Pizza is most probably the most famous dish of all Italian cuisine.
But what is pizza exactly? Pizza is nothing else than bread, but the pizza as we know was "born" in the late 19th century, the Pizza Margherita, the classic tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil, that takes the name of Queen Margherita of Savoia, while she was visiting Napoli in 1889 with her husband Kind Umberto I of Savoia.
We have different kind of pizza, in the south it tends to be more "fluffy" also known as focaccia, while in Rome the pizza is very thing and croccante, also known as pinsa romana.
I will share with you the recipe that my grandma gave me, with her technique. Remember that in order to have the best pizza dough, it has to rest as much as possible.
If you have a robot that can mix as well you can use it as well, I always use my Companion to make it.
Ingredient:
- 500 g flour (if you have the one for the pizza is even better)
- 35 g dried mother yeast
- 15 g salt
- 10 g sugar
- 300 ml room temperature water
- oil, enough to oil your hands and the working surface
Preparation:
- Mix the dry ingredient together in a bowl
- start slowing adding the water to the dry ingredient and mix everything till you have a smooth dough
- Leave it rest for at least 2 hours
- Grandma's Tip: cover the dough with a cotton cloth and some heavy blanket and position it in a warm place. My grandma used to put it on the radiator as well.
- an hour or so before you have to cook the pizza, take the dough and divide them in smaller balls and let them rest for 30/40 minutes (always covering them)
- Now press them a little to make the desired shape and top them with your favorite topping
- cook them for 20/30 min at 200° C fan (time might vary according to oven and size of the pizza)
Tips
- When you are mixing the dough and arranging it, do not forget to oil a bit your hands and the surface where you work them on, it will help a lot.
- For a fast pizza, the dough has to rest for at least 3 hours in total (2 at the beginning and another 1hour after you divide it), but if you have time, make it rest for minimum a night to maximum of 2 days.
How to top your pizza
Dont be shy when it comes to what put on your pizza, you can go with the classic margherita which everyone will appreciate, or try add some mushrooms during the cooking. You can have some grilled vegetables for everyone to put on, or some prosciutto crudo and cotto, or why not, Pumpkin Ortomayo with mortadella, squaquerone (or stracchino) and some pistachio. We love the combination one of our client did, Cauliflower Ortomayo with Cime di Rapa and Semi-Dry Cherry Tomatoes.
Buon appetito!
