Pizza alla Norma by Francesco Spataro

Although the city of Napoli claims the paternity of modern pizza, the pizza was around long before. It is not an easy task to either track down its origins or place them in a precise point in history. Various sources report the existence of something similar to a pizza centuries ago around the Mediterranean Sea.

The word pizza came from “pinsa” a conjugation of the Latin verb “pinsere” which means to squash, which most likely derives from the Greek word “pita” a Mediterranean kind of flat bread present in the Balkans and Mediterranean.

It has been reported that during the Roman Empire, which over the centuries from Europe stretched through the Middle East and Asia, the Roman legions used to have some kind of bread that they cooked in a rudimental clay wood fire oven, and then topped it with lard, meat, herbs and any other ingredients they could find in the many different regions of the empire. The original pizza was therefore, initially this plain bread base simply topped with herbs or some kind of cheese. Tomato sauce based pizza came after the discovery of the Americas, when tomatoes were first brought to Europe and then entered the Italian cuisine.

Before the unification of Italy in 1861 Southern Italy, in particularly Sicily, due to its strategic position in the Mediterranean sea was the epicentre of the commercial and cultural exchanges and therefore subjected to numerous dominations by different populations amongst which the Greeks, the Arabs, the Normans and the Spanish. Naples and Sicily were under the same kingdom “regno dei Borboni’.

Pizza was initially food for poor people; it was simple with minimal ingredients. In the late 1700′s aristocrats began to appreciate this unique dish, especially in Naples where the royals resided.

Finally in 1889 after the unification of Italy during the visit in Naples of the queen Margherita of Savoy the Neapolitan  pizzaiolo (pizza chef) Raffaele Esposito had the brilliant idea to combine the tomato sauce (red) the mozzarella (white) and the basil (green) to honour the Italian flag and named it after the queen. The “modern pizza” was born.

Thanks to Italian migrants world-wide pizza has become a renowned dish.

Styles of pizza in Italy today:

Pizza is an Italian food predominantly from Southern Italy, although present in any part of the country, each region developed its own style and unique recipes.

The two main styles of pizza ‘al piatto’ or ‘tonda’ (round) today are:

• “alla romana” or Roman, this style of pizza is round very thin and crispy the dough is usually prepared with olive oil and it’s stretched with the help of a rolling pin.
• “alla napoletana ” or “verace” pizza napoletana, this style of pizza is the pizza I like the most, the dough is very delicate and does not contain any oil or fat, the dough is stretched by hands only and baked rigorously in a wood fired brick oven for no more than 90 seconds at over 450 degrees Celsius. There are rules that must be followed when preparing this style of pizza. From February 2010 Neapolitan pizza is “STG” (specialita’ tradizionale garantita) Traditional Specialty Guaranteed in Europe.

These rules are in place to protect the origin of the product as well its unique characteristics.

The main ingredients of basic pizza dough are the following: Flour, water, salt, yeast

Flours

In Italy we have a general classification for flour; Usually the type of flour used to bake pizza are type “0″ or doppio zero  “00″ flour. The flour that I use for my pizza is a “00″ di grano tenero (soft wheat).

Another important factor is the strength (gluten content) of the flour that in Italy is measured with the “w” index scale and also the absorption point which will determine the percentage of water to use in your dough.

It’s very important to know the characteristics of the flour, different kind of dough and different techniques require different kind of flour. It’s very important to choose the right flour depending on the final product you want to obtain and the time between the preparation and the cooking.

I prefer and recommend allowing at least 24 hrs from the time the dough is mixed to the time the pizza is cooked, placing it in a dough refrigerator. This longer time frame will generally help your dough to “mature”, giving more time to the yeast to grow and perform its task in “digesting” the sugars contained in the flour creating CO2 gas. The result is a lighter fragrant and digestible final product.

