THE NEW PIZZA
Stefano Manfredi scoured the pizzerie of Italy in the name of research and came back to Australia with fresh takes on how to make pizza a smash at home.
Stefano Manfredi scoured Italy in the name of research and came back with fresh takes on how to make pizza a smash at home..
While Italy, and more precisely Naples, is where it began, there’s no doubt pizza now belongs to the world. But something exciting is happening in pizza’s spiritual home. What I call the “new wave” of pizza has been gaining momentum in Italy over the past decade.
I’ve been researching pizza in Italy for many years now and I’ve noticed a huge change in the way it’s made at every step of the process. This has been led by chefs and pizzaioli whose curiosity and eye for quality has led them back to the fundamental building blocks of pizza-making, from the growing of the grain and the milling process to temperatures, fermentation and maturation times for the dough.
Much like the movement away from industrial white bread towards artisan loaves, it’s a look back as well as a step forward – a movement that returns to pizza’s origins before industrial flour milling, while at the same time using modern advances in stone-milling, machinery and oven technologies.
New Pizza will take the reader through what we do at my pizzeria, Pizzaperta Manfredi in Sydney. I’ve been a chef, running restaurants of the highest quality, for more than 30 years. I’ve studied the methods and procedures of some of the protagonists of the new-wave pizza movement in Italy and this book is the result.
My hope is that it will guide home cooks and professionals alike to explore the possibilities of pizza-making and to take pizza back to what it once was – a healthy and delicious fast food.
Basic pizza dough: direct method
“The direct method for producing pizza dough is the easiest because all the ingredients are mixed together at about the same time,” says Stefano Manfredi. “This is the method most pizza-makers use because it’s simple and quick. For our recipes, however, we extend the maturation phase of the dough in the refrigerator so the cooked pizza is easily digested and the flavour of the wheat maximised. Using an unrefined, stone-ground whole-wheat (not wholemeal) flour is important because less yeast is needed for fermentation and the maturation phase is thus more effective.”
Manfredi recommends Wallaby brand T55 flour, available from select supermarkets.
Dried yeast dough
“This pizza dough, for making the round, Naples-style pizza, is made using readily available dried yeast, which gives very consistent results,” says Stefano Manfredi. “Each 250gm ball of dough will make one 30cm pizza.”
Makes 6 (250gm each)
1 kg (6⅔ cups) unbleached, stoneground whole-wheat flour or strong bread flour 550 ml water, at room temperature
2 gm (¾ tsp) dried yeast
20 gm sea salt
1½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Place the flour and 500ml water in an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Begin mixing on low speed and knead until the flour has absorbed all the water but isn’t completely smooth (3-4 minutes). Turn off the mixer and let the dough rest in the bowl for 15-20 minutes.
2 Dissolve the yeast in the remaining water. Once the dough has rested, turn the mixer on to medium and add the dissolved yeast. Mix for 2 minutes, then add the salt, knead for 2 minutes, then add the olive oil. Keep kneading until the dough is shiny and smooth (about 6 minutes). Increase the speed a little and knead for another 2 minutes. A good way to check the elasticity is to stretch a piece of dough and if it forms a strong, transparent membrane without breaking (similar to blowing a bubble with gum), it’s ready.
3 Let the dough sit, covered with plastic wrap, for 30 minutes in winter or 15 minutes in summer. The dough is now ready to be shaped into balls and then rested further in the refrigerator before shaping into discs according to the instructions on the opposite page.
Roman-style pizza basic dough
“Roman-style pizza is a focaccia-like pizza, cooked in a rectangular tray,” says Manfredi. “It’s light, full of large bubbles and can be filled or topped with many ingredients. Roman-style pizza doesn’t require a wood-fired oven, but traditionally is cooked in a deck oven at almost half the temperature of wood-fired pizza.
Makes 3 large pizze (550gm each)
1 kg unbleached, stoneground whole-wheat flour or strong bread flour
3.5 gm (1¼ tsp) dried yeast
650 ml water, at room temperature
½ tsp caster sugar
25 ml extra-virgin olive oil
20 gm sea salt
1 Place the flour in an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Dissolve the yeast in 100ml water and add to the flour along with caster sugar and another 400ml water.
2 Turn the mixer to its lowest setting and knead for about 2 minutes until the water is totally absorbed. Add the oil and salt and mix in. Double the speed of the mixer and slowly add the remaining water, a little at a time, only adding more when the previous amount has been absorbed. The mixture will look quite wet, but don’t worry – continue mixing for 8-10 minutes and you’ll see that gradually the dough will begin to stretch and form long gluten strands.
3 Rest the dough for 10 minutes in the mixer bowl, then fold and leave to mature in the refrigerator. Form into 3 sheets according to the instructions on the opposite page.
