When you think of Italy’s most memorable dishes, his beloved pizza will likely be among your top five, if not the top three. It is an ultimate comfort food that has become a growing obsession around the world. But what makes Italian pizza so special and where do you find the best?
The most important thing was to see humanity and the connection that there must be in a pizzeria
Like so many of the country’s most prized gastronomic delights such as wine, olive oil and cheese, the quintessential Naples tart, where pizza was born, has become so expensive that it now deserves its own name. ‘controlled origin (DOC). The city’s pizza tradition was even recognized by Unesco in 2017 as an element of intangible cultural heritage.
Naples is, of course, the hub of the Napoletana pizza (Neapolitan Pizza), with generations of the same family prepared in the art of being a pizza chef (pizza chef). And each family keeps its recipe variations carefully and prepares pizzas with a passion perhaps equaled only by the city’s love for its football team.
There are three basic types of Neapolitan pizza: Margherita, topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil; marinara, which skips cheese and uses oregano and garlic instead of basil; and the “DOC” made with mozzarella di bufala (buffalo mozzarella) instead of the usual fior di latte made from cow’s milk.
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The pizza is believed to have originated in the city in the 1700s, after explorers brought one of the essential ingredients, tomato, from Peru. But even before that, the Neapolitans had eaten a version of the pita brought by Arab immigrants as a kind of flat bread – which ultimately became a “pizza” in the local dialect. Most upper-class Europeans viewed the new import of tomatoes with suspicion and originally viewed it as toxic; without fault of the tomato, people placed the acidic fruits on tin plates, from where they leached the lead, causing the disease. But in a time of near-famine, the local Neapolitans began to garnish their humble but delicious flatbread with tomatoes, and soon creation became a staple of the city’s cuisine.
After the unification of the country in 1861, the baker Raffaele Esposito was credited, in 1889, with inventing the now-omnipresent Margherita pizza in honor of the visit of Queen Margherita di Savoia, the wife of King Umberto I , in the city. The colors of the Italian flag were reflected in the ingredients: tomatoes for red; cottage cheese; and basil for green. And so, the iconic pizza was born.
Today there are more than 500 pizzerias in Naples, but only a fifth of them are certified by the True Neapolitan Pizza Association, an organization created in 1984 to protect and distinguish authentic pies from wannabees. Its criteria are based not only on the ingredients that go into the pie – including everything, from the type of flour in the dough to the origin of the cheese – but also on the preparation, the style of fermentation of the dough at oven temperature . The association now even organizes an annual competition to judge which pizzerias are the best in the world. Franco Pepe from Pepe to Grani has won for the last three consecutive years.
Pizzerias like Pepe have reached a sort of rock star status in Italy these days, but the work is physically exhausting, with great attention paid to seemingly simple methods.
Among the most famous pizzaioli in the city, Gino Sorbillo is a third generation dough magician who runs the pizzeria Gino e Toto Sorbillo, which is often considered one of the best in Naples. Her father was one of 21 children (number 19), all of whom helped make the family’s pizzas. The same goes for the Sorbillo generation: “[The whole family] attended each stage of the purchase of materials, [making] the dough and see how to process the ingredients, “he said. “But the most important thing was to see humanity and the link that there must be in a pizzeria”, because the process of making pizza requires manual labor, long hours and, for the Sorbillo family, working in a humble and sometimes difficult part of the city.
His grandfather opened the family’s first pizzeria in 1935 along Via dei Tribunali, a historically troubled street in central Naples that is plagued by organized crime. This context has always been in the mind of Sorbillo, who wants to promote the city he loves and provide a safe haven from gang activity for his customers and workers. Its location in Naples was bombed last year, but never determined, it has since reopened.
Sorbillo now has pizzerias in places like Tokyo and New York, and although he oversees each for his adherence to family recipes, it is this first location in Via dei Tribunali that remains the centerpiece of the business , where locals and tourists alike queue up for the original pizza. The pizzeria also helped bring the city to life, reputed to be the most chaotic in the country and among the poorest. “I think I also gave young people the inspiration that we could do something here in Naples, to say,” We will try to do something too, “” he said.
His [how you make] the essential dough
So how can you make an authentic Neapolitan pizza, especially for those who can’t go to Naples to eat one?
