – Q&A
- 9:00AM-9:30AM – Arrival at Pizza University & Culinary Arts Center – Light Breakfast
- 9:30AM-10:00AM – Recap
- 10:00AM:10:30AM – Partner’s Presentation
- 10:30AM-1:00PM – Pizza baking and working lunch:
- The Caputo Cup Championship White Sourdough Pizza (Will Grant)
- Summer Corn with Smoked Cheese (Dan Richer)
- The Concetta (Anthony Mangieri)
- Fried “Pantaloon Calzone” (John Arena)
- Zoli Stromboli (Lee Hunzinger)
- Tarte Flambée (Leo Spizzirri, Brian Spangler)
- The Ultimate White Pie with Garlic Confit (Nino and Shaelyn Coniglio)
- 1:00PM-2:00PM – Sharing session: “My dream pizzeria”
- 2:00PM-2:40PM – Lecture: “Oven Science: Wood-Burning, Gas, and Electric Ovens”, by Chef David Binkle
- 2:40PM-3:30PM – Exam and Q&A
- 3:30PM-4:00PM – Graduation and Certificate Presentation, Photos
- 4:00PM-4:30PM – Interviews
You Will Receive
Pizza University Certificate
Chef Jacket and Apron
Networking Opportunities
Post-Class Support
Featured Podcast
Scott Wiener and Peter Reinhart | PizzaChat
Pizza University brings you a sizzling discussion on Neapolitan pizza and specialty pizza styles with renowned experts Peter Reinhart and Scott Wiener.
Testimonials From Our Students
Laura Hayes
“I’ve met a lot of talented people who will go on to do great things.”
Omar Saleh
“Everyone in my class came with a passion for pizza and is leaving with an even greater passion!”
Frequently Asked Questions
Pizza University & Culinary Arts is located at 10310-A Southard Drive, Beltsville, MD 20705.
Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI)
Distance from Pizza University & Culinary Arts Center: 22 Miles
Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA)
Distance from Pizza University & Culinary Arts Center: 30 Miles
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
Distance from Pizza University & Culinary Arts Center: 40 Miles
Please check our Terms & Conditions, including our cancelation and refund policy.
We will provide our students with a chef jacket, an apron, a binder with course-related material, and blank sheets of paper and a pen to take notes.
Feel free to wear something comfortable. Closed-toe shoes are recommended.
Please email info@pizzauniversity.org to receive hotel information.
Where Are We Located?
Lowell Taylor2023-08-23PHENOMINAL
Jennifer Mannelli2023-07-30
Emily Lucio2023-07-30This was so much fun. Highly recommend for a group
Mark Brown2023-07-18I just finished Pizza University's 3-Day Intensive class “Bridging the World of Pizza from Italy to New York” taught by Maestro Leo Spizzirri, and it was truly something! The facility itself is top-notch, featuring a variety of high-end pizza ovens from Marra Forni, excellent kitchen space, an excellent support staff and all the pizza making materials you could ask for. Most of the students in my class were professional chefs and restaurant owners, but there were also a number of home cooks looking to up their pizza game. We also had a series of presentations and samplings from purveyors of pizza ingredients including manufacturers and importers of flours, tomato products, cheeses, and vinegars. It was something to sample half a dozen mozzarellas, several different ricottas, and a taste flight of more than a dozen Italian imported vinegars! But for me the real highlight was Master Pizzaiolo Chef Leo himself. He says if you were to cut him he'd bleed tomato sauce and mozzarella, and I believe it. He has a huge wealth of experience making pizza, and he really is great at explaining it -- he really wants you as his student to understand the fine details of the art of pizza making. We spent much of the three days just learning about how different flours, dough recipes and ingredients, oven temperatures, and dough mixing and handling techniques all come together to form a unique finished product. This course was pretty intense, but I'd highly recommend it to anyone who is seriously interested in pizza!
Cayton Flippen2023-07-12Great experience and learned so much from Chef Leo to open the pizza shop the best way I know how! The learning of dough has been great!
David Elo2023-06-19Great class, had tons of fun learning and refining my skills.
Lexington Vazquez2023-06-17So much in 3days but the way things are planned it's not overwhelming. Good team to help you and super informative for anyone who wants to learn about pizza or be in the business. Staff is also amazing super helpful, very informative. Looking to be back soon!
Jamie Twing2023-06-15What an incredible experience!!!! We just got back from such a fun and educational day battling coworkers during Pizza Wars! Great to see how far our skills improved over time. Chef Dave and the team were absolutely incredible. My entire team was sooo thankful and appreciative for the opportunity! Would love to visit again! Absolutely recommend!
ray N2023-06-14Great experience with a knowledgeable chef and staff at Marra Forni.
Grace Gilbertson2023-05-12What a fabulous educational experience! All 3 days were packed with information any pizza maker can use to start their journey or hone their existing crust.