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Cynthiana's Master Pizza Maker

Do you remember the first time you took a bite of pizza?

Doug Hampton of Cynthiana remembers exactly where he was when that happened.

The 76-year-old from Harlan County says he had never tasted pizza until he went to the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City. He was eight-years old.

That experience led to a lifetime pursuit of trying to make the tastiest pizza in his home kitchen.

For many years as an adult, he wasn’t satisfied with his homemade pizzas.

In fact, eleven years ago he was ready to quit and throw in his apron. In stepped his wife of now 57-years.

Patsy recalls, “he wanted to make pizza so badly and hadn't had any luck. And I said, why don't you go to Pizza school? And I sent him to Pizza school so he could learn to make them. And he came home and made us one. And it was good.”

Interesting that the “pizza school” was in New York City, the same city where he tasted his first pizza. Hampton says he’s all about doing his very best on whatever he sets his mind to.

For many years he was a referee for high school and college basketball games.

In the last 21-years Hampton has had a front row seat, center court to all the home UK basketball games. He’s the Time Out Coordinator.

“Hearing the coaches, listening to the play, you know. You just hear all the sights of the game, the refs view. And when you're down there, the players are so much bigger than you think they are up in the stands, and they're so much quicker.”

His passion for doing his best has certainly influenced his pizza-making. Word began to spread among his friends that Hampton was turning out some delicious pizzas.

Close friend and pizza lover Greg Shirley who goes by the nickname “Fork” says Hampton’s notoriety really took off when he began posting pizza pictures on Facebook.

“So, he starts posting these little Friday night experiments for his family and, you know, I'm doing this. Well, once he started delivering and people started getting a taste of it, it just took on a life of its own.”

Hampton says he turns out a hundred pizzas a year from his basement kitchen, and he gives them all away to friends, family, and charities for auction. Along with each pizza he includes an envelope.

Fork explains, “so the catch with your pizzas, there is never a charge for a pizza, but there's a self-addressed, stamped envelope in there for a donation to the Cynthia food pantry. Everyone's encouraged to make a donation, and because of Doug doing that, they're getting a lot more donations and a lot more food. You get the best pizza you've ever had. You get a smile from Doug, which is also priceless, and you get to help out the community.”

Hampton says the key to a great tasting pizza is the dough. He makes his own dough and lets it sit in his refrigerator for 48-hours so it can ferment.

In simple terms, fermenting means the yeast is consuming sugars in the flour, causing the dough to rise and develop flavor.

For his Detroit style pizza, Hampton wants his crust crunchy. A Detroit pizza is a rectangle and thicker. After his dough ferments, Hampton adds a layer of pepperonis on top.

He covers that with a special shredded cheese. “It's Brick Cheese, and it's a very, very, very close cousin to mozzarella or Monterey Jack. You can order it online, and the local cheese store here can get it for me.”

He adds garlic powder, sea salt, and a special sauce. “This is a special sauce that's made just for the Detroit pizza. It's a little thicker, and it's heavily laden with basil. If you'll look, you can see the basil all throughout it.”

Remember the pepperonis on top of the dough? Now Hampton adds another layer of pepperonis called “Cup & Char.”

He says “here's something I always look for. They've been in business since 1931 almost 100 years. I put them on the top, and they will turn up in a little cup. And what that little cup does, that gathers the grease and fat, and grease is flavor.”

He’s still not done. Hampton sprinkles on oregano, add more salt, and add garlic powder.

He now places the pan of pizza into the oven for seven minutes, then turns the pan around and bakes it for another seven-minutes.

He does that because he says the back of the oven is hotter. Hampton pulls out the pizza, and using an oversized spatula, lifts the pizza out of the pan and onto a pre-heated flat baking steel.

“That's 525, degrees, and that's going to make it crispier on the bottom.” Two more minutes in the oven, and then it comes out to sit on the counter to cool off for 10-minutes. As a last touch Hampton dribbles olive oil on top and adds some Romano cheese.

Sitting at the counter and watching all this are Fork and another buddy, Stephen McCauley who can’t wait to take a bite.

“I was planning for this trip. And anytime we know pizzas are coming, you plan ahead for it, because you know you're going to go all in.” Fork is salivating.

“I think the pizza matches his personality. He's a guy that's always just been a great friend and a great community member, just for as long as I've known him, and everything he does at a high quality. And this is just one of those other things that he does at a high level.”

The time has come for both men to enjoy some of Hampton’s pizza. Fork describes the experience like this.

“Your bottom is, is fully firm, crunchy. Then you've got a middle, not a bit doughy. I mean, it's light to be that thick, right? It's not like a pan pizza that's real thick. And I mean this, you go crunchy, light, and then you hit all the ingredients. Look at that. I mean, it's absolutely perfect. You can see every layer of the pizza. It's not like any of it just melted together into a blob. It's perfect.”

McCauley agrees with a big smile.

“There's no comparison. I mean, this is the envy of everyone around that I'm getting to enjoy this right now. So definitely excited to be here, and like I've said earlier, my wife and kids are wondering how much and what I'm going to be bringing home. So, everybody's excited about that coming home tonight.” Finally, it’s my chance to relish this homemade pizza.

“Hmm, oh my oh, the crunch and the flavor. I'm almost speechless. Oh my gosh.” It’s those kinds of reactions that make it all worthwhile to Hampton.

“You took a bite of that Detroit, and you let out this big moan. That's what I work for. You know, people texting me back and say, hey, man, the family loved it. You know, my daughter said, it’s the best, that's my reward.”

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Sam is a veteran broadcast journalist who is best known for his 34-year career as a News Anchor at WKYT-TV in Lexington. Sam retired from the CBS affiliate in 2021.
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