Homemade Pizza

I cannot resist to Pizza. I need to eat a pizza at least once per week to be happy: It’s my birthright.

Pizza dough has accompanied my childhood when I was with my grandma and she always gave me the task to melt the fresh active yeast. Tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil, easy ingredients for an easy recipe with many different results…why? As I told you some posts ago, LOVE always makes the difference, especially for kneading and baking.

I enjoy preparing the dough, waiting for its rising and preparing my favorite topping.

Let’s start with the basic recipe with the traditional topping for your own homemade pizza.

500 gr “00” flour (if you can, find the Caputo flour)

10 gr fresh active yeast

Salt

1 tbs oil

Lukewarm water

Topping

500 gr peeled canned tomatoes

300 gr mozzarella

Oil

Salt

Fresh basil

In a bowl mix the flour and the salt then in the middle melt the yeast with the water and oil, adding little by little the flour until you get your dough. Kneading it with some movements from the bottom to the top as you wanted to push the dough on the table. When you get a smooth dough, let it stand covered for 2 hours in a warm place or with some blankets.

Preheat the oven to 250°C. Smash in a bowl the tomatoes and add some salt. Dice the mozzarella and put it into a strainer.

Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and work it using your fingers or a rolling pin. Transfer the dough on a baking pan, add the red sauce and some oil. Bake for 15/20 minutes then add the diced mozzarella and bake until melted. Garnish with some fresh basil.

All about PIZZA

You could find pizza everywhere from Vancouver to Canberra, thin/thick, well baked, crispy/doughy...but the authentic one is only in NAPLES!

 

The recipe is very easy: flour, fresh yeast, water, oil and salt. Get first choice ingredients as for the flour, the tomato and a fresh yeast (better a mother yeast) will ensure a great result!

 



The Pizza is made up of two parts: il centro (the center) that must be full of canned San Marzano tomato, basil and mozzarella and il cornicione (the crust) that must be soft and doughy, full of tiny bubbles and some blisters. If you look under the pizza, you should find some black circles that ensure your pizza is perfectly baked, of course in a wood oven.

Follow these tips to recognize a good pizza all over the world: It must be not perfectly round, doughy no crispy, but thin and airy, with some burned bubbles and blisters, full of bright-red San Marzano tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil leaf. A good pizza is easy to digest and won't make you thirsty.

If you are in Naples, take note of these addresses.

 

Pizzeria DA MICHELE (http://www.damichele.net/), is very close to the train station. They do not accept reservation so be ready to wait for a long time...but It 's worth it. They have just three kind of pizza, Margherita, Marinara and Super Mozzarella from 4 to 5 Euros. The place is not very smart with its long marble tables but their pizza is a dream, surely my favorite. This pizzeria is also popular for the shooting of Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts.

 

Pizzeria SORBILLO (www.sorbillo.it/it/), is in the  historical center. No reservation here too. They serve different pizza, Margherita costs 3.30 Euros. They have opened a new location, close to the sea, at via Partenope 24.



Pizzeria STARITA (http://www.pizzeriastarita.it/), is  on the little hill of Materdei, close to the city center. They are very popular for their Montanare (a fried dough served as a Margherita) and Angioletti (fried dough served with cherry tomatoes and rocket).

 

Pizzeria PELLONE (Via Nazionale, 93), is out of the tourist area. They serve different kind of pizza and they are well liked for their Calzone (fried pizza dough, stuffed with ricotta and pork rind) and for the giant pizza they serve.

 

 If you are in Naples, please call me...I would never say NO to a good pizza!