Almost All About Pizza

Shot of a finished pizza- fresh out of our wood burning pizza oven. 
We've had the best results with oak wood.

The pizzas never make it off the wooden cutting board to a plate... we usually cut it and share it right off the board, then toss another one in the oven. Making pizza can be an all day affair (which I'll explain) but it is certainly and always an inter-active cooking experience and, for that matter, a wonderful focus for a dinner party.

Who doesn’t like pizza? It’s like a National food. Thank you Italy. First there’s eating pizza and then there’s making pizza, or finding your favorite place to go out for pizza, and then there’s eating pizza again.

The first time I made pizza from scratch was in 1988, at the Gourmet magazine kitchen. Sara Moulton, saramoulton.com the executive chef of Gourmet (I miss that magazine) took us under her wing and in Sara’s patient way, led us through the steps of preparing the dough, adding the ingredients of our choosing and baking the pizza in the hot oven. It was one of those wonderful experiences you read about.

Now many years later, I am lucky enough to have a real brick pizza oven (Tulikivi) right in my kitchen. The pressure is on, to do the oven right and produce a pizza a Neopolitan would approve of.

I must admit, many attempts to make this perfect pizza failed. When to start the fire? How much wood to use? What kind of wood? What kind of dough? And, how hot did the oven need to be? I blamed my failed attempts at these things I questioned... on the flour, on the kneading, the rising, the oven's temperature.

It took friends of mine from Italy and a chef from Tuscany for me to get my confidence back to make pizza. 

And so it was...  just like my chef friends said… "they learned everything about cooking by standing next to their mother’s side in the kitchen in Italy".

And so, I learned by the side of my dear friend Maria and new friend Vito (who Maria introduced me to on this fateful day). Vito was visiting Maria's family from Forte De Marme, Italy.   He was spending a few months working as a pastry chef in one of Maria's Connecticut based restaurants. They have three restaurants. They even have a villa inUmbria, Italy that you can rent. See it on their website.
ColumbusParkTrattoria.com http://www.osteriaapplausi.com/ TarantinoRestaurant.com. Vito was getting to know the kitchens here, sharing tips from there. And thankfully, along with Maria, sharing tips here.. at our home. The outcome- perfect pizzas, one after another.
Making pizza in a pizza oven is an all day affair. To get the oven hot enough, the fire has to be started many hours ahead. Eight hours ahead. I also learned not to be timid with the wood. Pile it in and keep piling. You need all those red hot embers and coals and the oven temperture to reach 500 degrees F. which is about 375 C. When the oven reaches the perfect temperature, move the hot coals to one side, leaving enough room to slide in the pizzas from your pizza peel.

Here are photos of pizza making and some special notes that share what I learned to be the secret to making a really good pie.

From Left to right: Maria, me, Vito, prepping the dough. You don't always have to make your own dough. You can buy the dough if you like, it's readily available at supermarkets or Italian speciality stores and even your local pizzeria. We cut the dough, shaped it into balls, coated with olive oil, let it rest and continue to rise before dusting with flour and rolling out individual pies. If you want to make your own dough (Neopolitan Style or a Gluten Free version, or even one made with crystal beer malt),  check out this site: http://www.fornobravo.com/pizzaquest/instructionals/59-written-recipes/92-classic-pizza-dough-neo-neapolitan-style.html

Vito, portioning out the dough. Glass of wine not far from reach. Garlic waiting to be sliced (paper thin with a blade; note: each individual, fresh topping ingredient is prepped and placed into bowls as pictured below... flavors are later layered onto the raw pizzas... atop dough that was spread with pureed tomatoes).

Rolling out the dough with my daughter Paisley- you can see we're rolling  it out right on the flour dusted soapstone counter.

I like to prep the toppings in advance and have them ready for guests to use. And to keep organized, I always label what will go into the bowl or on the platter. They have plenty to choose from, i.e. in additon to mozzarella, fontina etc., pepperoni, arugula, diced tomatoes, sausage, grilled eggplant, peppers (all kinds from mild to spicy)... I could go on and on. Offer whatever you think guests will like. Have fun with it. Once we offered cooked shrimp with jalepenos. You can offer various cheeses- the list goes on!  This way nothing is forgitten or left behind by mistake!

