After extensive hours of research, and a couple failed attempts at a new technique, I believe I have achieved something close to what they might call "Pizza" in Naples. Though the pie in this photo isn't a "Margherita" or a "Marinara", its elegant simplicity of Crimini Mushrooms, Buffalo Mozzarella, roasted San Marzano Tomatoes, and thin, crisp crust makes my mouth water still. Having not a pizza oven, I had to borrow a technique developed by Heston Blumenthal that mimics the intense heat, and 3 minute cook time, of a traditional wood fired setup. What we know today as Pizza has only been around for couple centuries. Before 1889, when the Margherita (tomato, mozzarella, basil) made its debut, cheese was not even a popular topping. Not too long before that, the tomato was finally considered a socially acceptable ingredient, and the first flatbread topped with some sort of sauce didn't don on the scene until the sixteenth century. When one thinks of Italian Cuisine in general, the tomato is one of the top ingredients that come to mind, however when the Spaniards brought back Solanum Lycopersicum from the new world, the plant was considered taboo, and even evil by some. Three hundred years later and the entire country was using the tomato in place of traditional carrot based, or dairy based white sauces. The Italians began to go tomato crazy, developing hybrids, finding strains that survived in certain soils, such as the ashy, potassium rich dirt at the base of Mount Vesuvius, where the San Marzano tomato took its hold, thousands of miles from its Peruvian origin. These are the only tomatoes used in Naples to this day for their pizza, and let me tell you, there is a good reason. It just so happens that these tomatoes are fairly difficult to find in major groceries, so me finding them in the town I live was pure luck. Some friends of mine, who operate an Organic CSA, happened to be growing some San Marzanos right when I wanted them. You can also get them canned which is a preferred method by some, but roasting them myself produced a fresher
taste than the store bought ones I tried subsequently. My tomatoes weren't grown at the foot of Vesuvius, but they didn't travel five thousand miles either, I picked them up on my bike, two miles from my house. For my crust, I read various recipes from a few top chefs, and used the best ideas in each. The hard part here for some would be finding double aught (00 farina) ground flour, which I had picked up at an Italian grocery on a recent trip to San Francisco. If you can't find this special pizza flour, use the flour with the highest protein content that you can find. Neapolitan pizza crusts are thin, fairly crispy on bottom, with lots of air pockets, which can be achieved through proper kneading. To get the crust right, high heat and a short cook time must be applied. To achieve this at home, take the biggest cast iron skillet you have and put it on a stove burner on high heat. Meanwhile, place your oven rack on the highest level, and crank the heat up as high as it goes. When all is hot and ready, flip your skillet upside down, throw your crust down, sauce, cheese, etc., slide it into the oven (careful here, lots of heat), and watch it cook before your eyes. First time I tried Heston's technique my crust overlapped the edge of my skillet by just a hair, resulting in the melting cheese and toppings to be spewed down the sides of my skillet to the smoking oven floor. Therefore, MAKE YOUR PIZZA SMALLER THAN YOUR LARGEST SKILLET. Depending on how hot your oven will get, these pizzas will take 2-4 minutes total cook time (the rules in italy state 60-90 seconds!!), and are great for interactive dinner parties where guests can try their hand at Vera Pizza Napoletana. Most of all, keep it simple. One to two toppings yields the best results, this recipe is all about the tomato, the dough, and the cheese, the rest is up to you.
taste than the store bought ones I tried subsequently. My tomatoes weren't grown at the foot of Vesuvius, but they didn't travel five thousand miles either, I picked them up on my bike, two miles from my house. For my crust, I read various recipes from a few top chefs, and used the best ideas in each. The hard part here for some would be finding double aught (00 farina) ground flour, which I had picked up at an Italian grocery on a recent trip to San Francisco. If you can't find this special pizza flour, use the flour with the highest protein content that you can find. Neapolitan pizza crusts are thin, fairly crispy on bottom, with lots of air pockets, which can be achieved through proper kneading. To get the crust right, high heat and a short cook time must be applied. To achieve this at home, take the biggest cast iron skillet you have and put it on a stove burner on high heat. Meanwhile, place your oven rack on the highest level, and crank the heat up as high as it goes. When all is hot and ready, flip your skillet upside down, throw your crust down, sauce, cheese, etc., slide it into the oven (careful here, lots of heat), and watch it cook before your eyes. First time I tried Heston's technique my crust overlapped the edge of my skillet by just a hair, resulting in the melting cheese and toppings to be spewed down the sides of my skillet to the smoking oven floor. Therefore, MAKE YOUR PIZZA SMALLER THAN YOUR LARGEST SKILLET. Depending on how hot your oven will get, these pizzas will take 2-4 minutes total cook time (the rules in italy state 60-90 seconds!!), and are great for interactive dinner parties where guests can try their hand at Vera Pizza Napoletana. Most of all, keep it simple. One to two toppings yields the best results, this recipe is all about the tomato, the dough, and the cheese, the rest is up to you. For the Dough:
3 1/2 Cups "00" flour
1 1/3 Cups warm water (100-110 F)
1 pkg. Active Dry Yeast
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Dry White Wine
In a mixing bowl, place 1/3 cup warm water with the yeast and sugar, let sit 5 minutes.
Next add the salt, remaining water, oil, and flour and mix with your stand mixer's dough hook on LOW speed for three minutes before adding the wine. Mix for five or six more minutes until dough is firm, yet elastic. Form into a ball, and let sit in a lightly oiled bowl until it rises, about a half hour at room temperature. Punch down the dough and form into four equal balls, allow to rest 15 minutes before rolling into thin flat rounds.
For the sauce:
Crushed San Marzano tomatoes.
If you find fresh ones, and want to roast them yourself, cut them in half, remove the seeds, and sprinkle the halves, placed skin side down, with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook in a 400 degree oven, or barbecue, until the aroma overtakes you, and the skin is easily removed, about 30-40 minutes. Adding fresh oregano or basil to the roasting tomato halves is a nice option, though is not considered traditional. In Naples, they simply take the canned tomatoes, crush them onto the crust, add cheese and bake.
A pizza peel will make removing the finished product from your oven a bit easier, but what I do is just take the skillet out of the oven, remove the pie, and get it hot again for the next go. Placing a pre-assembled pizza on a hot skillet is a difficult task, so I have taken to quickly layering the ingredients while the pan is still on the stove, then throwing the whole thing into the 500 plus degree oven. If the moisture content of your dough is right, and the bottom of your skillet is clean and well seasoned, the pizza will come right off the hot metal and onto your plate. Eat and be well.
