ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

About four months after our Kickstarter campaign, I was contacted by my now literary agent, Alexandra Penfold. We weren’t quite ready for a book project yet, but, Alexandra, you planted the seed of inspiration. There is no way this book would ever have happened without your persistence—thank you. And thank you for introducing me to Jessie Oleson Moore. Jessie, you turn words upside down and inside out. You are a pink, fluffy unicorn dancing on rainbows!

Fresh Chef Craig Hastings, you are an inspiration, my man! Your amazing chef skills helped make this book happen. You made it so much fun to create and test recipes. I truly appreciate everything you do. Thank you.

Thank you, Stoughton Steel! The Baking Steel has been a journey for us all. Thank you for your constructive criticism—your uncertainty pushed me to make this product succeed! A shout-out to my brother Eric for getting all of the Baking Steels manufactured and shipped on time, every single day.

To the Wall Street Journal: thank you for interviewing Nathan Myhrvold for the launch of his book Modernist Cuisine. I still consider the Baking Steel a ripple effect of my reading that article. I’ll never forget those moments in my office… still feels like a dream. And thank you, Scott Heimendinger at Modernist Cuisine, for answering my e-mail when I began to develop the Baking Steel. You helped my dream come true.

To Michael and Nicky at Little, Brown and Co.: Thank you for all that you do. You guys are magic!

To Kenji López-Alt at Serious Eats: thanks for being a “food nerd” and loving the Baking Steel! You single-handedly put the Baking Steel on the map.

Thank you to all my friends, who continue to help me along this journey. There are too many of you to name.

Thank you to all our loyal and pizza-obsessed customers. I love all of your e-mails and support.

I’m grateful for the crowdsourcing site Kickstarter for helping to make dreams come true. And to all 482 Baking Steel backers, I’m eternally grateful.

Last, and most important, thank you to Leslie, Cooper, and Gus, for being there with me throughout this journey. None of this would have happened without you. You all “steel” my heart every day!—A.L.

A big, cheesy, pepperoni-on-top thank-you goes to my co-writer, Andris Lagsdin, for being an all-around fun collaborator and a true source of culinary inspiration and delight.

To the crew at Little, Brown and Company and to our agent, Alexandra Penfold: Thank you for helping make this book a reality! You are all superstars with great vision, talent, and attention to detail, and you’re officially invited to any and every pizza party I ever have for the rest of my life.—J.M.