Maria preps fresh buffalo mozzarella.

I learned something new about the tomato sauce on the pizza from my friends. The tomatoes are not cooked into a sauce. Instead, we used fresh-  pureed, skinned plum tomatoes with seeds previously squeezed out... no cooking, no addition of other ingredients. I must say, preparing the "sauce" this way provides a much lighter "sauce" vs. using a cooked sauce which tends to be thicker and heavier!  I learned to layer each ingredient individually onto the pizza. First the simple puree of tomatoes, then perhaps some garlic- super thin slices placed on top of the puree, then the cheese, then perhaps some fresh torn basil. The same goes for the seasoning, the salt is added on its own- and salt by the way is key (not mixed into the "sauce"), last we add the drizzled olive oil.

Vito begins the layering process. First, the tomato puree is ladled on top of the dough. Note, the dough is placed on the wooden peel  (which was first dusted with corn meal ). When the dough gets heavy and wet with toppings you don't have to pick it up and transfer it to the peel before getting it to the oven. If you don't build the pizza on the peel and try to transfer it after it is topped, chances are it will sag and fold onto itself and you'll have a mess on your hands. Dusting the peel with corn meal prevents the dough from sticking to the peel when you slide it into the oven. 

The mozzarella cheese is added. Then the salt.

The basil leaves will be next and then the olive oil is drizzled on top.

And from the pizza peel into the oven.

The pizza is cooking with the red hot embers off to the side.

The pizzas were eaten right off the board... we all gathered in the kitchen and tasted the pizzas one by one, commenting on the doneness of each, what we could do better next, what topping we'd try next... Vito works to keep the oven hot. Teaching us when to add the oak wood, when to push the coals back or bring then forward.

Vito making a toast. To dear friends!

Another Pizza bubbling away in the hot oven.

Another of our finished pizzas.

 And, more!
All eaten around the prep table, never plating a pie. Just sharing, taking slices from the baord.   

And then, it was time to sit.... I made a pasta course....

Rigatoni with Sausage, Fennel and Red Wine.
Next week I will give the recipe for this delicious pasta.

Pasta Time.

What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon (that stretched into evening) with friends! 


Of course, you don't have to have a pizza oven to make pizza at home.  

Just follow all the steps, but use your regular oven and a pizza stone instead. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. with the pizza stone inside, ( heat the pizza stone for at least 30 minutes in the 500 degrees F. oven) on a rack positioned in the middle of the oven. Follow all other instructions above, including building the raw pizzas on the wooden peel (pre- dusted with corn meal). 
Slide the pizza onto the stone and bake until bubbly and crust edges are browned and crisp (approx. 15 minutes). 


I used to make pizza this way and below I am sharing a couple of my dinner party journal entries from 1991 that featured pizza. Here, you'll see how creative you can get with ingredients. Perhaps you'll be inspired to come up with a theme for your next dinner party... a southwest theme perhaps!

In my 1991 journal, during the month of April, I recorded that I made two kinds of pizza in my standard oven. A four cheese pizza, fontina, gorgonzola, mozzarella, and parmesean. And an anchovy, garlic and mozzarella pizza.

And, that Summer, Pizza again. In this dinner party journal, I recorded the menu on which I featured a  Southwestern style pizza to go with a Southwest lunch of:

Mexican Style Barbecued Salmon
Papaya Tomatillo Salsa
Corn Cakes
Orzo Salad
(and strangely) Dessert crepes from Giuliano Bugialli's Foods of Italy.

 I hope you enjoyed this week's post, "Almost All About Pizza."
And, that said, I am so excited to introduce you to Maria Marchetti and her family owned restaurants.  Some of the most delicious, authentic Italian restaurants in Connecticut. The ingredients, the recipes and tastes take you to Italy.


As always,
xxoo Sheila