Mastering Dough Handling and Shaping for Improved Pizza

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If you’re a pizza enthusiast, you know that achieving the perfect crust is an art. That’s especially true when it comes to the handling and shaping of your pizza dough. A supple, extensible dough is easier to shape or stretch to fit a pan. But some doughs tear or break so easily that they seem actively stubborn.

Here are two ways to make your dough stretchier, either by increasing hydration or using a conditioning ingredient (or dough relaxer) that will make the dough more extensible. Both approaches weaken gluten, but each does so in a different way. Let’s consider the hydration strategy first.

Option 1: Increasing Hydration for Stretchier Dough

One approach to make your dough more extensible is to increase its hydration. Simply put, adding more water to your dough recipe can strengthen the gluten network up to a certain point. Beyond that threshold, which depends on the flour’s gluten-forming protein content and other variables, excess moisture can flood the proteins and hinder the formation of long gluten chains. As a result, high-hydration doughs become far more relaxed and extensible than drier doughs.

However, there’s a trade-off. While increasing hydration can improve stretchiness, it can also make your dough sticky and challenging to handle. Dealing with high-hydration doughs that cling to your work surface and fingers can be frustrating. That’s why we’re happy to present an alternative solution.

Option 2: Weakening Gluten with Ingredients

The second option for enhancing your dough’s stretchiness involves weakening the gluten. This is typically achieved by adding ingredients like eggs and fats to the dough. These components limit the length of the gluten chains, making the dough more extensible. Unfortunately, most pizza doughs don’t contain eggs or use only minimal amounts of fats, which might not have a significant impact on dough extensibility.

However, there is another method to achieve this without altering the dough’s basic ingredients. Enter dough relaxers, also known as reducing agents. These additives can help your dough relax and stretch, making it more manageable. In our experiments, ingredients such as meat tenderizer, bromelain (enzyme found in pineapple),* and papain (fruit protease enzymes) have proven effective in improving dough extensibility. Meat tenderizers, in particular, work surprisingly well for dough. They function like chemical cleavers, cutting long strands of gluten into shorter pieces by breaking certain bonds between protein molecules. While this process is temporary, it results in a more flexible gluten network that promotes the growth of larger gas bubbles, giving your crust that sought-after light-and-airy texture.

Another option is deactivated yeast, which becomes accessible through the deactivation process. This also happens when yeast is frozen, which is why freezing baked pizza is preferred over freezing pizza dough for long-term storage.

*Bromelain can be found in drugstores, some grocery stores, and online, often in the form of a supplement.

Using Fruit Juice as a Dough Relaxer

If you’re considering using dough relaxers, you might encounter challenges when it comes to sourcing purified versions of protease enzymes as a noncommercial dough maker. While fruit juices can serve as a wonderful alternative, they come with their own set of considerations.

First, some fruit juices are so potent that they are practical only when making large batches of dough—even just one drop more can be too much in a smaller recipe. Second, the enzyme content in fruits can vary significantly, as it depends on the fruit’s ripeness. This means you may need to experiment to determine how much enzyme a particular fruit contains. Using fresh fruit juice is essential since canned and bottled juices deactivate the protease enzymes. Fortunately, only a small amount of juice, extracted from a chunk or two of fruit, is usually sufficient for your pizza dough needs.

Our Favorite Dough Relaxers

To address the challenge of shaping pizza dough, we tested various dough relaxers to find the sweet spot where the dough was both malleable enough to shape and strong enough to bake as pizza. Dough relaxers can be divided into natural (unpurified) and purified types. The latter is preferred for their consistency and precision.

While we wouldn’t recommend using dough relaxers for rye and whole wheat pizza doughs, we found several options that worked wonders for different types of pizza dough:

  • Meat tenderizer—This made a significant difference in Neapolitan pizza dough, making it easier to shape consistently.
  • Bromelain—A proteolytic enzyme found in pineapple, bromelain worked well with high-hydration al taglio dough, making it easier to extend to the sides of the pan.
  • Fruit protease enzymes—Fruit juices, such as kiwi, can be used as a delivery vehicle for protease enzymes, though their potency can vary. Experimentation may be required to determine the optimal amount for your dough.

You can find a more in-depth recommendation in Modernist Pizza, vol. 1, page 327.

It’s worth noting that the influence of dough relaxers on focaccia and New York square pizzas was minimal, and the final baked results were similar to the original recipe. For thin-crust pizzas and Detroit-style pizza, using relaxers is optional. And for deep-dish pizza dough, it typically rolls out easily without the need for relaxers.

In conclusion, improving your dough handling and shaping skills is essential for achieving the perfect pizza crust. Experiment with hydration levels and consider using dough relaxers to strike the right balance between strength and flexibility in your dough. With the right techniques and additives, you’ll be well on your way to creating the pizza of your dreams.

 

Modifying Texture in Crumb and Crust

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People have strong opinions about crumb and crust—crispy, soft, charred, blond, or nonexistent. The diversity of preferences is hardly surprising; after all, the rim crust is an integral part of most, but not all, pizzas. Understanding the science of baking dough is something that can help you take control of your own preferred texture in dough by using several different recommended ingredients. Today, we’ll dive into the science and some basic modifications that you can make to some recipes.

The Science Behind the Dough

Most crusts emerge from the oven with a crispy exterior, while the interior remains a hot, soft gel of starch and protein molecules. As the crust cools, water vapor escapes and starch granules recrystallize, altering the texture of the crumb. Understanding how these processes work can help you learn how to adapt your own pizza crusts.

The Role of Dough Modifiers

To influence the texture of crumb and crust, you can experiment with dough modifiers. Ingredients such as amylases (a type of enzyme found in flour), sugar, pregelatinized starch, and certain emulsifiers contribute to texture and enhance pizza crusts in unique ways.

Our Recommendations for a Softer Crust

For those seeking a softer crust, we recommend the use of amylases with intermediate stability, as they continue to break down starch molecules at a slower rate.

Alternatively, consider incorporating fava or soybean flour, known for containing lipoxygenase enzymes that contribute to a softer crumb. However, be cautious of their strong beany flavor, which may be better suited for breads.

Modernist Pizza features a high-hydration Neapolitan pizza dough that incorporates the use of pregelatinized flour to help increase the hydration of the dough while maintaining the ability to mix the dough, creating a delightfully soft crumb. You can find it in vol. 2:127.

