Background
Before we get into the specifics of this class, let’s take a quick step back and give you all a little more back-story…
The launch of these new Level 3 classes will endeavor to be something of a “passion project” for Noel because he will attempt to combine his professional goals with his personal aspirations. If you haven’t noticed, Noel is on a mission. Over the past three years, he has made one of those rare life-changing decisions: making health and exercise his top two priorities – no exceptions, no substitutions, no excuses, no…really. And the results have been overwhelmingly positive, incredibly life-affirming, and unquestionably delicious. Â But don’t let the term “passion project” fool you. Â Noel is very serious about this new generation of classes.
If you can’t tell by the some of the photos he has posted, Noel has been exercising between two and three hours per day, six days per week, swimming, walking, running and strength training, eating a much more nutritious and balanced diet, improving his sleep habits and, as a result, he has reversed his doctor’s diagnosis of pre-diabetes, lost 50 pounds, maintained his weight for two years and counting, brought his blood pressure down to normal levels, decreased his stress levels and made his wife and family very happy. And now he wants to share some of his newfound knowledge and wisdom with his clients and students in the form of new pizza recipes and techniques.
And the way he has decided to do this is by beginning this new generation of collaborations with health professionals who specialize in nutrition, health and exercise science. As well, Noel has reached out to some of his favorite manufacturers to bring you the next generation of healthy flours for your dough as well as a new way of looking at ingredients and preparations for your toppings and side dishes. The main goal is simple.  You don’t have to stop eating the things you love.  To the contrary, Noel has been eating bread or pizza (and sometimes both) everyday throughout his entire journey.  The goal is to add healthy foods to your diet and look into making better decisions to support your overall health and wellbeing.
Details
Let’s get a little more specific…
Honestly, Noel is not generally a fan of gluten-free pizza so the inception and development of this class has been a somewhat challenging labor of love. That said, Noel has been working for months on this recipe and technique so you know it’s going to be good. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The journey actually began when Noel reached out to a family friend and Registered Dietitian, Nancee Jaffe, about collborating on a series of three new and innovative artisan pizza and bread classes. Â The goal was not to just make delicious pizza and bread but also to teach Noel and his clients and students about health and nutrition in general.
Noel’s conversation with Nancee Jaffe began with a simple question: what are the healthiest foods a person can eat and how can we use them to make delicious pizza and bread? Over a series of discussions and brainstorming sessions, Noel and Nancee fine tuned their goal: to compile a list of healthy and delicious foods by category, with the objective being that Noel would take this list back to his kitchen and create a variety of both healthy and delicious pizzas and breads. Â And once he had the three prototypes tested and ready for mass consumption, Noel and Nancee would launch their first class: Beginner Level 3. Easier said than done. Noel got to work on the Beginner Level 3 class first.
Recipe R&D: The Dough
The dough recipe and process for this upcoming class builds on the groundbreaking Advanced Level 1 class that has been attended by literally thousands of people since its launch in 2020. The Level 1 class is highly unique because it features a high hydration dough (85% water) and an exacting and intensive “hyper-mix” technique that many students were not yet acquainted with back in 2020. Â Whipping a batter into a dough without over-heating (or over-developing) it is no easy task in a home mixer but Noel was one of the first instructors to bring this technique to the masses and many professional chefs, pizza makers and home bakers have now mastered the technique and are using it in their restaurants, pizza shops and homes to great success.
Now Noel is taking this technique to the next level by upping the hydration to over 100% hydration and applying it to a 100% whole grain dough recipe. Â The result is a crumb texture that is not only light and airy (not dense like many whole grain breads) but also bursting with intense but balanced flavors and aromas. Â And, as for toppings, Noel has added a whole new level flavor and nutrition to the mix – he’s very excited to share it with you all.
Class Goals
For those of you who have been asking how Noel has been able to get into such good shape while literally eating pizza and bread everyday, this is the class for you!
While the first two classes in the Level 3 series spanned a wide variety of beginner and intermediate health and nutrition topics, this third class will endeavor to dive more deeply into a few more advanced topics…in particular, BIOHACKING.
- Biohacking – refers to the practice of using science, technology, and self-experimentation to enhance one’s physical, mental, and emotional performance. It often involves making small, incremental changes to diet, lifestyle, or habits to improve overall health, well-being, and longevity. The term encompasses a broad range of practices, from simple lifestyle modifications to more experimental or technological interventions.
