All the world knows about pizza. This word is untranslatable and contains not only an intrinsic meaning of a dish but also numerous secondary meanings and connotations linked to Italian and Neapolitan culture, not only culinary.
It is extraordinary how this simple disc of leavened dough, known since ancient Roman times, has crossed centuries of history to arrive in Naples, in the eighteenth century, become a specific local phenomenon and then conquer the tables of the whole world and contaminate traditions. cuisine further away from ours.
Today we are witnessing the spread of gourmet pizza, an evolving phenomenon, a constant search for new perspectives for a timeless dish.
We can increasingly rely on experts who study the scientific phenomena related to kneading, leavening, and cooking pizza. Physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics are involved in the success or failure of a pizza, even if the tradition, pragmatism, and experience of generations of pizza chefs have given us a wealth of knowledge of unparalleled value.
Combining these two aspects, science and tradition is the real challenge of the new pizza makers, the good ones, the serious ones who in all parts of the globe undertake this activity with great passion and the right technical-scientific knowledge and skills.
In this regard, I would like to say a few words for my friend Salvatore Kosta, one of the leading experts in Neapolitan pizza, recently the owner of the restaurant “La Grotta del Buono” in Aversa. Salvatore is above all a great enthusiast: I followed him years ago, both in his blog and on Facebook, when he published wonderful home experiments, especially on bread and pizza, but also on other sweet and savory leavened products, typical of the Neapolitan tradition.
From Salvatore I learned a lot, trying to reproduce his methods and most of all trying to understand the physical and biochemical reasons for leavening.
Thanks, Salvatore for helping me discover the wonderful world of leavened products!
I wish you and your restaurant great success and satisfaction.
THE TECHNIQUE
If the history of pizza cannot ignore the history of cereals and therefore of agriculture, even more so is the technique and method of preparation.
Today pizza is the most eaten dish in the world, and not by chance: from a few basic ingredients (those of the dough of course, to which we can add only tomato, mozzarella, and extra virgin olive oil) it is possible to draw countless variables, for obtain different results from the gustatory and olfactory point of view.
The sauce on the pizza, now without limits to the imagination of the pizza maker who invents it, must, in any case, be harmonious and balanced, and respect the basic rules for combining ingredients.
In 1984 the True Neapolitan Pizza Association drafted an International Disciplinary for the protection of this ancient dish of pure Neapolitan tradition, codifying the rules and secrets handed down orally by generations of Neapolitan pizza makers.
We can summarize them like this:
Appearance
- Neapolitan pizza is rounded, with a diameter of about 30-35cm;
- Neapolitan pizza has a raised edge (the famous cornice), swollen and free from burns;
- Neapolitan pizza must be soft and elastic.
Ingredients
- water: 1 liter
- salt: 50-55 gr
- yeast: 3 gr (fresh brewer's yeast)
- flour: 1,7-1,8 kg (flour 00 or 0 W220-380)
Seasoning
The real Neapolitan pizza should be seasoned with ingredients preferably of Campania origin. The oil used must be extra virgin olive oil, you can choose between mozzarella and fiordilatte DOP. Tradition specifically includes Vesuvian or San Marzano tomatoes and Afragola garlic.
Let's analyze the four ingredients of the pizza dough: flour, water, yeast, and salt.
THE INGREDIENTS OF THE PIZZA DOUGH
Flour
Soft wheat flour is today the main ingredient in pizza dough, although the use of a certain percentage of durum wheat flour or other cereals is becoming increasingly frequent.
Soft wheat does not have a direct wild ancestor but carries with it the genome of three different species that have generated it, thanks to spontaneous crossbreeding that man farmers have been able to take advantage of. Thanks to this transformation, the new species did
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