  • How does sugar affect dough? Sugar and humectants act as moisture magnets, attracting water molecules that cling to the crust. This process postpones starch migration, preserving the soft texture of the crumb. The result? A pizza crust that maintains its delectable tenderness.          
  • How do amylases affect dough? Amylases interact uniquely with starch, breaking down long molecules into shorter segments that recrystallize at a slower pace. Not all amylases serve as effective softeners, making it crucial to consider thermostability. While fungal amylases are heat-sensitive, declining post-gelatinization, bacterial counterparts remain active. Optimal crumb softening occurs with amylases boasting intermediate stability, active during gelatinization but ceasing at around 80°C / 176°F. We prefer to use diastatic malt powder, an enzyme derived from the germination of barley.
  • How does fava/soybean flour affect dough? Fava or soybean flour is used by some bakers for a softer crumb. Loaded with lipoxygenase enzymes, these legume flours break down lipids in flour, contributing to a softening effect. However, caution is advised due to their strong, beany flavor, potentially imparting an unpleasant aftertaste to pizza crusts. While suitable for breads, these flours may not be the ideal choice for pizza experimentation.

Our Recommendations for a Crispy Crust

If a crispier crust is your goal, try adding polydextrose (a type of soluble fiber) or sodium alginate (a carbohydrate product of seaweed). These additives enhance the crispiness of your pizza by delaying the softening of the crust during retrogradation. A little goes a long way, and we suggest experimenting with around 1% polydextrose in your dough to achieve that perfect crunch.

Another alternative for a crispier crust includes using 5% pregelatinized masa harina flour. You can pregelatinize this flour by whisking the flour with 21°C / 70°F water at a ratio of 1 to 4. Whisk together the water and flour in a small saucepot, cooking over medium heat while whisking constantly until the mixture reaches 65°C / 150°F. Then cool over an ice bath to room temperature. As a result, your flour will become pregelatinized.

Where Can You Find These Ingredients

  • Diastatic malt powder is our preferred amylase with intermediate stability. You can find it online at places like Amazon or Modernist Pantry.
  • Fava or soybean flour is sold by Bob’s Red Mill and other sellers.
  • Polydextrose can be found online through retailers like Modernist Pantry.
  • Sodium alginate can be found in powder form at some grocery stores or online through retailers like Modernist Pantry.
  • Masa harina flour can be found online through King Arthur Baking or Bob’s Red Mill.

Understanding the science behind pizza dough opens up a world of possibilities, regardless of whether you’re a home chef or a seasoned pizzaiolo. Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media for more Modernist Cuisine techniques, recipes, and announcements.

Choosing the Right Wheat Flour for the Job

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Flour is the fundamental building block of bread and pizza dough. At its most basic, flour is just pulverized grain. Recent research suggests that it may have been used for food since the Paleolithic Period! Flour is an ingredient far more complex than it may appear, made up of starch, protein, water, fats, and enzymes. There are many kinds of flour, made from wheat, almond, and other ingredients.

In terms of all-around performance, wheat is the best flour for bread and pizza dough. Its high-gluten content gives the dough structure; it has a distinctive flavor profile and the right starch for active fermentation. Wheat grain is made of three main parts: germ, bran, and endosperm. The vast majority of flour on the market is made from the endosperm, which is softer and whiter than the other two parts. Whole-grain flour is made with bran and germ as well.

The label on a bag of flour can include a lot of terms. Flour type (think bread flour, all-purpose flour, etc.) is most common among those terms, which may also include added ingredients and marketing buzzwords. The type of flour on the label will give you a rough approximation of a flour’s protein count—and we do mean rough. The protein content can vary wildly from brand to brand, so be sure to check the label.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the most common flour types to help you decide which is right for the type of dough that you’re making.

00 flour: Using 00 flour for pizza is popular, and we recommend it for our Neapolitan pizza. This Italian classification system establishes a minimum protein content for each grade: Tipo 00: ≥9%, Tipo 0: ≥11%, Tipo 1: ≥12%, Tipo 2: ≥12%, Integral: ≥12%

High-gluten bread flour: With 13% protein or more, this will make an even stronger dough than bread flour. It’s particularly good for breads and doughs mostly leavened with commercial yeast—like pizza dough, French Lean Bread, and bagels—as well as breads that require structure (such as enriched doughs, like Sablée Brioche).

Bread flour: The bread flours we typically use have 11%–13% protein, which develops a good structure and produces volume in finished breads and pizzas. It forms strong dough, making it useful for many varieties of bread. Our recipes for challah, Deep-dish pizza dough, direct thin crust pizza dough, Detroit-style pizza, and Portuguese sweet bread recommend bread flour.

AP flour: The protein content of all-purpose flour can vary from brand to brand; generally it’s 10%–11%. It’s not necessarily good for all purposes. In France, the classic baguette is traditionally made with all-purpose types of flours, and we like it for our thin-crust and deep-dish pizza doughs. Because protein content can vary wildly, we recommend making sure you know the protein content of your AP flour before making bread or pizza dough with it.

Pastry flour: As its name states, this flour is intended for pastry preparations, in which a low-gluten percentage is desired—for example, cookies, muffins, and pound cakes in which a short crumb versus a chewy crumb is the goal. We use it in combination with strong flours to make dough softer and easier to use (for stretching and shaping). We also use it in our pork cheek hum bao recipe. Its protein content is around 9%.

Cake flour: Typically under 9% protein, cake flour is most commonly used in very delicate baked-good preparations, such as sponge cakes, because it produces a crumbly texture that is uniform and fine. We found blending cake flour with bread flour works well for some of our thin-crust pizza doughs, such as the Brazilian Thin Crust.

Self-rising flour: This type of flour is not meant for yeast-raised breads or pizza doughs. You can make your own self-rising flour by combining any flour with 3% of its weight in baking powder. The protein content is usually around 8.5%.

You can learn much more about flour in Modernist Bread at Home, Modernist Bread, and Modernist Pizza. Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media for more Modernist Cuisine techniques, recipes, and announcements.

Common Mixing Dough Problems

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Mixing dough for both bread and pizza can undoubtedly pose challenges, which can leave aspiring pizzaioli and bakers feeling discouraged. Dough that’s sticky, dried out, overmixed, or undermixed might seem disheartening at times. But remember, even seasoned pizzaioli and bakers have faced these hurdles. We say embrace the learning process and experiment with different techniques and recipes. Over time, you’ll develop a keen understanding of dough mixing and how to troubleshoot issues when they arise.

Mixing is an essential part of the dough process. Although gluten is a self-organizing protein, that doesn’t mean you can pour water on flour and walk away, hoping the dough will develop. You have to give it a little jump start to distribute the ingredients evenly. That jump start involves mixing. The most important function of mixing is to force the flour to hydrate, which unleashes a cascade of chemical reactions. Hydration, not kneading, is what allows the gluten network to develop.

