Posted by Susan L on November 29, 1997 at 13:35:06:
In Reply to: Re: PIZZELE IRON posted by PAUL LEE on November 29, 1997 at 06:35:49:
: Could anyone please tell me where I can get A PIZZELE IRON FROM and what it actually looks like, how it works infact any other information about it.
: Thank You
Dear Chef Paul,
When confronted by the arcane, try consulting “The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook and Guide to Kitchenware” (NY: Random House, 1986). Its first applicable discussion (page 23) includes a line drawing of a pizelle iron, which looks like an aluminum hamburger press imprinted with folk designs, with long handles that end in wooden knobs for you to grasp.
The text reads:
“Top-of-Stove Irons
“Pizelle Iron. This is used for the traditional thin, crisp, Italian cookies called pizelle, and is made of two round, cast-aluminum, embossed disks hinged together and attached to long handles for use on top of either gas or electric stoves. The iron is heated, and a special sweet dough is placed on the surface of one disk; the iron is closed and returned to the heat for baking. The cookie can be left flat, rolled, or shaped into cups and either filled or eaten plain. Most pizelle irons are 5 inches in diameter, with 16-1/2-inch handles. Many people prefer the electric version of the pizelle iron, which, of course, is more expensive.”
Then it gives a home recipe (page 284), with instructions for using a stovetop pizelle iron.
Pizelle (Italian wafer cookies)
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
4 oz. unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Grated peel of 1/2 small lemon (colored part only)
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Additional melted butter for pizelle iron
In a bowl, combine eggs and sugar and beat until light and creamy. Add the butter, vanilla, and lemon peel and stir until blended. Sift together the flour and baking powder and fold into mixture.
Heat the pizelle iron on both sides. Remove from heat. Brush lightly with butter and place about 1 tablespoon of batter on one side of the iron. Close it and, if the iron is hot enough, the batter will spread out inside the iron and any excess will ooze out. Cut off excess with a knife and return iron to heat. Cook for about 30 seconds on each side until pizelle are golden. Turn out on a rack to cool. Repeat this process with the remaining batter. (It should only be necessary to brush the iron with butter once, as the batter should not stick after that.) Makes approximately 40 pizelle.
This recipe is prefaced with Chuck Williams’ comments: “These wafer cookies are very thin and crisp. They can be left flat or made into different shapes while still hot and pliable. You can roll each cookie into a cylinder or cone, or press into a small bowl or custard cup to form a basket for serving ice cream or fruit, but be sure to do this immediately after removing them from the iron.”
Elsewhere, I found two more pizelle recipes on a website (http://www.com/criv/stories.htm) that a gentleman named Donald P. Crivellone maintains about his family history. Note the variant spellings here (“piazelle,” “piazella,” “pizzele”) which may constitute one of your problems in searching the Web for this thing ... not that there appears to have been all that much out there to begin with.
“Piazelle” by Carmella (Masella) Crivellone
12 eggs
3 cups of sugar
1 cup of butter
1 cup of oil
1 oz of lemon extract
1 oz of orange extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups unsifted all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
Mix well, chill 2 hours or overnight. Make piazelles in piazelle maker.
“Cangelate (Pizzele)” by Carminia (Barbieri) Crivellone
4 /1 cups of flour
4 tablespoons of shortening
3/4 oz Anise extract
1 1/3 cup of sugar
8 eggs
Mix well, until bread dough consistency. Roll into strips - 3/4 x 4 inches. Make in piazella maker.
Now that you know all this, where can you get a pizelle iron? Don’t really know, but I’d start by calling Williams-Sonoma since, at the very least, they ought to know what you’re talking about. They don’t seem to have a website (!) but here are some phone numbers for you to try:
Williams Sonoma Retail Stores
865 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103-1900
415-546-0171
Williams Sonoma Retail Stores
150 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94108-4707
415-362-6904
Williams Sonoma Retail Stores
2 Embarcadero Ctr, San Francisco, CA 94111-3800
415-421-2033
Williams-Sonoma Incorporated
2000 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94123-2702
415-929-2520
Williams-Sonoma Incorporated Corporate Office
100 W Point Rd, San Francisco, CA 94124-2417
415-421-7900
Williams Sonoma Retail
Stonestown Galleria
San Francisco, CA 94122
415-681-5525
Williams-Sonoma Incorporated
1802 Redwood Hwy, Corte Madera, CA 94925-1235
415-924-2940
Williams-Sonoma Incorporated
1375 Burlingame Ave, Burlingame, CA 94010-4100
650-343-0581
Amazon.com says that "The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook and Guide to Kitchenware" is not actually out of print yet, but is "out of stock indefinitely at the publisher," which means that it might just as well be. However, if you're interested, Interloc has lots of copies available at very cheap prices.
Regards,
Susan L