Pizza & Bread Archives - Very EATalian

Soft Focaccia with Radicchio, Speck, and Burrata

December 2, 2019 By very EATalian 2 Comments

My mom is the “focaccia master” of the family. She has fiddled with several recipes over the years, and we were always more than happy to be on the receiving end of her baking experiments. Her standard way to receive guests is serving small squares of warm soft focaccia right next to a very large plate of freshly sliced prosciutto from San Daniele. HEAVEN.

She usually doesn’t go beyond adding a few olives or a few sprigs of rosemary on top. As simple and inviting as it is, I really wanted to try and take her focaccia to another level…And I think I did!

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Pizza Margherita with Cherry Tomatoes

March 18, 2015 By very EATalian Leave a Comment

I’m a firm believer there’s only one pizza deserving of the name: a light, thin-crust pizza topped with just enough quality ingredients. No fancy deep dish pie, with cheese-filled crust or multi-layered toppings can compare to the wonderful, simple, and tasty delight of a traditional Italian pizza.

Now that you know how particular I am about this Italian “sacred food”, you’ll also be able to understand how frustrating it was for me to find a legitimate pizza once I left Italy. When my husband and I arrived here, we initially tried a couple of restaurants claiming to serve the real Italian-style pizza. After tasting entirely burnt crusts and too-plastic-to-be-real-mozzarella, I decided it was just time to improve my own home-made pizza recipe.

Believe it or not, even for the average Italian home cook it’s quite hard to achieve a crust similar to the one you’d taste at a pizzeria–one with a great wood oven to give the crust incredible flavor and texture. Unfortunately, I’m a regular person with a regular kitchen…and no plans for installing a commercial pizza oven. However, after a bit of research and a couple of adjustments, I think I’ve managed to achieve a pretty legit home-style pizza.

There are a few tricks you need to know and I included them in the recipe below. I didn’t bother adding a bunch of toppings; for good pizza you just need a couple of high-quality ingredients. The key is keeping it simple!

PIZZA MARGHERITA WITH CHERRY TOMATOES
Servings: 2 | Prep time: 20 min | Rest time: 2 hours | Bake time: 16 min

NOTE: In this recipe I used two different types of flour. You can use just one, as long as you keep the same ratio of flour/water (250 g/150 ml). Once again, I recommend using a digital scale to achieve best results!

Recommended equipment: 15″ pizza stone

INGREDIENTS
200 g (7 oz) finely milled Italian flour (Tipo “00”) or all-purpose flour
50 g (1.8 oz) whole wheat flour
150 ml (5 oz) lukewarm water
3.5 gr (1/2 packet) active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp salt for the sauce
200 ml (6.7 oz) unsalted strained tomatoes — the best quality you can find
a sprinkle of dry oregano
200 g (7 oz) mozzarella cheese (ovoline or bocconcini), drained and shredded — the best quality you can find
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
10-12 basil leaves

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in a glass of lukewarm water. Sift the flour in a medium-sized bowl and add the yeast/water/sugar mixture in it. Work the dough with your hands and knead until all ingredients are well incorporated. Add salt.
2. Take the dough onto a clean work surface and start kneading until it reaches a soft, elastic, and smooth texture. Take the dough and bang it on the work surface, about 6-7 times. Form the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl, covered with a clean dishtowel. Let it rest for 2 hours in a dry place.
3. While the dough is resting, prepare the tomato sauce by combining the strained tomatoes with 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of sugar and a sprinkle of oregano.
4. After the dough has rested, turn oven to 450°F. Dust the pizza stone generously with flour. Take the dough, form a small disk with your hands and start pulling out the sides, stretching it until it covers the whole pizza stone [don’t overwork it!]
5. Spread the tomato sauce on the pizza dough with a spoon, leaving an edge for the crust. Bake for about 8 minutes.
6. Remove pizza from the oven, sprinkle the shredded mozzarella on top and bake pizza for 6 more minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and add cherry tomato halves, cut side-up. Bake for 2 more minutes, until the mozzarella is lightly brown-colored and the crust is golden.
8. Remove pizza from the oven. Add fresh basil leaves on top and let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Buon appetito!

-Lisa

Basic Bread

February 2, 2014 By very EATalian

Is there a better way to start a blog about Italian food other than with the most basic recipe for Italian bread? In my family, bread has always been one of the key elements on the table. It’s always there, in its own little basket, ready to be torn into pieces to accompany the meal, or to be used as a soft, yet crunchy surface for a delicate slice of prosciutto crudo.

Since my family and I used to live a bit far from the town’s center, the main bakery delivered fresh bread to us and other families in the neighborhood every day. The bakery van would drop off a bunch of brown paper bags full of bread of all kinds at the house of signora Catina, a 2 minutes’ walk from my old house. Walking there to fetch our bread was one of my summertime chores. It was easy to tell our bag apart from the others from far away, as it was the biggest one with a French baguette sticking out.

After several years, the bakery stopped delivering bread, and eventually my mother decided it was just better to make our own bread. This turned out to the best idea ever. Have you ever lived in a house that smells like fresh baked bread, 4 days a week? Oh my gosh, it’s like living in heaven. It’s one of the most comforting and compelling aromas I know. It’s the smell of plenty and love.

Shortly after I arrived in the States, I realized I missed the delicious scent of my mother’s bread pervading the house. It didn’t take long until I decided to follow my mother’s steps and start baking bread regularly. Here I’m sharing one of the most basic recipes. The sky’s the limit when it comes to bread. Different types of flour, longer resting times, and the addition of ingredients such as olive oil or seeds yield a variety of textures and flavors.

There are many ways to use bread. My favorite? Fare la “scarpetta”–cleaning up the sauce from your plate with a piece of bread. I realize it isn’t very classy…but why would you let so much goodness go to waste?

BASIC BREAD
Yield: 1 big loaf (12 slices) | Prep time: 2 hrs | Baking time: 30-40 min
Note: This recipe requires a scale.

INGREDIENTS
500 gr (1.1 lb) Italian “00” flour or all-purpose flour
300 ml (10 oz) lukewarm water
7 gr (1 packet) active dry yeast
8 gr (1 1/2 tsp) salt
12 gr (3 tsp) granulated sugar

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar together in a glass of lukewarm water. Sift the flour in a medium-sized bowl and add the yeast/water/sugar mixture in it. Work the dough with your hands until all ingredients are incorporated.
2. Take the dough onto a clean working surface and start kneading. Add salt. Keep on kneading for about 10 minutes, until it reaches a soft, slightly sticky, smooth texture. Take the dough and bang it on the counter, 6-7 times. Score a cross on the dough ball and place in a bowl, covered by a clean dishtowel. Let it rest for an hour in a dry place.
3. Once the dough has risen in volume, give it the shape you prefer without working it too much. Transfer it onto a baking tray, cover it again, and let it rest for 40 more minutes.
4. Turn your oven to 425°F.
5. Make a couple of incisions on the top of the loaf and dust the surface with some flour, spreading it with your hands. Bake in the oven until it reaches a nice golden color (about 30-40 minutes). If you’d like to get a very crunchy crust, you can glaze it by lightly spraying the bread surface with some water, for a couple of times while it’s baking.
6. Test for doneness by tapping the bottom (if it sounds empty, it’s done).
7. Remove it from the oven and place it on a cooling rack.

Buon appetito!
-Lisa