Hydration can be accomplished slowly by simply combining the ingredients and allowing the flour to absorb the water over time, or faster by manipulating the dough by hand, or in minutes by machines. The faster the mix, the faster the hydration, the faster the dough develops. You can learn more about both in chapter 6 of Modernist Pizza.

Although combining a few ingredients seems like a simple thing, there are often still many challenges and problems that arise. Once you understand what not to do, you’ll also understand what sorts of things can go wrong.

Below, we cover some common mixing problems, why they happen, and how to fix them.

Undermixed Dough

Problem: Undermixed dough won’t fully hydrate because the water is unevenly distributed. Properly mixed dough should look homogenous, with no noticeable clumps of flour or pools of liquid.

Solution: Continue mixing to remedy this problem.

The Dough Has Dried Out

Problem: Dough exposed to air will begin to dry on the surface and form a skin. This reduces the extensibility (stretch) of the dough, forcing it to crack as it ferments or is manipulated.

Solution: To avoid this, keep the dough covered at all times. You can use a slightly damp kitchen towel, a plastic tarp, or even a large, clean plastic trash bag to protect your dough. If you’re using a plastic tub, cover it with a lid.

Climbing the Hook

Problem: Dough wrapping up the hook happens if the mixer is left unattended.

Solution: Be sure to keep an eye on the mixer so that you can stop the machine and push the dough down the hook, then continue mixing.

Overmixing

Problem: If you’ve overmixed your dough—that is, if you’ve gone beyond full gluten development but the dough hasn’t quite broken down—your dough might be salvaged.

Solution: For doughs raised with levain, simply let the dough relax for a long time in the refrigerator.

For yeast-raised doughs, it’s a little trickier because the yeast will continue to ferment the dough even in the refrigerator. (This will occur in a levain-based dough as well, but to a lesser extent.)

If the dough is overmixed to the point that it’s leaching water and has become ropy, try this method: mix a half batch of dough, minus the salt. Allow your dough to autolyze for 20 minutes, then add the salt. Add this new dough to the overmixed dough, mixing on low speed until just combined. Proceed with bulk fermentation (if applicable); it may take longer than planned. The final pizza won’t be exactly as you had mixed it correctly, but it will be close.

The Complete Disaster

The only remedy for some mixing errors is to simply start over. Luckily, dough ingredients are relatively inexpensive, and the mixing process is fast enough that you’ll probably still have time to make your pizza. Fatal errors like these usually stem from human fallibility: the pizza maker might have misread a measurement, transposed a number, or otherwise strayed from protocol. To avoid such mistakes, the first time you make a recipe, check off each step when you complete it. At the very least, this will show you later where you went wrong.

Most importantly, don’t get discouraged during your baking journey. Mixing dough does not come without challenges, even though it may seem that combining four ingredients is a simple thing to do. Learning to mix dough can be a journey of trial and improvement. You’re enhancing your skills and knowledge every time you make pizza or bread. Even if it doesn’t come out the way you’d hoped, it’s a chance to improve your technique; every attempt brings you closer to consistently making outstanding doughs.

Try out some of our recipes below:

As always, please share your homemade pizzas and bread with us on social media! Let us know if any of these tips helped save your own dough.

Adapting Pizza Sauces from Soups and Non-Pizza Sauces

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Pizza sauces don’t have to stick to the confines of tradition. For example, Bolognese and chutney don’t usually spring to mind when you are thinking about the sauce that you want to put on your pizza, but we found that soups and non-pizza sauces can be adapted really well for this purpose (you might just need to adjust their consistency). There are three basic consistencies we are looking for in pizza sauces: thin, semi-thick, and thick (you can learn more about this in Modernist Pizza vol. 2:242).

To adapt soups and non-pizza sauces successfully, the key is knowing what style you intend to use them for and adjusting their viscosity accordingly. Thin sauces, as found on Neapolitan pizza, are used for pizzas baked at high temperatures. The excess liquid evaporates in a few seconds, leaving a smooth sauce that is still moist but does not puddle. Semi-thick sauces are (obviously) thicker than thin sauces but still easily spreadable. These are used for most pizzas that bake at temperatures between 260°C and 315°C / 500°F and 600°F, like New York, artisan, and Brazilian thin-crust pizzas. Thick sauces hold their shape when they are spooned or spread onto a surface and do not flow. These sauces are usually applied after baking for pizzas like Detroit-style and deep-dish.

But why bother going through the effort of crafting alternative sauces in the first place? Adapting sauces offers the ability to maximize pantry and fridge resources, prevent food waste, and make great sauce, even if you’re short on time. Those with dietary restrictions can enjoy the freedom of tailoring sauces to their needs. Furthermore, mastering the art of adapting custom pizza sauces can also spark culinary innovation, making it possible to create something fascinating and new for the daring culinary explorer.

Below are some fun ideas for adapting sauces and soups and what you can do to make the appropriate adjustments.

adapting pizza sauces

Oil-based sauce

If it’s too thin, reduce the amount of oil. You can always add more at the end if needed. To thicken pesto, try emulsifying it. Oil-based sauces can be applied before or after baking.

Pasta sauces

Some sauces, such as Bolognese, vodka sauce, and puttanesca, can be used as is on medium-crust pizza like New York or artisan. Thicker sauces work on deep-dish or Detroit-style if applied after baking. If the sauce is too thick, you can thin it with heavy cream, water, stock, or wine. These sauces can be applied both before and after baking.

Artisan pizza with puttanesca sauce. The recipe can be found in Modernist Pizza 2:271.

Starchy soups

The consistency of soups such as potato, clam chowder, gumbo, and cream-based will likely work well as a pizza sauce. If the soup is roux-thickened, consider replacing the flour with other thickeners to obtain the best flavor possible. These starchy sauces are best applied before baking.

Vegetable or fruit soups

Thicken with xanthan gum or Wondra flour if the soup is too thin. Alternatively, reduce in a saucepot over medium heat to evaporate moisture and thicken to sauce consistency. This kind of sauce is best applied before baking.

Vegetable or fruit purees

For a thick puree, add more liquid (water, heavy cream, or stock). For a thin puree, thicken with xanthan gum or by reduction. This sauce is best applied to the pizza before baking.

Neapolitan pizza with canned pumpkin puree (diluted with 50% water), fresh mozzarella, and basil.

Curries

Curry can refer to a sauce or an actual stew. Both work well on a pizza, one as a sauce and the other as a sauce-plus topping. Most curries of both types are thick enough to use as is, but if you find it to be too thin, you can thicken it by reduction or by adding tapioca maltodextrin (start with 3%, and check as you go before adding more). This curry sauce is best applied before baking.