Shaping the round base
1 Once dough is ready to be shaped, cut off a long piece from the edge with a bench scraper. The dough will feel soft, airy and malleable.
2 Take the piece of dough at one end and, using both hands, form a ball of 200gm-250gm. Work by tucking the folds under the ball so that the top is taut and smooth (see image 1).
3 Pinch the dough underneath the formed ball to separate it from the long piece of dough. Repeat to make more balls.
4 Roll each ball gently on the work surface to make it even and round. Place the balls on a covered non-stick tray. Make sure there’s at least a ball’s width between each ball and the edges of the tray and that the balls don’t touch the cover (prop up the cover using a few glasses). Lightly hydrate the surface of the balls with a fine spray of water and leave to rise for 1 hour at 20C-24C, then refrigerate for at least 12 hours. The balls can sit in the refrigerator at around 4C-5C for up to 3 days.
5 Once the dough has matured and tripled in size, remove from the refrigerator and leave at room temperature for 3-4 hours (less in summer and more in winter) before forming the bases. Take a ball of dough and lightly sprinkle some flour on top and along the edges where it touches the surrounding balls.
6 Use a bench scraper to separate the dough ball from its neighbours. Lift the dough ball from the tray and turn bottom-side up, revealing the bubbles. Place the dough ball, still bottom-side up, on a small mound of flour and turn it over in the flour so that both sides are covered.
7 Begin by using your fingers to form a cornice (a raised border) and push the dough out from the centre, making the round larger.
8 Once it has doubled in circumference, remove from the flour and place on the work surface.
9 Keeping one hand on one side of the base, gently stretch the opposite side with the other hand and lift and slap the dough round from side to side, turning the base. This will stretch the gluten in the dough and the base will get larger and larger (see image 2).
10 Once stretched to the desired size (our pizze are around 30cm in diameter), place base back on the work surface and neaten. The base is now ready to dress with the toppings and then bake.
Shaping the Roman-style base
1 Once the dough has been briefly rested, it needs to be folded a few times to give it strength. Oil your hands with a teaspoonful of extra-virgin olive oil, then lightly oil the work surface. Tip the dough out onto the work surface. Lift it gently in the centre and fold the ends under (or over) to meet in the middle to form pockets of air
(see image 3)
2 Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the fold. Return to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and rest for 15 minutes, then fold again. Rest for another 15 minutes, then do a final fold as before. Place the dough in an oiled plastic container with an airtight lid and refrigerate for 18-24 hours to mature.
3 Once the dough has matured, turn out onto the work surface. Divide the dough into 3 pieces. 4 Shape each piece of dough by placing your hands under the outer edges and sliding under, pulling some dough with you to meet in the middle. The aim is to create tension in the dough. Repeat several times until the dough has a ball-like shape.
5 Fold and gather with your fingers at the edge of each piece of dough, bringing the ball towards you by dragging it across the bench. This will eventually make the ball even and smooth. The dough balls should be left to rise again in 3 oiled containers for 2 hours at room temperature.
6 Oil a 30cm-40cm oven tray or baking tray with extra-virgin olive oil.
7 Place flour on the work surface and turn out a piece of dough. Begin to press gently on the surface of the dough with your fingers, stretching it to roughly fit the size of the tray.
8 Transfer the dough to the baking tray, gently supporting the dough with as much of your arms as possible. Stretch the dough gently to fit and then make delicate indents on the surface with your fingers.
9 Sprinkle some extra-virgin olive oil on the surface and then gently spread it with your fingers (see image 4). The pizza is now ready to be dressed with toppings or to go directly into the oven to be pre-cooked.
Cooking round pizze
“Once they’re shaped and topped, here’s how to cook your round pizze,” says Manfredi.
IN A WOOD-FIRED OVEN
With the floor temperature between 360C-400C a pizza will take around 90 seconds to cook. Some pizzaioli cook at temperatures up to 450C and this takes less time. The pizza is put directly on to the oven floor to cook, thereby getting an immediate “lift”.
IN A DOMESTIC OVEN
Find a large terracotta tile that fits on your oven rack. Place the rack on the bottom rung of your oven and the tile on top, giving you plenty of room above to manipulate the pizza. Turn to full heat without using any fan-forced function and let the oven run for at least 20 minutes to heat the tile completely. When the pizza is ready, use a floured paddle to take it from the bench to the tile. Close the oven immediately.
At 250C-280C a pizza takes 3-5 minutes to cook. It will have a crisp, bread-like texture and should be no less delicious than the wood-fired version.
Cooking Roman-style pizze
Roman-style pizza is often pre-cooked. The cooked dough can be kept in the fridge and brought out, topped and heated in the oven when needed.