To start, the dough should be just right, with Italian wheat flour 00 or 0, fresh brewer’s yeast (no dry yeast), water and salt. The dough should be rolled by hand or with a slow speed mixer; never use a rolling pin. However, it may be preferable to swirl it in the air to oxygenate the dough while surrounding a classic Neapolitan with professional pizzaioli.
Another of the city’s most esteemed masters, Ciro Salvo de 50 Kalò, has another dough wort: “The fermentation and leavening of the dough should last at least 10 to 12 hours.”
Another necessary ingredient for a large pie is raw mashed tomatoes – preferably San Marzano, the most popular variety in Italy, which grows in the volcanic plains south of Vesuvius and is necessary for pizzas with DOC designation. However, pizza star Franco Pepe prefers to use his own homemade heritage tomatoes.
Only two types of mozzarella are used for Neapolitan pizza: fior di latte made from cow’s milk; or mozzarella di bufala, made from water buffalo milk living in the Campania and Lazio regions. Nowadays, on some farms, sweet animals receive massages and listen to classical music as part of their routine to produce the tastiest milk there is.
Of course, part of the fame of Neapolitan pizza comes from the way it is cooked. The dough should not exceed 3 mm thick and should bake for 60 to 90 seconds at a very high temperature – 485 ° C – inside a wood oven, which gives a crispy pizza but not burnt. It all sounds pretty easy, but there is a reason why some pizzamakers are considered real masters: that moment just before a pie becomes a burnt error often lies in the eye of an expert.
But even if you don’t have DOC certified ingredients or a wood-fired oven, according to Sorbillo, all you really need to make a good pie is flour, yeast, a can of tomatoes and cheese-based cow’s milk. “His [how you make] the dough that is essential, “he said.
And as with any hobby, making pizza involves a bit of trial and error. Mistakes and everything, the whole process – while enjoying the end result – is part of the fun.
The True Neapolitan Pizza Association is hosting a free contest called #VeraPizzaContest for pizza makers (amateurs and professionals) to see who makes the best pizza designed and made at home. Registration closes on April 20.
“I’m lucky,” said Salvo. “It is not only my job but my passion and my life.” He himself eats a margherita pizza at least once a day.
Ondine Cohane is co-author of Frances Mayes Always Italy published by National Geographic.
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Neapolitan pizza dough recipe
By Ciro Salvo from 50 Kalò
450g of flour (ideally 00, but can use 0 or 1)
300 ml cold tap water
3g fresh brewer’s yeast
9g salt
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in cold tap water, then mix about two-thirds of the flour with a large spoon until a creamy consistency forms. Mix the salt, then the remaining flour a little at a time. Continue mixing until all the flour has been absorbed.
Knead vigorously with your hands by folding the dough and pushing it inward. When the dough is smooth and has no lumps, let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
Sprinkle the dough with flour, place it on a table, then give it a few folds, forming it into a spherical shape until it is firm and elastic.
Place the dough in an oiled pan and lid, then let stand and rise for 7 to 8 hours at room temperature.
Place the dough on a round baking sheet lightly greased with olive oil and press lightly with your fingertips until the classic, flat shape of the pizza is formed (or in a square if using a square pan). It should not exceed 3 mm thick. Cover and let stand for another 3 hours.
Add the tomatoes (or the tomato puree) as desired on the flattened dough and put the pizza on the base of the oven, bake at 250-280 ° C for 5-6 minutes. Move the pizza to the upper oven rack and bake for another 6 to 8 minutes, adding the drained mozzarella (if using) only for the last 3 to 4 minutes. Other ingredients such as extra virgin olive oil and basil must be added at the end of cooking.
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Marinara pizza recipe
pizza dough (see recipe above)
50g drained Corbara tomatoes
70g escarole, blanched
30g Caiazzo black olives, pitted
pinch of Salina capers
clove of garlic, thinly sliced
pinch of oregano
extra virgin olive oil
Place the already prepared dough on a baking sheet and press lightly flat. It should not exceed 3 mm thick.
Garnish with tomatoes and bake at 250-280 ° C for 5-6 minutes. Add the escarole, black olives, capers, garlic and bake at 250-300 ° C for another 6-8 minutes. Add the oregano and a drizzle of olive oil.
(Credit: Ciro Salvo, adapted for BBC Travel)
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Culinary roots is a series of BBC Travel connecting to rare and local foods woven into the heritage of a place.
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