Stocks, jus, or consommé

These are often too watery to add as a sauce on a pizza directly, but they can be thickened by a reduction in a saucepot to an extent or with Wondra flour (start with 2%), xanthan gum, or propylene glycol alginate (PGA). Since these are relatively loose, it is best to apply them as a flavoring component rather than as the main sauce. This sauce is best to apply before baking as a moderate drizzle over toppings.

Heat-stable emulsions, such as hollandaise or béarnaise

If the sauce is too thick, add clarified butter or ghee. Our base recipe for hollandaise works with all styles of pizza. This sauce can be added before, during, or after baking.

New York square pizza with hollandaise sauce, pizza cheese and artichokes.

Non-heat-stable emulsions, such as vinaigrette and beurre blanc

You can emulsify these with xanthan gum or propylene glycol alginate (PGA). Use the emulsions sparingly as a condiment, not in the same quantities you would use a tomato sauce. This sauce can be used before baking for invincible vinaigrette (see Modernist Pizza vol. 2:266) or after baking for the other sauces.

Mayonnaise or aioli

You can use these as is, but don’t use as much of them as you would a tomato sauce. It should be applied after baking (it won’t separate while hot, but do not put it on before baking, because the high temperature of the oven will break the emulsion).

Brazilian thin-crust pizza with shrimp, pesto, and mayonnaise. This recipe can be found in Modernist Pizza 2:262

Jams, jellies, and marmalades

These can be loosened by stirring them with a little water or fruit juice. Alternatively, they can be left as is and used as a topping by spooning them. Try before or after baking.

Chutneys

Chutney is usually very chunky and doesn’t act as a real sauce; it is better to think of it as a topping or condiment. However, you can puree chutney and adjust the consistency by thinning it with water or other liquids if you want to use it as a sauce. Try before baking if pureeing or after baking.

New York pizza with store-bought mango chutney and pizza cheese.

If you want more information, we also recommend looking at the soup sauce experiment that we did in Modernist Pizza vol. 2:249. There, you can learn more about how we tested a number of products, from ponzu to curries to cream of corn soup. On page 256, you can also find more outside-the-box pizza experiments to help inspire your next pizza creation. In addition to this, you can also learn more about improving tomato sauces on our blog.

Our team would love to see your improvised sauces and the pizzas you’ve created, so please tag us in your social media posts if you end up experimenting with these techniques.

Are you interested in learning more Modernist Cuisine tips and tricks? Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media for more techniques, recipes, and announcements.

Transitions

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After ten years with Modernist Cuisine head chef Francisco Migoya is moving on to pursue a senior position with our friends at noma. When Chef Migoya joined our team nearly a decade ago we had yet to start Modernist Bread, Modernist Pizza, and the pastry book that’s now underway. He contributed an enormous amount to those books, and we wish him the best of luck as he begins writing his next chapter at noma.

In the meantime, our work on our pastry book continues. We’re making great progress and are already finding lots of exciting results and, true to Modernist Cuisine, cases that challenge conventional wisdom around pastry. We’ve already conducted hundreds of experiments (and consumed thousands of baked goods in the process), with many, many more on the horizon. We’ll be moving forward with our research as planned during this staffing transition and expanding our team in the coming months. You can reach out to publisher Stephanie Swane (sswane@modernistcuisine.com) for more information about the role.

You’ll have to wait a bit longer until we can share some of our pastry findings with you, but you can expect some exciting publishing news in just a few weeks. Stay tuned so you don’t miss an update.

Making Homemade Mozzarella

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Why would you make fresh homemade mozzarella rather than buy it premade? One reason might be that you can’t get it (or you can’t get a product of the quality that you want). Another is that you want to do something different on your pizzas. We think that it’s fun to make cheese and it lets you experience that ingredient on a whole new level. Once you do start making it, that gives you an opportunity to create something very different that you can’t buy, such as our infused mozzarella.

In this guide, we’ll cover some basic mozzarella making principles so that you can give it a try.

Making Mozzarella

Making homemade mozzarella.

Mozzarella curd is produced when milk is cultured, heated, and acidified, either through fermentation with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cultures or directly with citric acid. Then rennet is added to cause coagulation. The pH will fall and, once it reaches a pH of 5.3–5.1 (see page Volume 2 page 292), the curd may immediately be stretched into mozzarella (known as the filature step). The tangled mass of casein complexes that forms the curd is steeped in a bath of very hot whey or water.

After a short period of time, the curds are kneaded and the stretching begins, which forms the curd into a soft, elastic, stringy texture. As we were experimenting and developing our mozzarella recipes, we asked ourselves a series of questions. Is stretching mozzarella curd worth the effort? Does balling the resulting cheese matter? Can we simply bake mozzarella curd on a pizza? Our experiments led to several interesting conclusions.

The first is that we highly recommend stretching mozzarella curd. We recommend limiting the stretching to two to three times, however, since overstretching can result in a tougher texture. As soon as a nice sheen has developed from stretching, your mozzarella is ready to use. Seasoned, drained curd can be used on pizza instead of mozzarella, but you need to manage your expectations. Baking the unstretched curd will moderately increase browning (this browning may bother some pizzaioli more than others) and the result will lack the nice stringy pull typically desired on a pizza. Furthermore, curds aren’t commonly seasoned with salt, so they can be very bland. Could we troubleshoot both of these problems? Our procedure for brining the curd (see page 325 of volume 2 of Modernist Pizza) can mitigate the browning issue and improve the flavor.

Storing Mozzarella

Making homemade mozzarella - storing it

We recommend brine for storing your own homemade mozzarella, which is included in our mozzarella recipe. Just make sure to drain it overnight before baking or you’ll get a soupy pizza. Additionally, brining will give your cheese shelf stability by inhibiting bacterial growth.

If you don’t want to wait 12 hours to drain your mozzarella, you can instead try to vacuum drain it, which involves placing your cut mozzarella onto a liquid-absorbing pad (like the absorbent pads packed with a cut of meat), vacuum-packaging the bag, and then pulling a full vacuum. The pressure from sealing the cheese will push out the moisture and the meat pad absorbs the liquid coming off the cheese. You can then store your mozzarella under refrigeration until you are ready to bake (but not beyond its original expiration date). The cheese bakes exactly like traditionally cut and drained fresh mozzarella and the best part is that this method can easily be scaled up to large quantities of cheese.

