The best pizza in the world: THE MARGHERITA

[benedotta]

hello my friends . today I would share with you this fantastic italian recipe : the pizza.
I live in Salerno, near Napoli and as second work I make little pizza at a famous catering. so i think teach you how do the perfect pizza.
so if you want do a pizza for 4 people you are need:

for the dough

1 kg of flour
6 spoons of oil
600 ml of water
a pinch of salt
25 g of brewer's

and on:
mozzarella
tomatoes

you try and write me how it went .

kiss kiss

 

[Andy M.]

What? No basil?

 

[Steve Kroll]

Agreed. I thought basil (basilico) was required for a genuine Neapolitan Margherita pizza.

Also, how much is a "spoon of oil?"

 

[CharlieD]

what size spoon and what is "brewer's"?

 

[menumaker]

I understand you Benedotta, with the best mozzarella and ripe sweet tomatoes, that's all you need BUT you have to remember, you have these fresh and sweet two things at your hands and some folks don't. I adore basil but in this case, Simple is everything. We had this for lunch today with a green salad as it happens. We are lucky to live where we do aren't we?

 

[menumaker]

PS. Brewer's is fresh yeast guys

 

[CharlieD]

Aha, thank you. So, Menumaker, how do you do it/ Maybe with a little bit more details. That recipe reminds of my mom's recipe, there are only couple of hints rather than the whole recipe.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I understand you Benedotta, with the best mozzarella and ripe sweet tomatoes, that's all you need BUT you have to remember, you have these fresh and sweet two things at your hands and some folks don't. I adore basil but in this case, Simple is everything. We had this for lunch today with a green salad as it happens. We are lucky to live where we do aren't we?

Menumaker, you might think we're uncivilized barbarians over here but, believe me, we have access to most of the same fresh ingredients you do. Mozzarella di Bufala can be difficult to come by (although I know two stores that sell it) but all other ingredients are readily available.

The traditional Margherita Pizza is strictly defined in the Disciplinare di Produzione della Specialità Tradizionale Garantita "Pizza Napoletana" and was designed to reflect the colors of the Italian flag: red, white, and green. The green is represented by basil, so it's an important part of the recipe.

Now it would also be nice to know the rest of the recipe. Ingredients are one thing, but it's helpful to understand the method as well.

 

[CraigC]

No wood fired oven, no success. +1 on the fresh basil.

 

[Steve Kroll]

No wood fired oven, no success.

Yeah, that's true. In Naples it's restaurant and street food. The typical Italian family doesn't own a wood fired oven, either.

 

[CraigC]

Yeah, that's true. In Naples it's restaurant and street food. The typical Italian family doesn't own a wood fired oven, either.

If we are getting down to brass tacks about the original, it was done in one. Wood was the source of cooking fuel back then, I believe.

 

[GotGarlic]

This bakery opened near us last spring: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bakehouse-at-Chelsea/1439924819554319

The head baker is the former head baking chef/instructor at the culinary school I attended a couple years ago. Check out the fabulous pix of pizzas and breads from the wood-fired oven.

 

[GotGarlic]

If we are getting down to brass tacks about the original, it was done in one. Wood was the source of cooking fuel back then, I believe.

There would not have been enough wood for each family to have their own wood-fired oven. They typically cooked daily meals over the hearth of the home's main fireplace. There were communal ovens that the entire village used; each family had their own pattern they cut into the bread so they could identify it later. The chef of the Bakehouse I mentioned said he wants to make that service available eventually.

More info: Communal wood fired masonry ovens - baking, bakehouses and communities

 

[Steve Kroll]

If we are getting down to brass tacks about the original, it was done in one. Wood was the source of cooking fuel back then, I believe.

I would say you're correct. Although menumaker claims "simple is everything," the Neapolitan food police are actually very strict about what constitutes pizza in their town.

We have a place here in the Twin Cities called Punch Pizza that prides itself on following all of the same guidelines as they do in Naples for their "purist" pizzas. They've won some national recognition. I've seldom eaten there because it's hard to get in the door.

Food - Punch Neapolitan Pizza

 

[CraigC]

There would not have been enough wood for each family to have their own wood-fired oven. They typically cooked daily meals over the hearth of the home's main fireplace. There were communal ovens that the entire village used; each family had their own pattern they cut into the bread so they could identify it later. The chef of the Bakehouse I mentioned said he wants to make that service available eventually.

More info: Communal wood fired masonry ovens - baking, bakehouses and communities

The original was done for royalty, which generally meant wealthy, so I imagine they could afford to outfit the kitchen any way they wished. Pretty sure there would not have been a shortage of wood in a nobleman's kitchen. I'm also sure that if it was prepared for royalty, in a communal oven, wood was available.

 

[GotGarlic]

Glad you finally thought it through

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Easy guys, I think we might be scaring benedotta away! And menumaker, as Steve said, we here in the Frontier live a relatively modern life.
Actually, we've been meaning to try a certified Neapolitan pizza place that opened in Worcester (pronounced "Wooster") about a year ago. It was featured on a local TV station's "Chronicle" show that highlights places to visit and eat at in New England. Volturno Pizza must be great since a Boston-centric show actually gave rave reviews about their pizza.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

This bakery opened near us last spring: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bakehouse-at-Chelsea/1439924819554319...Check out the fabulous pix of pizzas and breads from the wood-fired oven.

You are so lucky that you live close to that bakery. Rose32 is a bakery that makes its breads, etc in a wood-fired oven and it is wonderful! Unfortunately, "32" is not just their street address, it's about how many miles they are from us. *sigh*

 

[menumaker]

I genuinely did not mean to offend you or your countrymen Steve. I only meant that something that simple with just two ingredients can be really good and I certainly don't think of you as Barbarians. I'm half Canadian as it happens myself for heaven's sake.. As for the recipe, I guess I just do the usual. Make a pizza dough the same as was posted in the first place and top it with whatever appropriate is at hand. it varies from time to time.
Hope I'm forgiven? I'm going off on holiday tomorrow!

 

[Mad Cook]

what size spoon and what is "brewer's"?

Brewers YEAST. Probably not widely available in USA. In the 19th C, before the advent of dried yeast, it was common to go to the brewery to buy yeast liquid for bread making. At least it was in Britain.

The OP probably means this or brewer's yeast in translation means just yeats