There’s something undeniably magical about the mere mention of Italian pizza. Its tantalizing aroma, crispy crust, and melty cheese transport us to the bustling streets of Naples, where this culinary masterpiece was born. But fear not, for you too can recreate this Italian delight in the comfort of your own kitchen. Join us as we embark on a journey to unlock the secrets of authentic Italian pizza-making, where passion, tradition, and the finest ingredients converge to create a symphony of flavors that will leave you craving more.
Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients
To begin your Italian pizza-making adventure, you’ll need to gather the essential ingredients
Dough:
- 500g, flour
- 10g, yeast
- 2 tsp, salt
- ½ tsp, oregano
- 2 tbsp, milk
- 1, the yolk of an egg
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 250ml, water
Sauce:
- canned peeled tomatoes
- spices: salt, black pepper, basil, incense
Top part:
- mozzarella cheese
- fresh mushrooms
- type of meat of choice
Step 2-Preparation of the dough
Put the flour, yeast, salt and oregano in a deep bowl. Add the milk, egg yolk and olive oil. Slowly add the water, stirring constantly. Knead the dough until it starts to separate from the walls of the bowl and from your hands (5-7 minutes). Then cover the bowl with a towel and let it stand for 2-3 hours at room temperature. During this time, the dough will double in volume.
Step 3-Preparing the sauce for the pizza
Do not use fresh tomatoes or ketchup. To prepare the sauce, mash peeled canned tomatoes and season them with salt, black pepper, fresh basil and incense (to taste). Instead of canned tomatoes, you can use homemade tomato sauce.
Step 4-Preparing the pizza
Brush the bottom and sides of a baking tray with a little oil. Take part of the dough in the form of a ball, and do not try to roll it, but place it directly in the center of the baking sheet. With your fingers, gently press the dough, slowly stretching it from the center to the sides of the pan.
The oven should be preheated to maximum temperature with the top and bottom heaters on. Put the pizza to bake. The baking time is 5-10 minutes. You will know the pizza is ready when the dough turns golden. After you take it out, put a few leaves of fresh basil on top of the pizza and serve it.
Good appetite!
The beauty of pizza is that you can experiment endlessly. Don’t limit yourself and find your ideal pizza.
One idea is that 1-2 minutes before you take the pizza out of the oven, you can crack an egg in the center, add grated Parmesan or put an olive.
As a rule, pizza is baked for 2 minutes at 500°C, but home ovens do not support such temperatures. There are even pizza masters who use ovens with a much higher temperature and their baking time is 35-40 seconds. The short baking time aims to prevent the dough from absorbing the rest of the ingredients.
You can add egg yolk to the dough to give it a golden-yellow color, but that’s your choice.