Eager to make your own mozzarella? The full recipe awaits you in our Paprika-Infused Fior Di Latte Mozzarella post. Just a friendly tip: if you’re aiming for a classic, plain mozzarella, skip the additional paprika infusion step. You can also find the full recipe (and many more) on page 297 in volume 2 of Modernist Pizza.

As you embark on your mozzarella-making journey, we’d love to be part of your experience. Don’t forget to share your creations on social media and tag us. Your culinary adventures matter to us!

Optimizing Your Home Oven with a Baking Steel

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Making pizza at home is incredibly fun—but it can also be a challenging endeavor. If you’re a home pizza maker, the only thing standing between you and pizza greatness is your oven. Home ovens unfortunately aren’t optimized for making most styles of pizza. For example, if your intent is to bake Neapolitan pizza, you’re not going to get true Naples-style results in a home oven. It just doesn’t have enough juice to reach the super-high temperatures you need. There are some appliances that can do that and some small outdoor units that can get ripping hot; however, they might not be in everyone’s budget, especially if you’re just starting to make your own pizza. On top of that, safely transferring a prepped, unbaked pizza into a hot oven can be a harrowing exercise.


Don’t worry—you can make fantastic pizza at home, with your own oven. Keep reading to learn about the science of how pizza bakes and how you can get the most out of your home oven using a baking steel.

Understanding Your Oven

Baking a pizza is all about the transfer of heat energy from the oven to the dough, causing a delicious transformation. The water in the dough turns into steam, expanding bubbles created by yeast fermentation, resulting in that sought-after “oven spring.” Meanwhile, proteins in the dough unravel and create a stretchy web inside the crust, while starch on the surface turns into a crisp “starch glass,” giving you that satisfying crunch in your pizza crust.

Not every oven is good for every type of pizza. The pizza deck oven is the most versatile and is recommended for all our styles except Neapolitan. Thin-crust and medium-crust pizzas, like Neapolitan or New York–style, rely heavily on infrared light for baking. Traditional wood-burning ovens are masters of this technique, with their high, asymmetric heat. Ovens that are not specifically designed to bake pizzas can present some challenges to the pizza maker. Most home ovens use air temperature as their primary heat source, which can create a challenge for the home pizza maker.

Pizza ovens have a hearth floor that gets extremely hot and retains a substantial amount of heat when it is preheated. So when you put a pizza on it, there’s significant heat transfer from conduction. In a traditional pizza oven, the ambient temperature of the air is vastly higher and air makes much less of a contribution (see Modernist Pizza, vol. 1, page 354).

By contrast, home ovens work by heating the air within the oven. Because home ovens operate at temperatures that are hundreds of degrees colder than a pizza oven, heat transfer from the air is important. If a home oven has convection heat, the oven has a fan that blows the heat around the oven. This speeds up the cooking time, but it can set the pizza crust too quickly and contribute to a reduction in volume. When you load the pizza into a home oven and close the door, the oven will take some time to recover. Combi and convection ovens will take less time to do so since the circulating hot air makes the oven come up to temperature faster than in a still oven.

Additionally, a home oven doesn’t have a floor like a pizza oven, and the thin metal walls don’t help the situation because they don’t hold enough heat. We tried using a baking stone to mimic the hearth of a pizza oven. The problem is that the stone in a pizza oven is much thicker and gets much hotter, so even though the material is the same, using a baking stone isn’t that great at improving the performance of a non–pizza oven.

Here’s where a baking steel comes in. It can seriously transform your oven’s performance. Providing a direct heat source to the bottom of the pizza and getting the oven as hot as possible are two of the most important factors to improving your home oven—regardless of pizza style. Thin-crust and medium-crust pizzas need the high heat for their crust development, but even pan-baked pizzas benefit from the heat in order to achieve a crispy bottom crust.

How to Use Your Baking Steel to Maximize Your Oven’s Performance

The best way to try to replicate the floor of a pizza oven in a non–pizza oven is to preheat your oven with a baking steel or baking stone for 10–20 minutes (home ovens benefit from a 30-minute preheat). For most pizza styles, we recommend you place the steel on a shelf 10 cm / 4 in from the broiler in combi, convection, or still electric or gas ovens. (Be sure to check the individual recipes for specific recommendations.)

For home ovens, you can preheat the oven 15°C / 25°F higher than the recipe’s baking temperature calls for, if your oven allows it. This is so the temperature drop from opening the oven door isn’t so dramatic. Make sure that after you close the door and the oven returns to the desired temperature, you set it to the correct temperature in the recipe.

Sometimes, we recommend turning on the broiler at some point during baking (see the individual recipes for specific recommendations). Make sure that your oven is calibrated and that you use an oven thermometer to verify the temperature of the oven (see Modernist Pizza, vol. 1, page 392).

You can also stack two baking steels on top of each other to retain and radiate heat more evenly. Or you can separate them and cook more pizzas at the same time. If you are making pizzas frequently in these ovens, it might be worth investing in two steels. Keep in mind, however, that some oven racks can’t support the weight of two steels and the racks can bend and fall in the oven. Most baking steels won’t fit exactly on the shelves of a combi or convection oven, so you might consider getting custom-cut steel if you make pizza often. We recommend 1.25 cm / ½-in thick-cut steel or 2.5 cm / 1-in thick-cut aluminum.

We recommend using a pizza screen or parchment paper to safely transfer uncooked, floor-baked pizzas onto preheated steel. If you go the parchment-paper route, cut a piece of parchment paper slightly larger than your pizza prior to shaping your dough. For a 30 cm / 12 in or 35 cm / 14 in pizza, cut a 38 cm / 15 in round or square piece. From there, shape your dough and place it on the parchment paper or screen. If you are using a screen, be sure to coat it with a light layer of cooking spray and shape the dough on a generously floured surface. Apply the sauce, cheese, and toppings. Transfer the pizza, parchment paper included, onto a peel or the back of an upside-down sheet pan or cookie sheet. Then carefully slide the pizza onto the hot steel in the oven.

Baking Steels vs. Baking Stones and Cast-Iron Skillets

The next best thing to a baking steel is a baking stone. This functions in much the same way but doesn’t retain heat as well as the steel. You can use untreated paving tiles to replicate a baking stone, but you’ll likely need to put a grid of them in your oven to create an area large enough to bake a pizza on, which can be unwieldy. Paving tiles fit nicely in toaster ovens and can be used to improve pizzas that you bake or reheat in them.

Another great alternative to using a baking steel is making pizza in a cast-iron skillet or griddle, either in the oven or on a stovetop. You want to use something that is flat, shallow, and large enough to cook your pizza. We prefer round cast-iron skillets to rectangular griddles, but either will do (round cast-iron griddles with handles, similar to what sizzling fajitas are served on, work well). Be sure to preheat the cast iron to the temperature indicated in the recipe before making your pizza.

