Pursuit of Perfection - Apizza Scholls

             I have visited 25 Portland area pizzerias and counting. I have rated them all. After all these visits, detailed reviews, and exceptional pizza, there is one that stands out from the pack.

             Apizza Scholls is clearly the best pizza in Portland. There is no question in my mind. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with the founder, Brian Spangler, for an exclusive interview.
I was a big fan of Brian's work before this conversation, but now he's entered "legend" status in my opinion.


             In this article I will pull back the curtain to reveal history of Portland's best pizzeria and its founder, influences that shaped Brian's pizza style, secrets to his success, and much more. It was truly a privilege to interview Brian and attempt to absorb some of his knowledge. The guy is a walking baker's bible.

           Brian spent his early years growing up in Detroit, MI. Most of his relatives lived on the east coast, where his family would vacation. These trips to the east coast shaped his interest in pizza. He was fascinated with the history, quality, and the bake from the coal fired ovens. To this day, Brian's favorite pizza was at Patsy's Pizzeria in East Harlem due to the taste and also history and atmosphere.

           Brian got his education in Grain Fermentology at UC Santa Cruz. He began baking in 1987 at an old school bakery in the area; however, The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake took out the bakery which caused Brian to take a new path. Still very much interested in grain fermentology, Brian began working in the brewery industry. He worked at The Thirsty Bear in San Fransisco, which is still around today. By 1998 he had worked at 7 different breweries in the bay area, but the flame to continue baking was still burning.

         Spurred by an article about Chad Robertson's (Tartine founder) Bay Village bakery, he moved to the Portland area in 2000, built a brick oven, and started Olive Mountain Baking Co. in rural Scholls, OR (north of Newberg, west of Tigard). Olive Mountain Baking Co was creating great artisan bread by hand and baking in a wood fired oven. They had a loyal following, but Brian saw an opportunity for great pizza in the area. He craved those crunchy, chewy, charred pies he had tasted on the east coast. At that time there was nothing like this in the Portland area.

         Brian began experimenting with pizza on weekends, then transitioned into Scholls Public House, offering pizza full time.  Due to its location in rural Oregon, a natural gas deck oven was not an option, a WFO like he had built at Olive Mountain wouldn't work in the space, but he knew he needed an oven that would heat to 700+ for baking the pizza he wanted to produce. He decided to install a Baker's Pride electric deck oven. Brian calls this a "happy mistake." He learned to re-engineer his electric oven to create the ideal bake. He had to disassemble and reassemble this oven every year, he added higher gauge wiring and other enhancements. The "happy mistake" would provide consistency, high heat, and the overall bake he was looking for. It saved him a lot of time splitting wood too!

         By 2004, he had a dedicated local following, and was getting attention for great pizza in the greater Portland area and even nationally. The Za became so popular, it actually became the cause for relocation. The rural community wasn't ready for this popularity, which is said to have created traffic jams. Brian had outgrown Scholls, OR, and it was time to move on.

         In 2005, Apizza Scholls was born on SE Hawthorne in Portland. The name was chosen as a play on words. Say "Apizza Scholls" out loud. It sounds like "a piece of Scholls." Most people think the name is an ode to New Haven pizza style, which is not the case. In fact, I asked Brian what pizza style Apizza Scholls falls into, I was expecting "Neo- Neopolitan" or "New York meets New Haven;" however, he said, "It's my style. Shaped by my experiences." I agree, the crust at Apizza is in a class of its own.

         Apizza Scholls has been featured on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations," is a regular on "Top 25 Pizza in the USA" lists, and is often considered to be the best pizza north of San Fransisco. Brian will be speaking at the International Pizza Expo this March with Nancy Silverton of Pizzeria Mozza. They will be doing a talk called, "Dough Masters".

Photo by Serious Eats

       What makes Apizza Scholls so great? Simply put, Brian does.  Brian has dedicated much of his life to pursuing perfect pizza. It has become an obsession. As I spent 2+ hours talking with him, I was struck by his knowledge, discipline, and motivation.

         Brian's knowledge and experience as a bread baker has been a key to his success. Dough is the most difficult and important part of the pie. In my opinion the crust at Apizza Scholls is as good as it gets. Quality sauce and toppings are important, but are the easy part. As Brian explained, "Texture is one of the most underappreciated qualities of food and a critical element of pizza." He used an example of tasting three different hamburgers. All three have the best ground beef and toppings you have ever tasted. However, a steamed, toasted, or uncooked bun will make a huge difference in the overall taste. It is the same with pizza. I totally agree.

Apizza's Poolish

       As we talked, I kept thinking about how much he knows about baking and pizza. It was humbling. I peppered him with questions about his dough recipe: What flour do you use? "Central Milling Artisan and Keith's Best." Do you naturally levain? "Poolish, using commercial propagated yeast, pre-fermenting 20% of the flour." How long do you ferment? "13 hours." Brian made the change to Central Milling flour about 5 years ago. He wasn't getting the crunch he wanted prior. As Brian explained, the ascorbic acid gives the chew and crunch. It promotes gluten bonds which give the dough strength and fermentation tolerance.

