From Baker to Pizza Maker

Post 1: From Baker to Pizza Maker – My Journey in Japan Begins

If you told me years ago that my life would go from kneading bread dough in a little bakery to explaining to confused Japanese shopkeepers why I needed 10 kilos of mozzarella, I’d have laughed—and then gone back to dusting flour off my apron. But here we are: I’m a baker-turned-pizza-maker, living in Japan, with a family who thinks Papa’s kitchen is both a wonderland and a disaster zone.

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Bread First, Pizza Later

Let’s be clear—I was a baker before I was a pizza guy. Bread was my first love. There’s something about the simplicity of flour, water, yeast, and salt coming alive under your hands that’s magical. But bread has one flaw: it doesn’t come with bubbling cheese. Pizza, on the other hand, is bread’s cheeky cousin—the one who shows up to family gatherings with extra toppings and somehow steals the show. So naturally, when life took me from the oven glow of my bakery to the neon lights of Japan, I brought my passion for dough with me… and pizza stowed away in my suitcase.

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Landing in Japan: A Culinary Plot Twist

When I first arrived in Japan, I thought, Great! A country famous for food. This’ll be easy. Wrong. My first trip to the supermarket was like stepping onto another planet. There were thirty varieties of soy sauce but not a single block of decent cheese. Flour came in mysterious pastel bags, none of which said “strong bread flour.” I bought what I thought was yeast and discovered it was actually baking powder. My dreams of perfectly risen pizza dough were dashed in one sad, flat pancake of a crust. The family still laughs about that night. They call it “pizza crepe.”

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Family Pizza Nights, Japanese Style

Back home, pizza night was simple: throw dough, slap on toppings, bake, done. In Japan? Pizza night became a family comedy routine. My kids would shout out toppings like it was a game show: “Papa, put natto on it!” My wife would gently suggest that fermented soybeans might not belong next to pepperoni. (She was right. Some experiments should stay in the lab.)

One of my favorite memories: my youngest decided the dough needed “more flour” and dumped half a bag on top of it. We ended up with what I can only describe as a snowstorm on the kitchen counter. The pizza was a bust, but the laughter was worth it.

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Pizza: My Anchor to Home

There are days in Japan when I miss home—the smell of my bakery in the morning, the sound of English floating around instead of a flurry of honorifics, even the sight of pepperoni slices that don’t cost their weight in gold. But making pizza grounds me. It’s my way of stitching the familiar into the fabric of our Japanese life. Plus, nothing brings a family together faster than the words, “Pizza’s ready.”

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Recipe: Classic Margherita Pizza

Simple, honest, and beautiful—just like the pizza that kept me sane during those first chaotic months in Japan.

Ingredients (for 2 pizzas):

• 500g bread flour (強力粉 works well in Japan)
• 325ml water
• 10g salt
• 7g dry yeast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200g tomato sauce (plain passata or crushed tomatoes)
• 250g mozzarella cheese (fresh if you can find it—good luck!)
• Fresh basil leaves

Instructions:

1. Mix flour, salt, and yeast in a bowl. Add water and olive oil. Knead until smooth (or until your kids get bored of helping and wander off).
2. Let it rise for 1–2 hours, covered. This is the perfect time to clean up flour explosions in the kitchen.
3. Preheat your oven to its hottest setting (250°C if possible). Place a pizza stone or baking tray inside to heat.
4. Divide dough into two balls, roll them out thinly.
5. Spread tomato sauce over the dough, sprinkle with mozzarella, and toss a few basil leaves on top.
6. Slide onto the hot tray or stone, bake for 7–10 minutes until bubbly and golden.
7. Slice, serve, and prepare to have no leftovers.

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Closing Thoughts

From baker to pizza maker, from bread to cheese-laden dough, from my hometown bakery to a kitchen in Japan—I never thought this would be the path. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: life, like pizza dough, doesn’t always rise the way you expect. But with a little patience (and maybe a dusting of extra flour), it turns out delicious in the end.