Neapolitan Pizza
Well, I promised that the next pizza I made at home would be of the Neapolitan variety and I hate to break my promises, so drum roll please for the latest and greatest in Neapolitan pizzas!
OK, maybe not the greatest, but it’s definitely the latest. I mentioned last time that I have been on a quest to perfect pizza-making at home lately and I like taking a methodical approach to this. The most crucial (and, not coincidentally, most difficult) part is getting the baking and crust down and I am happy to report we are one step closer to great results.
The first few attempts were good but took way too long to cook. By the time the pizza finished cooking, the crust was too dry and the top never reached that volcanic state, cheese bubbling menacingly. This wasn’t just an issue of oven temperature (which, admittedly, is a big problem with the average home oven); the temperature was as high as it would ever get. The problem was in transferring that heat directly to the pizza crust. Thankfully it was an easy problem to solve, with the purchase of a pizza stone from my favourite kitchen store in town, Kamphuis Kookgereedschap, on Brugstraat 34 in Groningen. Our pizzas now cook in about 12 minutes (which is still longer than ideal, but about as good as we can hope for at home), the crust is never soggy, the cheese comes out with the right texture, and the cook is happy. I am not 100% satisfied with the recipe for the dough, however. It does not come out as soft as I would like it too, so I am now experimenting with that. Step one: eliminate all traces off olive oil and see what happens. When I am happy with my results, I will report back with the recipe.
What about you? How do you like your pizza crust? Soft or crisp like a biscuit? Do you have a favourite recipe?
-Tassos
I love my pizza soft but well done. I would love to start making them at home so I look forward to seeing your recipe. Which stone did you get?
The largest one that would fit my oven!
_t
I like the sound of this stone. Methinks it’s time to follow your lead. Thanks for the research.
Just so you know, for when I visit, I like a thin crust with a relatively crisp edge. I tend to stick to anchovies, olives, capers and a sprinkling of salty feta (the stuff from Cyprus seem to work for me when we were in England) that all on the regular tom and cheese base.
I’ve been remiss in not checking your posts. I’ll rectify that now and steal some recipes. Cheers.
fh
Hi Ford,
The stone is really quite essential, it seems. It not only transfers heat directly to the bottom of the crust (and retains an awful lot of heat, when preheated), but, since it’s unglazed, helps draw out some of the moisture, meaning no soggy bottoms. And, I am sure you dislike soggy bottoms.
Your wishes are noted. Make it to Groningen (you’re always welcome, of course) and we’ll make a few pizzas together.
-t
Favorite pizza dough recipe:
p51, Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook by Alice Waters
Thanks, Charlie.
This recipe is the one you mean, right? I’ll give it a try!
-Tassos
Yes, that’s it. Except in the book she mentions letting the dough rise overnight in the fridge, which is what I do. Also I use white whole wheat flour and more rye (about a cup and subtract that from the www).
Thanks, Charlie.
I’ll give this recipe a try next time I make pizza.
In the meantime, have you seen this page: http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm, before?
It makes some very interesting points.
-t