Meet David Smith - @Adventures_in_pizza_making

Meet David Smith. He lives just outside Detroit, where he works in freight forwarding. David enjoys watching movies in his basement theater, but his true passion is making pizza at home with his son Archie. Check out David and Archie’s pizzas @Adventures_in_pizza_making and give them some love!

How often do you make pizza?
Since the pandemic the frequency of my bakes has increased dramatically. I typically make pizza at least every weekend and often a couple during the week, sometimes some for friends and neighbors.

How long have you been making pizza?
I've been cooking since I was very young but I only developed the patience for making pizza about three years ago. It's been one of my favorite foods for my entire life; I blame the Ninja Turtles. I started as a way to get rid of stress when I was working at a previous job I didn't care for. It's nice to just have something that you can't rush through, you have to focus on it and it just takes my mind off of things.  

How do you describe the style(s) of pizza you like to make?
My go-to's are generally hand tossed New York Style-ish, but the conceit of my instagram is all the different styles I make. Obviously Detroit Style, but I do most of the Chicago Styles: deep dish, pan pizza (like Pequod’s), and tavern cut thin. I've done copycat Prince Street and Pizza Hut Pan and Stuffed Crust which I bought a used Pizza Hut pan for, and I've even done school lunch style sheet pan pizza. I bought an attachment for my charcoal grill to try and recreate New Haven Style. I also make "specialty" pizzas, with loaded potato being a big favorite with my family. 

What’s one piece of pizza making gear you can’t live without?
Definitely my baking steel. My pizzas leveled up big time when I swapped a stone out for my steel. I'd like to get a bigger one sized for my oven so I could make bigger pies, but the one I've got is 14x16. 

What or who is your pizza inspiration?
I grew up watching Tony Gemignani on all the food channels as a kid, so he's up there. Tony was the first glimpse I had of a rockstar pizzaiolo. Paulie Gee is someone I look up to, he seems really nice and approachable and gives me hope to maybe open up a pizzeria later on down the road. Fredi Bello from local slice shop Fredi the Pizzaman is a great guy, puts the work in and makes great pizza.