       We talked a bit about the dough recipe I use at home in my WFO. I told him I have been working on trying to make the dough less elastic. When I stretch it, it tends to spring back more than I would like, which makes it difficult to get to the thickness I want. Without hesitation, Brian said, "Autolyse longer, and try adding a bit more hydration." Brian can look or touch dough and know exactly what it needs (more time, more hydration, etc). He has what is called, "the baker's touch".

        His knowledge and willingness to share what he knows is also amazing. In the past he has even jumped on message boards to share his recipe with home baker's trying to clone it: pizzamaking.com. I have a ton of respect for someone who is willing to share their knowledge without an expectation of profit.

          Brian takes a very disciplined approach to the product at Apizza. A good example of this is his choice to operate out of only one location. I asked why he hadn't opened another location in NW Portland, or Seattle, or somewhere else? From my vantage point, it would seem logical for him, since it would have a high probability of being great and surely become profitable. His answer, "No. We haven't perfected Apizza Scholls...a second location would be distracting." I love this commitment to the craft versus chasing profits and sacrificing quality.

        Other examples of this commitment to perfect pizza are often misunderstood by first time patrons. Over the years, Apizza has been compared to the "Soup Nazi" from the Seinfeld series, due to a few of their strict rules. This comparison is mistaken by the consumer in my opinion.  For example, at Apizza, they limit toppings to three because more than that would not be ideal for the dough to bake properly. Another example is their "no phone orders" policy. According to Brian, it would be near impossible to maintain the high standard of quality for the in-person experience while juggling phone orders. As he says, "It is about quality, quantity, and speed. You can't have all three. Pick two." Apizza chooses quality and quantity. Everything at Apizza Scholls is intentional to drive towards the best possible pizza.

       Brian's commitment to creating perfect pizza goes a bit further as well. He estimates he has personally baked over 500,000 pizzas in his life. He has hand mixed dough for 20+ years. In 2013 he brought in a dough mixer because his body literally wouldn't allow him to hand mix any longer. This commitment to perfection is mind blowing. He sets an incredibly high bar for creating "perfect pizza." He said "when I bake, I estimate 10% of pizzas are perfect." He is definitely a perfectionist.
   
       We talked about so much more, but I need to wrap up this post. I will conclude with an interesting story about the Tartufo pizza, followed by answers to a few of my Instagram followers questions. The Tartufo is one of my favorite pizzas in Portland. It is now an off menu item (you can still order it). The Tartufo 2 is now in its place. So how was the Tartufo created? Brian explained it was the brainchild of Rodney Muirhead (Podnah's Pit Founder/Owner). Rodney worked at Apizza Scholls in the early 2000's, and pitched the idea of a cheesy, white pie, with truffle oil to Brian. The rest is history.

Do you agree Apizza Scholls is the best pizza in Portland? Comment below, and don't forget to follow @pdxdoughboy on Instagram.

Instagram Follower Questions - Q and A with Brian Spangler:

@ashleymichelle424: What flavors inspire your pizza combinations?

Brian: I gravitate towards earthier flavors. Fresh, natural, earthy. I am not a pickled vegetable fan - all I taste is the vinegar, but it is a popular flavor. For pizza there needs to be balance. I try to balance the acid from the tomatoes. Also, flavors need to stand up to each other. For example, jalapenos with savory cheese, or pineapples paired with pork.

@flavacountry: What is your favorite pie?

Brian: Plain cheese. Let the crust and sauce come through. It stays balanced.

@teconiceater: Why aren't the clams shucked?

Brian: I don't like rubbery clams (said while laughing). I have experimented with both shucked and non-shucked. My preference is to cook the clam on the pie. It saves the "clam liquor" which is great for drizzling over the slice. The clam also has a much better texture this way.

@jeff819: Where do you get that incredible pepperoni?

Brian: It is Molinari old fashioned pepperoni. At the consumer level you should be able to find it at Provista or Nicky USA.

@jeff819: Can you tell us about your Detroit roots and if your experience there inspired your interest in pizza?

Brian: I was born in Detroit and spent the first third of my life there. Detroit style didn't really influence my pizza making. Back then Dominos and Little Cesars were actually pizzerias (in the 70's). This was interesting to see, but didn't inspire me. My trips to the east coast were my inspiration. (He said all this while wearing a Detroit Red Wings hat 😄)

@pdxdoughboy: what is your favorite pizza in the area (excluding Apizza)?

Brian: Lovely's Fifty-Fifty. I like what Sarah is doing. It's her own muse. She plays by no one's rules. It's hers, and she is so passionate about it, and always experimenting.

@pdxdoughboy: what is your most popular pie?

Brian: Margherita, Pepperoni, Amore.