While cast-iron skillets provide consistent bottom heat to the pizza, they aren’t capable of giving you top heat. We like to use them in conjunction with a heat gun for the stovetop or a high-heat broiler in the oven to bake the cheese and toppings to the perfect doneness. We tried using a blowtorch to brown the top of the pizza, but it was less successful than the heat gun. The other benefit to using cast-iron skillets is that they are multipurpose. As a last resort, you can preheat a stack of three or four upside-down sheet pans to try to provide extra bottom heat to the pizza as it bakes.

Baking Steel Maintenance

Keep in mind that you need to maintain your baking steel (in much the same way as cast iron). Before using the baking steel, season it with oil and burn it off. Don’t wash your baking steel. If something gets crusted on it, scrub it with salt to clean it. Rub the steel with coats of oil in between uses so that it doesn’t rust. Using a pizza screen (see Modernist Pizza, vol. 1, page 388) makes it easier to load the pizza into the oven. Be sure to coat the screen with spray oil before using. Remove the pizza from the screen a couple of minutes after it goes into the oven so that the bottom of the pizza can brown properly. Slide a peel in between the pizza and the screen and then take the screen out of the oven with tongs or a kitchen towel.

If you want to master the art of pizza making, it’s important to have an understanding of how pizza bakes and how to work with your particular oven. While home ovens may present challenges, a baking steel can be a game changer. Whether you choose a steel, stone, or cast iron, these tools will help you achieve that perfect pizza crust, turning your home kitchen into a pizzeria. So shape that dough, top it with your favorite ingredients, and let your optimized oven work its magic!

Baking steels aren’t limited to just the oven—unleash the full potential of your new equipment with these five additional uses. Be sure to also check out our Pizza Gear Guide for more valuable recommendations on pizza-making equipment.

Remembering Thierry Rautureau

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We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our friend Chef Thierry Rautureau. Here are a few words from our founder Nathan Myhrvold:

Thierry was a friend and a mentor. He taught me many important things about being a chef. I loved going to Rover’s. I went there frequently as a customer and also worked there as a stagier in the kitchen prior to going to culinary school in France. I worked there one night a week when I could get there from Microsoft. The school that I wanted to go to required real work experience in a French kitchen for their advanced professional course, and Thierry taught me very well.

At one point in the course, we had to bone a duck to make a very classic French dish, which was something I did a lot a Rover’s so I started working away. The chef instructor, who was very intimidating, came up behind me to observe my work and finally said: “You there. Where did you learn to do this? You know a duck like a Frenchman.” And I only know a duck like a Frenchman because of Thierry.

Thierry was a fantastic mentor. Traditional French chefs are famous for being loud and angry if you screw up. Thierry didn’t run that kind of kitchen. His kitchen was calm and generally quiet, even when he was disappointed if something didn’t work out right. There was no screaming. He had great stories of a famous three-star French chef whom he’d worked for earlier in his career. This chef would jump up on top of the stove, while it was on, and kick the pots and pans off when he was upset. There was none of that from Thierry. He’d experienced it in his apprenticeship, and he wasn’t going to pass that along.

Thierry liked to say that Rover’s was Northwest cuisine with a French accent—I always teased him that it was more like modern French cuisine, with Northwest ingredients. He did a tremendous job and he really broadened what fine dining in Seattle meant. Prior to Thierry coming, fine dining here probably meant eating at a steakhouse with a menu that hadn’t changed in 30 years. He brought a command of techniques that was worthy of any kitchen in France which he married with the incredible ingredients and the general sensibility people have about food in the Northwest. It was a tremendous combination.

We once got into a discussion about a conversation he had with a chef from France who was making fun of American food. Thierry got upset and he said, “Look, all of my ingredients here are better than the ingredients that I had in France for the dishes I actually cook.” He hugely defended this area. At one point I joked, “Well there are two things you’d have if you were in France—we don’t have Michelin stars here and the clientele to support it.”

This was early in his career at Rover’s. The local restaurant landscape is different now, but initially, Seattle was the sort of city where people would only go to a fine dining restaurant once or twice a year to celebrate a special occasion. It wasn’t something that you would do repeatedly. Thierry would tell me early on that he had more regulars from New York than from Seattle. The New Yorkers would be people who are attorneys or investment bankers or consultants working for Microsoft or Amazon or some other local company. And every time they would come to town they’d eat a meal at Rover’s as opposed to people he would only see twice a year.

Over time that changed. I think that’s really important because without having a clientele there’s a limit to what you can do as a chef. Thierry was the guy who really loved the quality of what he did. He was financially successful, but if he had been after the maximum profit margin, he wouldn’t have used as much fog gras, caviar, spot prawns, and other expensive ingredients that he used. He wanted to have the best and be generous with what he actually served.

Apprenticing at Rover’s started a long culinary journey that culminated in me writing the Modernist Cuisine cookbooks. After the first book came out, my team and I started doing dinners with long tasting menus for chefs and food writers who would come to our lab from around the country and the world. It was a tremendous honor when we got to cook for Thierry. He liked our food, which probably meant much more to me than many of the other food critics or folks who passed through; it was one of the proudest moments of my culinary career.

Thierry played a very important role in my life. I didn’t become a line cook and I didn’t open my own restaurant either. I was so into food and cooking that people would say, “Well, why don’t you have your own restaurant?” Partly, I’d seen how hard Thierry worked. I knew that wasn’t how I wanted to make a culinary contribution, but it was material in me then to start Modernist Cuisine. It really changed my life and the impact that I would have in the world.

Exploring Nathan’s Iceland Photography Series

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Iceland is a land of astonishing natural wonders that captivate the hearts and minds of visitors from around the world. These wonders of nature provide an ethereal, otherworldly canvas for adventurous photographers, which was why Nathan was so eager to capture Iceland’s diverse and breathtaking landscapes. Though the aurora borealis was what originally inspired his northward trip, he ended up just as enamored by the icy Diamond Beach, the vibrant waterfall canyons, glacier ice caves, and even the Icelandic horses.

Photography is an art form with a technological aspect—the optics, the sensors, and so forth. Nathan finds that understanding the technology of photography and then designing his own homemade equipment can help him capture high-resolution and high-quality images. He was especially eager to capture wide panoramic images of the landscapes. But using a single very wide angle lens would introduce distortion and limit resolution, which limits optical quality. So he decided to get creative and innovate a fix for this problem.

Behind Nathan’s Panorama Technology

Before leaving for Iceland, Nathan designed and built several different camera array rigs with either two, three, or four cameras mounted to an aluminum frame. The frames, which were built in our lab machine shop, hold the cameras at very precise angles so that their images can be perfectly stitched together to make a larger picture.

For horizontal landscape panoramas involving still subject matter (such as mountains and other static landscapes), Nathan uses a robotic camera setup consisting of one camera with a normal or slight telephoto lens and a programmable motor. This motor then moves the camera to different positions and takes a picture, or in this case, multiple pictures from different positions. After this, the photos are stitched together to create a panorama. The overall process can take 10 seconds or longer. Each individual picture from the camera has 45 megapixels. When 10 images are put together, the final result will include around 400 megapixels, creating a photo about 10×45 because of some image overlap.

Nathan uses a robotic camera setup consisting of one camera with a normal or slight telephoto lens and a programmable motor. This motor then moves the camera to different positions and takes a picture, or in this case, multiple pictures from different positions.

While the robotic setup is great when it comes to photographing a static landscape, like a mountain, it doesn’t work if the subject, like the aurora or ocean, is moving. This is where Nathan’s multi-camera rig comes in handy. Instead of a singular moving camera, this rig is set up with three to four identical cameras and lenses that are correctly angled with the use of metal brackets. Nathan also developed electronics to make sure that all the camera frames are taken at precisely the same moment, allowing a fast shutter speed from multiple positions. Afterward, the photos are stitched together to create a spectacular panoramic. On top of all that, Nathan and his team created carrying cases to transport their specialized equipment.

Capturing the essence of Iceland’s rugged landscape required a distinct approach to innovation and creativity. Browse through our Iceland collection below to see the results for yourself.

AURORA BOREALIS

After extensive research on where to find the best views of the northern lights, Nathan stumbled upon the perfect vantage of the neon waves of the aurora while driving between locations. Vantage point wasn’t the only factor he had to contend with. Photographing the aurora is difficult. Weather, light pollution, and luck are major contributors.

One night, Nathan had gone to sleep after a long day photographing on location, knowing that the forecast was supposed to be cloudy. When he got up in the middle of the night, he looked outside to see that it was miraculously clear. Nathan sprung into action and managed to get several photos that night.

These shoots include a mixture of automation and human control. In order to get the best photos, he sets up the computers and keeps taking pictures late into the night—which can get very cold. This process involves taking several photos for several minutes with long exposure times. Once the aurora shifts, he recomposes the pictures and starts again.

When photographing the aurora borealis, there are things you can control and things you can’t, like the light from the moon and how bright it is. Usually, moonlight makes it difficult to capture the northern lights, but in this rare instance, the aurora was brighter than the moon. Taken in southeastern Iceland, near Kálfafellsstaður, it created a beautiful blend of illuminated white landscapes below and lime-green ribbons above.

Green auroras over snowy mountains in Iceland.

Rayed Bands over Kálfafellsstaður

Green and pink auroras over snowy mountains in Iceland.

Arctic Lights

Green auroras over snowy mountains in Iceland.
Rays from the Crown
Green auroras over snowy mountains in Iceland.
Bands to the Corona

DIAMOND BEACH

Diamond Beach is named for the gemlike pieces of ice that wash ashore from the icebergs that fill the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. Diamond Beach is not the white sandy beach you may be accustomed to. It has dark black sand, made up of finely chipped and eroded pieces of volcanic material such as lava, basalt, and other dark rocks.

The North Atlantic Ocean is not generally a calm ocean; you must contend with waves that are constantly moving, churning, and crashing. To create a panoramic photo with this moving landscape, Nathan used the super panorama robot mentioned at the beginning of this article. He strategically chose to visit Iceland in the late winter when there are extended “golden” and “blue” hours that create the perfect lighting conditions for capturing the rugged landscape at dusk.

Diamond Beach is named for the gemlike pieces of ice that wash ashore from the icebergs that fill the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. Diamond Beach is not the white sandy beach you may be accustomed to. It has dark black sand, made up of finely chipped and eroded pieces of volcanic material such as lava, basalt, and other dark rocks.
A Crowded Beach in Iceland
Diamond Beach is named for the gemlike pieces of ice that wash ashore from the icebergs that fill the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. Diamond Beach is not the white sandy beach you may be accustomed to. It has dark black sand, made up of finely chipped and eroded pieces of volcanic material such as lava, basalt, and other dark rocks.
What the Tide Brought In
Diamond Beach is named for the gemlike pieces of ice that wash ashore from the icebergs that fill the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. Diamond Beach is not the white sandy beach you may be accustomed to. It has dark black sand, made up of finely chipped and eroded pieces of volcanic material such as lava, basalt, and other dark rocks.
Water in All Its Forms
Diamond Beach is named for the gemlike pieces of ice that wash ashore from the icebergs that fill the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. Diamond Beach is not the white sandy beach you may be accustomed to. It has dark black sand, made up of finely chipped and eroded pieces of volcanic material such as lava, basalt, and other dark rocks.
Diamond Beach
Diamond Beach is named for the gemlike pieces of ice that wash ashore from the icebergs that fill the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. Diamond Beach is not the white sandy beach you may be accustomed to. It has dark black sand, made up of finely chipped and eroded pieces of volcanic material such as lava, basalt, and other dark rocks.
Pastel Skies, Blue Ice

ICELANDIC HORSES

While Iceland may not have the largest population of humans, it does have a staggering number of horses. When Nathan saw these horses on the horizon, he originally planned to take a distant silhouette photo. His plans were thwarted when these friendly Icelandic horses approached on their own, demanding attention, and hoping for snacks. The Icelandic horse is known for its spirited and friendly temperament, ideal for both beginners and more advanced riders.

These horses trace their roots to ponies that came to Iceland alongside Norse Viking settlers over a thousand years ago. Both natural selection and selective breeding have made them what they are today: strong, hearty, and able to survive the elements. About the size of a large pony, the Icelandic horse was bred specifically to traverse the many climates and conditions of this vastly rural country. While traditional horses have only four gaits in which they can walk or run, the Icelandic horse has six. It’s considered one of the purest breeds of horses in the world. Iceland has strict laws governing horse importation and exportation: horses cannot be imported into the country, even Icelandic horses that were exported abroad.

A brown Icelandic horse close up.
A Wild Winter
A brown Icelandic horse close up.
Eyes of the Beholder
A white Icelandic horse close up.
Snow White
A brown Icelandic horse close up.
Bad Hair Day

ICE CAVES

When you think of an ice cave, the word “frigid” probably comes to mind, but this cave was anything but. Nathan was pleasantly surprised at how warm it was, which is due to how light and heat are reflected in the small space. The rippled, polished appearance of the ice comes from the gentle erosion it undergoes as water from the glacier melts and washes over it in the spring and summer.

