Anthony Mangieri: The Pegoretti of Pizza
What came first, pizza or cycling?
I loved pizza as a little kid, and I started BMX racing in first or second grade. My town's bike shop had a BMX team, and every weekend we'd go racing all over New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In the winter it would be indoor racing on concrete, with a jump made out of plywood. We'd spray hairspray on our tires because we thought it gave them better traction. I was a kid of the '80s, and I've pretty much stayed that way. Sometimes people say, "I can't believe you're still wearing those Vans!" I'm like, "I made it this far being completely immature, so why would I change?"
What kind of bike do you have?
I ride a Steve Potts 29er singlespeed mountain bike and a Retrotec 26-inch singlespeed. As for road bikes, lately I've been riding a lugged Steelman and a Pegoretti Duende. I've also been riding a Richard Sachs cyclocross bike. I'm a huge fan of Sachs and Pegoretti!
Where do you usually go?
I like the loops in the Marin Headlands and Mount Tamalpais. But if I have a whole day to ride, I drive up to Nevada City. You can park at the Edwards Crossing Bridge at the South Yuba River, climb the dirt road to the Rim Trail in this old miner town, North Bloomfield, and then take the South Yuba Trail along the river. I end the ride at the bridge, swim in the river, then get Thai food in Nevada City.
For those of us who don't know, what exactly is Neapolitan pizza?
A Neapolitan pizza crust is made from naturally leavened dough (sourdough) that is never refrigerated, and baked in a hot, wood-fired oven. It's light and uneven in the crust with charring from the fire, and it's topped with simple but high-quality ingredients.
How did you get into making it?
I was obsessed with pizza even when I was 14 or 15. I'd have my mom drive me to any place I had read about. I was so crazy, I'd make pizza every day. My dad and I built a brick oven in the backyard. I'd been baking in a home oven before that, and I realized that was the secret, the oven.
As soon as I got out of high school, I knew that's what I was going to do. I opened a bread bakery when I was 20, making naturally leavened bread. It was just me working there, and my mom would pick me up when I was done because I didn't have a car. I wasn't making any money and I was living at home. The brick oven sat in my parents' backyard for years. It actually became a house for squirrels.
In a recent documentary, you say that both pizza makers and bike makers are artisans. How so?
It's doing the same thing over and over for so many years. Most Americans think they can learn stuff in 10 minutes and then move on to the next thing, but it's superficial knowledge. There's a huge difference between someone like that and Bruce Gordon or Richard Sachs, people who have been building bicycles for 40 years.
Is pizza healthy?
Extremely, if it's made a certain way. Americans have this idea that white flour has no nutrition. That's based on the bleached flour they grew up eating. White flour can still be healthy. If there's no commercial yeast in it and you don't refrigerate it, you can get an interesting depth of flavor and your body can more easily digest the nutrition.
What are some tips for people making pizza at home?
Most people don't have a wood-burning oven, so I wouldn't recommend trying to duplicate a Neapolitan pizza. Go for the home style: That's what people in Italy would do. Use a pan and make it square. The longer the dough rises and the wetter it is, the more flavor and better structure it will have.
What's the best food and riding experience you've ever had?
Three years ago I was in Siena, Italy, and I decided to ride the Strade Bianche course unaccompanied. It wasn't race time, but the route is permanently marked. It was one of the greatest and most miserable days of my life. I was so starving at one point that I climbed a fence and was eating grapes in someone's vineyard.
You Might Also Like
