(photo: my two aunts on the left and grandmother on the right, baking bread and pizza in a wood fired oven)
I'll go out on a limb and posit that pizza may be the best food type on the planet. Pizza has everything: incredible texture, rich flavor, it's cheap to prepare, it's filling, and, in general, is one of the rare food types that contains both complexity and simplicity.
My beloved Aunt Giovanna (pictured on the left) owns a small wood fired bakery in
One of my simple wishes is to reproduce my aunt's pizza here in States, but it would be nearly impossible given that I lack the wood
fired oven, high quality and ultra fine Italian flour, and the water from
the region. So, what's a pizza loving
guy to do - adapt of course!
(photo: that's me kneading some bread dough at nonna's house; as nonna would say, I really don't have the kneading touch)
In turn, here's my classic, homemade, pizza dough recipe adopted for us transplanted Europeans (and, please, stop giving your hard earned cash to the local Pizza guy who drives the fancy imported car, you
deserve better pizza! Make it at home.):
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of warm water
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 3 cups of all-purpose (or unbleached) flour (you can also try Molino Caputo Tipo 00 Pizza Flour, imported from Naples, Italy)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
Mix the "wet ingredients", including the water and olive oil with the dry yeast (you're looking to dissolve the yeast). Thereafter thoroughly mix the remaining dry ingredients and combine with the wet ingredients. Place the mixture in a Kitchen Aid and mix for 2-3 minutes. Remove the dough and knead with your hands for 4-5 minutes; you're looking for a fluffy/not too dense dough. Remember to make sure your workspace has plenty of flour so the dough does not stick when kneading. Form the dough into a ball and coat the exterior with a bit of olive oil and place in a large bowl, covering the bowl with a kitchen towel. The dough should sit (I like to place the bowl in my oven, with no heat of course) for 30-45 minutes or until it doubles in size.
Next, add a tablespoon of olive oil to a 10 by 15 inch cookie sheet and thoroughly coat the bottom with the oil. Take your dough and cut it in half and stretch the dough on your cookie sheet. Add a bit more olive to the dough and spread it with your hands. You're now ready add your toppings!
My favorite type of pizza is the "Pizza Margherita" which is comprised of tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. Start with the sauce and then add shredded mozzarella.
Preheat your over to 400 degrees F. and bake your pizza for 20-25 minutes depending on how thin or thick your dough is. Once you're ready to remove the pizza lift one side of the dough and make sure you've got a nice brown color (the cheese should be bubbling as well). After removing the pizza, add the hand shredded basil and a bit of olive oil. If you have some Parmigiano-Reggiano you could also grate a bit ontop of the pizza!
Some of my other favorite toppings include:
1. Sautéed red onions, black pepper, and Parmigiano-Reggiano
2. Sautéed mushrooms and Parmigiano-Reggiano
3. Dried
rosemary, seal salt, red pepper flakes, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and extra olive oil
Hi Vincent, I will have to agree 100% with you on your Aunt Giovanna's Pizza's and bread, as when I was in Calabria 2 years ago I too had fresh bread from there morning noon and night, there is nothing like it, and the pizza's well they were to die for.I look forward to going to Calabria again if only for those pizza's and fresh bread.
Regards your Cousin Maria latella.
Another great article (and pictures)! I just made pizza dough yesterday, and although the results were certainly not up to Calabrian standards, they were well received! I really think the wood fired oven makes more difference than the flour and water. It's just very hard to replicate that taste. But you are so right: much better than 'pizza to go'!
Why the sugar in the pizza dough?
Another topping I use are potatoes sliced very thin. Other recipes include roasted peppers within the pizza, or sauted onions and some white raisins - both to die for.