Pizza is an art and if there is one essential element for this gastronomic element to be succulent, it is certainly the dough!
In our restaurant, we favor, of course, Italian recipes, especially when it comes to pizza dough. However, to prepare a real Italian pizza dough, you have to follow a very specific protocol. Let's reveal part of the secret to cook the perfect pizza dough.
How do you recognize an autenthic pizza ?
Pizza is an art, but it is also a science and a manufacturing process that follows precise rules. First of all, you may know that an authentic pizza is a pizza that contains mozzarella (not Emmental cheese!) and tomatoes (not in concentrate, but in pulp!). And of course, a real pizza is also and above all, a pizza whose dough is handmade.
The pizza dough must be both thin and crispy, you should also see air bubbles on the edges, because this proves that the baking powder has pushed the dough well. The dough should also be airy, and its edges should not be compact.
All over the world, we can find lots of different recipes for making pizza dough. In fact, real pizza dough has simple and essential ingredients to obtain the most delicious results. The list is short and effective: wheat flour, water, baking powder, salt and oil to make the dough easier to shape.
What is the secret of a successful pizza dough?
First let's talk about flour. It is an essential element to prepare a good pizza dough, because this ingredient contains gliadin and glutenin, proteins which will form gluten structure while there are in contact with the water.
Gluten is important because it is precisely its structure that will determine the ability of the dough to be viscous and extensible. As a matter of fact, the good elasticity of the dough allows it to be correctly shaped and cooked by the pizza maker. The more the latter works and spreads the pizza dough, the better it will be and of a perfect texture! In Italy, pizzaioli most often use type 00 flour which makes it possible to obtain a very refined dough. 00 flour is renowned for its ability to withstand long fermentation and to produce a very elastic dough that will not break when rising.
One of the fundamental elements for successful pizza dough is rising. The rise is the increase in the volume of the dough due to the baker's yeast. In general, it is recommended to let the pizza dough rise for 6 hours, thus obtaining a slow fermentation which makes the dough tastier, but also easier to digest.
The process of baking the pizza dough is also essential. It is therefore considered that good cooking must be carried out at high temperatures: between 400 and 485° for a wood-fired oven. But who says high temperatures, says reduced cooking time!
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