Although Nathan used a simple single camera on a tripod to capture this image, he still applied an unconventional approach to making the picture. Here, he used a technique called HDR (high dynamic range) photography, which is useful for photos with a very large range from light to dark in the scene. You can see the results in Skylight, which has an opening up to the sky. The difference between the darkest and brightest parts of the photo is enormous—so enormous that if he exposed the camera to the sky, the details of the cave would be black. If he exposed to the cave, the sky would be pure white instead of blue. Our eyes and brain have an amazing ability to cope for a wide dynamic range, so it’s not something you’d naturally notice if you were simply standing in the ice cave.

Cameras also have a fixed-focus distance, with a range of distances around that focal point called depth of field. Everything within the depth of field appears sharp while everything outside is fuzzy. Nathan uses a technique called focus-stacking to combat this problem. It involves taking multiple pictures that are then combined in software to make a single image in focus. Interestingly enough, your brain naturally focus-stacks what you’re seeing for most scenes.

Skylight (featured below) is composed of 100 photos stacked into a single image. These photos were taken at different exposure values to cope with this high dynamic range and at different focal spots in order to focus-stack. The combination creates an image similar to what Nathan actually saw while standing within the ice cave.

When you think of an ice cave, the word frigid probably comes to mind, but this cave was anything but! Nathan was pleasantly surprised at how warm it was, which is due to how light and heat are reflected in the small space. The rippled, polished appearance of the ice comes from the gentle erosion it undergoes as water from the glacier melts and washes over it in the spring and summer.
Skylight
Inside of Langjökull (meaning “Long Glacier”) in Iceland, ribbons of ash are solidified within glacial ice forms. The ice is then sculpted into curving forms, on the inside of an ice cave.
Ice & Ash
When you think of an ice cave, the word frigid probably comes to mind, but this cave was anything but! Nathan was pleasantly surprised at how warm it was, which is due to how light and heat are reflected in the small space. The rippled, polished appearance of the ice comes from the gentle erosion it undergoes as water from the glacier melts and washes over it in the spring and summer.
Heart of the Glacier
When you think of an ice cave, the word frigid probably comes to mind, but this cave was anything but! Nathan was pleasantly surprised at how warm it was, which is due to how light and heat are reflected in the small space. The rippled, polished appearance of the ice comes from the gentle erosion it undergoes as water from the glacier melts and washes over it in the spring and summer.
Sunrise Through the Ice

THE BLACK CHURCH OF BUDIR

If you travel to the southern coast of Iceland’s Snæfellsnes peninsula, you’ll find a hotel, a church, and endless stunning views. The church, originally built in 1703, sits inside the Búðahraun lava field, and was closed in 1819 by orders of the Danish king Christian VIII. Nathan stayed at the Hótel Búðir, which is across the street, and was dazzled by the stunning scenery. After a particularly beautiful sunset, he was moved to capture the Church at Búðir in its solitary splendor.

If you travel to the southern coast of Iceland’s Snæfellsnes peninsula, you’ll find a hotel, a church, and endless stunning views. The church, originally built in 1703, sits inside the Búðahraun lava field, and was closed in 1819 by orders of the Danish King Christian VIII. Nathan stayed at the Hotel Budir, which is located directly across the street and was dazzled by the stunning scenery. After a particularly beautiful sunset, Nathan was moved to capture the Church at Budir in its solitary splendor.
The Church at Búðir

WINTER WATERFALL

In the early spring, the glaciers in Iceland start to melt, creating streams and waterfalls like this one in Kolugljúfur canyon. The intensely teal color of the water is caused by very fine particles of rock ground by the glacier, which are suspended in the water from melting glacial ice. The dreamy color is a beautiful contrast to the arctic landscape it cuts through. The best part of this waterfall? Nathan thought he would have to stand in freezing cold water to get the perfect shot, but this one very conveniently had a bridge he could photograph from, keeping him nice and dry.

In the early spring, the glaciers in Iceland start to melt, creating streams and waterfalls like this one in Kolugljúfur Canyon. The intensely teal color of the water is caused by very fine particles of rock ground by the glacier, which are suspected in the water from melting glacial ice. The dreamy color is a beautiful contrast to the arctic landscape that it cuts through. The best part of this waterfall? Nathan thought he would have to stand in freezing cold water to get the perfect shot, but this one very conveniently had a bridge he could photograph from, keeping him nice and dry.
Winter Waterfall

VESTRAHORN

The Stokksnes peninsula in Iceland is home to the beautiful, craggy Vestrahorn, but it also has a more subtle rounded landscape of black sand dunes on the shore, as can be seen in this first image called Arctic Sand Dunes.

Vestrahorn is one of the tallest mountains in Iceland, standing roughly at 1,490 feet. While the country’s other mountains are basalt and lava rock, Vestrahorn is made of gabbro and granophyre rock, which create very jagged and uneven surfaces, making this mountain exceptionally beautiful yet difficult to climb. Black sandy beaches line the base, which create mirrorlike reflections when the tide comes in.

Vestrahorn mountain is one of the tallest mountains in Iceland, standing roughly at 1,490 feet. While the country’s other mountains are basalt and lava rock, Vestrahorn is made of gabbro and granophyre rock, which create very jagged and uneven surfaces, making this mountain exceptionally beautiful yet difficult to climb. Black sandy beaches line the base, which create mirrorlike reflections when the tide comes in.
Vestrahorn
Vestrahorn mountain is one of the tallest mountains in Iceland, standing roughly at 1,490 feet. While the country’s other mountains are basalt and lava rock, Vestrahorn is made of gabbro and granophyre rock, which create very jagged and uneven surfaces, making this mountain exceptionally beautiful yet difficult to climb. Black sandy beaches line the base, which create mirrorlike reflections when the tide comes in
Mountains Rising from the Sea
Iceland is the land of fire and ice. A country grown from volcanic activity; it has no shortage of stunning views that range from the skies above to the rough terrain that covers the country.The Stokksnes peninsula in Iceland is home to the beautiful craggy Vestrahorn mountain, but it also has a more subtle rounded landscape of black sand dunes on the shore. Nathan chose to visit Iceland in the late winter when there are extended “golden” and “blue” hours that create the perfect lighting conditions for capturing the rugged landscape.
Arctic Ocean Dunes

You can see these amazing photographs in person at Modernist Cuisine Gallery by Nathan Myhrvold in New Orleans and La Jola.