Preheat the oven to 250C without fan.
Take the sheet of Roman-style pizza dough and if the dough has risen excessively press down gently with the tips of your fingers to make small indentations.
Bake the pizza in the oven for 11-14 minutes. If it’s browning more on one side, your oven is not even and the tray may need to be turned.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and let cool a little before dressing with toppings or allow to cool completely if using later. The base can be wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.>
Sicilian capers and anchovies
“This is the pizza for the anchovy lover,” says Manfredi. “It combines all those salty, sea-breezy flavours of the Mediterranean. Remember to use the best ingredients, especially when it comes to the capers. They should be salted, not pickled.”
Makes 1
80 gm (⅓ cup) canned San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes (see note)
250 gm ball of basic pizza dough, shaped
100 gm fior di latte or buffalo mozzarella
2 tbsp salted capers (preferably Sicilian), soaked and rinsed
6 large or 12 small anchovy fillets 12 Gaeta olives, pitted (see note)
2-3 pinches of best-quality dried oregano Pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Place a large tile in the oven and preheat oven at highest heat with the fan off for at least 20 minutes.
2 Crush the tomatoes by hand and spread onto the shaped pizza base, leaving a 3cm-4cm border. Thinly slice the fior di latte and place evenly over the tomato. Scatter with the capers, arrange the anchovies and olives evenly over the tomato and scatter with oregano. Season with a little salt and place the pizza in the oven for 3-5 minutes until cooked, turning to get an even colour. Once out of the oven, drizzle the pizza with olive oil, cut into slices and serve.
Note San Marzano tomatoes are a variety of plum tomato. If they’re unavailable, substitute canned Roma-style tomatoes. Gaeta olives are medium-sized black olives from south of Rome, renowned for their plump, meaty texture and excellent tart, salty flavour. Substitute Kalamata olives. All these ingredients are available from select Italian delicatessens.
Roman pizza with vitello tonnato
“I love vitello tonnato with crusty bread, so this Roman pizza is a favourite,” says Manfredi. “My method of preparing it uses an improvised sous-vide, or low-temperature water bath, to cook the veal. If you have a sous-vide set-up, better still. It results in juicy, pink meat with lots of flavour.”
Makes 8 filled Roman pizze
1 sheet of Roman-style pizza dough,
pre-cooked and cut into 8 squares
8 Treviso radicchio leaves, cut into strips
Vitello tonnato
1 veal girello (about 600gm-800gm), cut into 2 equal pieces (see note)
80 ml ( 1/3 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
100 ml dry white wine
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
2 bay leaves
2 small parsley stalks
2 whole cloves
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
150 gm canned tuna, drained and roughly chopped
4 anchovy fillets, drained and roughly chopped
250 gm mayonnaise
25 gm salted capers (preferably Sicilian), soaked and rinsed (see tip)
4 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Fried capers
2 tbsp salted capers, soaked and rinsed Extra-virgin olive oil, for shallow-frying 1 For the vitello tonnato preheat the oven to 60C and place a deep, wide bowl filled two-thirds with water in for at least 30 minutes so the water reaches the same temperature as the oven. Place the pieces of veal in separate snap-lock bags with equal amounts of the extra-virgin olive oil, wine, garlic, bay leaves, parsley, cloves and lemon rind. Season and seal, ensuring the air is squeezed out of the bag. Place each bag in another snap-lock bag, pressing the air out of the second bag as well. Put the bags carefully in the water bath, ensuring they’re submerged. A plate may be needed to keep the bags under the water. Cook for 5 hours. Carefully remove the bowl from the oven, remove the bags and place in a large bowl with plenty of ice and cold water. Cool for 10-15 minutes, then remove veal from bags, strain the juices through muslin and cut the meat into 32 thin slices.
2 To make the sauce, combine tuna and anchovy with 125ml cooled, strained cooking juices and whisk to form a mayonnaise. Add capers and parsley and season with salt if necessary. 3 For the fried capers, pat capers dry with a paper towel. Fill the smallest pan you can find with oil to a depth of 1cm so you’ll use as little oil as possible. Heat until oil begins to shimmer (add a caper – If it sizzles, it’s hot enough). Add capers, fry for 30 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Capers will keep for a few days on paper towel in a sealed container.
4 To assemble, slice each pizza square in half horizontally. Preheat oven to 180C, then place halves back together on a baking tray and heat for 5-6 minutes until crisp on the outside but still soft in the middle. Place the bases on a work surface and top with radicchio strips, then 4 slices of the veal on each and dress with the tuna mayonnaise and some cooled fried capers. Sandwich with the top halves and serve.
