Pizza Making

Last week, my classmates and I had the opportunity to make Napoletana pizza (also known as Neapolitan pizza) at La Nicchia Ristorante & Pizzeria! This type of pizza must follow a few guidelines to be considered “authentic”, such as type of flour, the preparation, the ingredients used, and the type of oven used. The pizza dough must be prepared with 0 or 00, which are very refined types of flours. After the dough is made it has to rest, then it must be kneaded and shaped by hand. The oven must be a wood fired brick oven. The pizza will be baked in this oven at a temperature of 800-900 degrees Fahrenheit for around 90 seconds. For more information about the guidelines, as well as a little history of Napolentana pizza, check out this link: https://bodrumnyc.com/naples-and-pizza-the-story-behind-neapolitan-pizza/.

It was time to get to work! The chef told us the recipe for the pizza dough (included at the end of this post). First, the flour and yeast mixture is mixed in a bowl with water. Then, salt and extra virgin olive oil (we were told if you don’t have extra virgin, don’t even bother making pizza) are added in. The dough can then be dumped onto the table. After kneading the dough, it has to rest for at least three hours. Everyone in my class was able to make their own pizza dough, but instead of waiting for it to rest we got to take it home!

The next step was shaping the pizza dough that the chef had already prepared for us! Shaping the dough was the trickiest part because it is all done by hand. The dough ball is first placed on a table completely covered in corn meal. Then, using our fingertips we had to press the dough into a thin circle. Next, we folded the dough over one hand to pick it up. As it was draped over our hand, we gathered the corn meal into a mound, and placed the dough on top of the mound. We flattened our hands on top of the dough, making sure our fingertips are about an inch away from the edge. Using a motion consisting of stretching and rotating, the dough began to form into a thin circle with a thick edge. After the shaping was completed, it was picked up and dusted off.

Then it was time for toppings! I chose the traditional margherita pizza, but La Nicchia had a huge selection of pizzas to chose from. Once the tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese were added, it was time to cook! My pizza was placed into the 800-900 degree Fahrenheit wood fired brick oven for about 90 seconds. The last step in making my pizza was adding fresh basil to the top. Finally, it was time to eat and enjoy!

Thank you La Nicchia for teaching us how to make amazing Napoletana pizza!