It’s a common mistake to confuse rising and maturation, although both are part of the fermentation process and related to each other. it’s important to understand how they will affect the final product. It is also a great mistake the excessive use of yeast in the pizza dough production and any acceleration of the process itself. Good things take time to be made!

Proper rise and mature dough is a key ingredient to quality pizza.

Water

Water also play a great role in the baking process, different regions in Italy got different sources of water, mostly from underground springs. Underground soil and rocks change water chemical and physical characteristics. Just think that Naples sits on volcanic soil (Mt.Vesuvio)

Salt

Use extra fine sea salt.

Yeast

You can use a commercial yeast (dry or fresh) a natural yeast (or sourdough) or a combination of both. I’m currently using a combination of commercial yeast and a homemade sourdough. Overall the use of sourdough tends to produce a lighter and more fragrant final product with unique characteristics.

Cooking method: wood fired oven

Traditional Italian pizza (especially Neapolitan style) must be cooked in a wood fire brick oven.
A wood fire oven if properly used due to its design will cook the pizza in a faster uniform and better way and in a shorter time than any other “modern” oven today on the market.

That’s because of the heat stored in the dense walls and its dome design.

In a wood fire oven the pizza is cooked by contact (placing the pizza directly on the oven floor) and by a live flame which projects the heat across the dome very evenly. A good oven will also absorb the excess of moisture preventing the pizza from burning and conferring it a great colour and unique fragrances. A good oven will cook a pizza in less than 2 minutes.

In Italy especially in the south wood fire ovens are part of the tradition and a must have in any pizzeria, people are very fussy about their pizza and yes, we can spot the difference between a pizza cooked in a wood fire oven and one cooked in a gas or electric oven.

I built my first wood fire oven at the age of 14 in my house in Catania Sicily.

Recipe: Pizza alla Norma (Norma Pizza) – on the menu @ Aperitivo Leichardt

This pizza is based on the pasta alla Norma recipe, which is a traditional dish from the town of Catania Sicily, invented in Catania to celebrate Vincenzo Bellini’s opera masterpiece La Norma. (V. Bellini 1801-1835 opera composer from Catania). Key ingredients: lightly fried eggplants and sheep salted ricotta (for grating).
Pizza dough

Ingredients:

• 1 litre water
• 3/4 gram fresh yeast
• 1600/1800gr doppio zero “oo” soft wheat flour (depending of the flour strength and absorption point)
• 50gr sea salt

Method:

1. Mix the dough in a mixer at low speed
2. Put the dough on a bench, cover it with a wet towel , then start to form the dough balls (approx 200/250gr each)
3. Put the dough balls in a sealed container avoiding air exposure. 
Depending on the flour strength, environment and temperature, the dough should be ready to use in approx. 6 to 24 hr (if storing in a refrigerator).

Pizza toppings

Ingredients for one pizza, (standard Italian size 30/32 cm);

• 1/2 large eggplant
• 70/100 gr. fresh crushed tomatoes sauce
• 250gr pizza dough
• E.v.o.o. for cold dressing
• 50 gr (imported) salted sheep ricotta for grating
• Fresh basil

Method:

1. Slice the eggplants about 8mm thick
2. Sprinkle some salt on top and place them in a strainer. Put a weight on top in order to remove the excess moisture (it also helps to reduce bitterness) for approx 2hrs.
3. Remove from the strainer and dry with a clean cloth,  then pan fry till nice golden/brown color
4. Use absorbent paper towels or a strainer to remove any excess oil.

Creating and cooking the pizza:

1. Pre heat the wood fire oven to approx 450deg.
2. Gently stretch the pizza dough balls hands on a marble bench using some white flour (“oo” or similar)
using a spoon
3. Put the fresh crushed tomato sauce on the pizza base and a touch of e.v.o.o.
4. Cook the pizza till golden color (approx 90 sec at 450 deg)
5. Next, top the pizza with the eggplants , fresh basil and e.v.o.o.
finally grate 50/60 grams of salted ricotta on top with a course grain grater.