Passing of a pizza legend

TastyReuben

Nosh 'n' Splosh
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Tom Lehmann passed away from Covid complications a few days ago.

No worries if you've never heard of him, most people haven't, but in the pizza industry (and bread baking in general), he was a legend.

For something like 40 or 50 years, he worked at the American Institute Of Baking, including being its director. He was a proper food scientist, and the breadth and depth of his knowledge of baking earned him the title "The Dough Doctor." Additionally, he was just a damn fine fellow.

His passion, though, was pizza, and if you own a pizza restaurant in the US, he was your best resource and best friend. He was a regular poster on pizzamaking.com (he may have started the forum, I'm not sure), a forum geared toward the professional pizza industry, but welcoming to any aspiring pizza maker, and he freely gave his advice and expertise there, and never in a condescending, superior way. A real gentleman.

You know me, I love my pizza, I love making pizza, I love eating pizza, and I owe as much to Tom, both directly and indirectly, as I do anyone on getting me from making pizza kit pizzas to turning out real restaurant-quality pies. Though we never met in person, I counted him a mentor and influence.

I could never do him justice in my ramblings. Here are a couple of links. One, from PMQ, has a second linked article about Tom that's good reading:

Tom 'The Dough Doctor' Lehmann Passes Away from COVID-19 - PMQ Pizza Magazine

Who's Who: Tom Lehmann
 
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