Pizza was on the menu last night and thanks to a video on the New York Times “Cooking” website, I’ve improved my pizza stretching technique. I’ve abandoned my rolling pin and now use only my hands. As a result, my pizzas are now closer to being round and hole free.

In an earlier post, I wrote both about the pizza-crust recipe from Rebecca’s Pizzeria in Brooklyn and the Baking Steel, which recently replaced my pizza stone.

Below are before and after shots of the two pizzas we made last night. With the Baking Steel pre-heated for an hour at 500°F, the pizza cooks at the same temperature for about 9 minutes.

If you’re looking to improve your pizza-making skills, I highly recommend taking a look at this video and trying out the recipe.

I used my oven’s broiler for about a minute to get a browner crust.

Wine Pairing: Lambrusco