- Types of Biohacking:
- Nutritional Biohacking
- Exercise and Movement Biohacking
- Sleep Biohacking
- Cognitive Biohacking
- Technology-Enhanced Biohacking
- Genetic Biohacking
- Environmental Biohacking
- Common Goals of Biohacking:
- Increased longevity
- Enhanced cognitive performance
- Physical optimization
- Better sleep
- Improved mood and emotional well-being
- Getting More Nutrition out of Your Toppings
- Phytonutrients
- Eat a Rainbow of Color
- Getting Wild Nutrition from Modern Food
- Besides being very tasty, our 100% Whole Grain Dough has a variety of nutritional and dietary benefits:
- Rich in Fiber
- Higher Nutrient Content
- Supports Blood Sugar Control
- Heart Health Benefits
- Supports Weight Management
- Other Topics
- Fermentation
- Regenerative Farming
Ingredients – Dough
Ingredients – Toppings
- Suggested Toppings
- olive oil – featuring Saint Supply
- onions – raw & roasted
- kale, chard, spinach – steamed or sautéed
- zucchini – raw, steamed, Â roasted or grilled
- butternut squash – steamed or roasted
- peppers – roasted or grilled
- yams and sweet potatoes – steamed or roasted
- heirloom potatoes – steamed or roasted
- tomatoes – raw, halved
- tomato sauce – raw or cooked
- assorted fresh dips and pestos
- aged cheeses, kefir, yogurt
- parmesan, pecorino or other hard cheese
Equipment and Pizza Tools
None of the items listed below is an absolute requirement but these items will be helpful if you intend to follow along with Noel step by step:
- Suggested Equipment and Pizza Tools
- gas or electric home oven
- pizza stone
- electric mixer (ie. KitchenAid)
- container and lid to store dough in the refrigerator
- dough scraper – metal & rubber
- pizza peels – wooden & metal
- cooling rack
- chefs knife or mandolin
- spiralizer or Kitchenaid spiralizer attachment (optional)
- blue steel pans – square or round
- parchment paper
Here’s a bit more information about my collab partner for this classa and the next two, Nancee Jaffe:
Nancee is the lead dietitian for the UCLA Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases. Nancee was recruited in 2012 to help develop a comprehensive GI Nutrition Program to enhance care for patients with specific nutritional issues and to provide ongoing nutritional education to UCLA GI fellows, gastroenterologists, and other health care professionals. The GI Nutrition Program is now an integral part of the division’s Integrative Digestive Health and Wellness Program.
In addition to her lead role, Nancee continues her clinical nutrition practice, counseling patients on diagnoses such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, short bowel syndrome and idiopathic or functional bowel disorders. Nancee shares her expertise on nutrition and digestive disorders by speaking at national conferences. Her current research includes the Mediterranean diet’s effects on the gut microbiome in IBS with Lin Chang, MD, co-director of the UCLA G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience. Nancee is also researching different types of diets and their potential effects on remission and flare states in IBD with Berkeley Limketkai, MD, PhD, director of clinical research for the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Nancee spearheaded an effort to formalize a GI-specific dietitian group housed jointly under the American Gastroenterological Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics which became official in 2020.
Nancee graduated from California State University, Los Angeles, where she earned her masters of science in nutrition. She completed her dietetic internship at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was mentored by Dr. Chang.
After You Register:Â
We will send you an automated confirmation email.  Within 24 hours, we will send a second email containing a link to recipe and process instructions to prepare your dough in advance of the class, as well as some toppings if you choose, and everything else you’ll need for our time spent together. After that, you’ll receive an additional link to the Zoom webinar just prior to class time.  As mentioned above, by preparing a batch of dough in advance of the class, you will be able to use that dough to bake along with us on Zoom during the class.  This will allow you to mix a second batch live with us during class for you to then bake on your own time if you choose. Â
Don’t worry, we’ll try to answer all of your pre-class questions via email.  But, if not, we’re certain this deep-dive virtual pizza class will give you the opportunity to ask all of your burning healthy pizza questions in real-time.
Please email us if you have any questions or comments at info@slowrisepizza.com
**NOTE: Class registration will end one hour prior to class time.**
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