Note Veal girello, a cut from the hind leg, is also sold as veal nut. It may need to be ordered ahead from your butcher.>
Hot Calabrese
“This pizza calls for smoked provola cheese and ’nduja, Calabria’s spreadable sausage,” says Manfredi. Makes 1 (pictured p130)
2 Italian-style pork and fennel sausages
1 tbsp ’nduja (see note)
100 gm smoked provola (see note)
250 gm ball of basic pizza dough, shaped 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red or yellow capsicum, trimmed, seeded and sliced into long strips
10 Gaeta olives, pitted (see note)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Place a large tile in the oven and preheat the oven at highest heat for at least 20 minutes.
2 Remove the sausage meat from the casings. Place in a bowl with the ’nduja and mix well with hands or a fork. Thinly slice the smoked provola and scatter evenly on the shaped pizza base, leaving a border of 3cm-4cm.
3 Use a teaspoon to dollop the sausage and ’nduja over the base, and scatter the cherry tomatoes, capsicum slices and olives on top. Season with a pinch of salt. Place the pizza in the oven for 3-5 minutes until cooked, turning to get an even colour. Remove and drizzle with the olive oil. Cut into slices to serve.
Note ’Nduja is a spicy spreadable Calabrian salami. Gaeta olives are medium-sized black olives from south of Rome, renowned for their plump, meaty texture and excellent tart, salty flavour. If they’re unavailable, substitute Kalamata olives. Both are available from select Italian delicatessens. Smoked provola is available from Italian delicatessens and specialist cheese shops.
Roman pizza with cavolo nero frittata and ’nduja
“When my brother and I would come home from school or after playing all day, my mother would make a frittata in what seemed like an instant,” says Manfredi. “It was her quick fix for two hungry boys. As I grew up, my friends at school would have their egg sandwiches and I had my frittata sandwich. This recalls that very sandwich, with the grown-up addition of spicy ’nduja. Tender spinach leaves can be used in place of the cavolo nero.”
Makes 8 filled Roman pizze (pictured p131)
1 sheet of Roman-style pizza dough,
pre-cooked and cut into 8 squares
4 tbsp ’nduja
70 gm young rocket leaves, trimmed
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Cavolo nero frittata
4 large cavolo nero leaves, stems removed 12 large eggs
4 tbsp grated parmesan
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
80 ml ( 1/ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
3
2 small leeks, cut into thin rounds
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 For the cavolo nero frittata, bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the cavolo nero leaves. Boil for 3 minutes, then drain, cool and chop.
2 Crack the eggs into a bowl. Season to taste, beat lightly, then add the parmesan, parsley and cavolo nero. Beat lightly to combine. Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and lightly fry half the leek and garlic until soft. This should take about 2 minutes. Add half the egg mixture to the pan. Lift the edges carefully with a spatula as it cooks. Keep doing this for about 90 seconds, then carefully turn the frittata and cook the other side for a minute or so until the middle feels firm. Allow the frittata to cool in the pan before repeating with the remaining ingredients to make a second frittata.
3 To assemble, slice each pizza square in half horizontally. Preheat oven to 180C, then place the halves back together on a baking tray and heat for 5-6 minutes until crisp on the outside but soft in the middle. Remove from the oven and spread a little ’nduja on the inside of the top halves. Place the bottom halves on serving plates or wooden boards and top with rocket leaves, then a quarter of a frittata. Sprinkle with extra-virgin olive oil, sandwich with the top halves and serve.
“I love using rocket as a cooked ingredient rather than just as a salad leaf. Here it adds colour as well as a spicy note.”
Pancetta, wilted rucola and Taleggio
“Taleggio is a soft washed-rind cheese with a strong flavour from Italy’s Lombardy region,” says Manfredi. “It tones down somewhat when cooked, but the smellier the better. I love using rocket as a cooked ingredient rather than just as a salad leaf. Here it adds colour as well as a spicy note.”
Makes 1
100 gm rocket, stalks removed
100 gm fior di latte or buffalo mozzarella
250 gm ball of basic pizza dough, shaped
1 tbsp grated parmesan
100 gm Taleggio, cut into small cubes
12 slices pancetta
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Place a large tile in the oven and preheat the oven at highest heat for at least 20 minutes.
2 Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the rocket leaves, submerging them using a wooden spoon. Blanch for 2 minutes, drain and cool, then squeeze well to drain excess water and roughly chop.
3 Thinly slice the fior di latte and scatter evenly over the shaped pizza base, leaving a border of 3cm-4cm. Arrange the rocket on the fior di latte and sprinkle the parmesan over everything. Place the pizza in the oven for 3-5 minutes until cooked, turning to get an even colour. Remove from the oven, arrange the Taleggio on top, sprinkle with pepper, drape the pancetta over and drizzle with olive oil. Slice and serve.>