Wednesday, September 25, 2002


la vera pizza

"pizza should reflect neapolitan traditions, if it wants to be called pizza," said mario folliero (on the right), a writer devoted to chronicling pizza lore. "there are canons! there are rules! everything else is a trick."

this perfectly captures the tone of a charming piece on how neapolitans view pizza as an essential and concise expression of their unique spirit. the rare food article that made me smile.

tired of my pizza crust recipe and sauce? try one from an italian pizza site. note that they expect you to use a "weak" or low-gluten flour -- the italian 00 is just about 7-8 percent gluten, whereas american all-purpose flour is usually 11-12 percent.

so you may find that you have to adjust the water a bit from their recipe. you'll definitely want to halve the recipe, if not quarter it, because as written you'll get about 6 lbs. of dough! "rising powder" is what we would call "yeast."

they also encourage you to use only a registered, authentic mozzarella (d.o.c.) from a certified producer. by this, they mean a fresh mozzarella made with buffalo milk. the fresh mozzarella we so often see here in local markets at home is made from cow's milk. italians don't call this mozzarella at all, but rather fior di latte.

buffalo milk has a higher fat content than cow, and so the cheese is creamier and melts more beautifully. . .if you find your buffala is a little damp, follow italian practice and squeeze it out a bit in a dish towel. press it lightly to make it more square for easier slicing -- grating the cheese is a huge no-no!

posted by fortune | 6:24 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments