Chef-owner Josiah Bartlett makes the most out of his small but mighty kitchen
Wizard Hat Pizza, a takeout-only pizza joint in Brooklyn, “is somewhere in between a pop-up and a residency,” says chef-owner Josiah Bartlett. Located in a commissary bakery in Prospect Lefferts Garden, the space may not have a dining room, but it does feature a stone mill — something Bartlett says you won’t find in most pizzerias. At Wizard Hat, Bartlett uses the mill to ground whole einkorn into flour that he then combines with four other flours in his pizza dough.
In the mornings, Bartlett can be found alone in Wizard Hat working on the pizza dough. “I talk to [the dough] telepathically,” he says. “More so just in case someone’s walking by and they’re like, ‘I know he’s in there alone. Weird guy, makes great pizza.’”
What Wizard Hat Pizza may lack in commercial or dining space, its makes up for in the quality of its pizzas. Every step of the pizza-making process has been meticulously thought out, from the milling of the flour to stamping of the pizza boxes. Bartlett even checks the temperature of the room before he starts working so he can ensure his starter is fermenting the way he wants it to.
“At Wizard Hat, we’re really passionate about the pizzas that we’re making,” he says. “Every pizza we’re giving to [the customers] in a box, is going to be as close to perfect as possible.”
Watch the latest episodes of Icons: Pizza to learn more about how Wizard Hat Pizza makes use of its space.
