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How to make pizza like a Neapolitan master

bbc.com

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Re: How to make pizza like a Neapolitan master

#261

Post by skosch »

I have found that the key to getting the dough really stretchy is the autolyse part: first mix ~⅔ of the flour/yeast with all of the water to make something like a pancake batter, stir for a few minutes, and let that sit for at least 20 minutes. Then add in the rest of the flour, knead, and let rest overnight.

This isn't mentioned in the linked BBC article, but both http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm and http://www.perfekte-pizza.de/ swear by it, and I think it has made a noticeable difference to my dough.

Re: How to make pizza like a Neapolitan master

#262

Post by fsckboy »

oldandboring wrote: post #65
keiferski wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really wish this wine meme would die. Essentially every test done to ‘prove’ that there’s no difference between cheap and expensive wines has had two massive flaws: 1. The label of ‘wine expert’ is left undefined. True sommeliers have spent thousands of hours studying wine and are not the same thing as a guy that takes a weekend wine-tasting course and gets a certificate. Yet most ‘studies’ fail to mention this. Ju…

I've thought about what must happen to a master sommelier's "blind taste" skills once they've passed the exam and no longer need to practice that skill on a regular basis. My assumption is that, like with any specialist, that skill gets rusty if not used, and that the more important everyday skills in that job revolve around their knowledge of wine, ability to suggest good pairings, and customer service.

the wine director (the exalted sommelier who gets to buy the wine that is sold/served) in a high quality restaurant has both passed the exam and works every day literally tasting wines. They get better at it, not worse, and the best of them create lists of quality and diversity that offer them opportunities to taste that are simply not available to anybody else, especially not to a lowly student.

Re: How to make pizza like a Neapolitan master

#263

Post by kelw22 »

lisper wrote: post #126

I can't speak to pizza, but I have an espresso story to tell. One of my favorite things about going to Italy is the quality of the coffee. I really like extreme dark roast (your typical American diner coffee doesn't even count as coffee in my book). In Italy you can go into pretty much any coffee shop and come away with a top-quality espresso. (Don't even get me started on Starbucks.) It's a taste I inherited from my…

“ It was all acidic and awful, probably because the machine had never been cleaned since it was installed god-only-knows how many years before.”

This. This was your problem. I have a $2k Rocket Milano (not the fanciest, but not bad), and I clean it thoroughly every couple weeks. It makes a world of difference each time I do, and the first pulls after putting in the effort are wonderful.

Of course, I also spent nearly a year before I found decent beans near me.

Cheers and good luck!

Re: How to make pizza like a Neapolitan master

#264

Post by boris »

flyinglizard wrote: post #182
boris wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Second that. As much as I want to believe a $10k La Marzocco is absolutely essential to good espresso, a $100 Nespresso machine and Kazaar roast is the best espresso I've ever had.

You should try their Inspirazione Napoli roasts if you haven’t. Wonderful.

Yes, just tried it the other day and it's great. Not a hint of acidity. Now need to decide which one I like best.

Re: How to make pizza like a Neapolitan master

#265

Post by carlob »

ricardobeat wrote: post #255
carlob wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes! Pizza stone! Best 12 euros I've ever spent. This[0] is the kind of results I'm able to get in a normal Ikea electric oven that maxes out at 250 C. Another thing you can do with it is experiment with a Weber-like barbecue... [0] https://imgur.com/a/7MDWyv4

Do you pre-cook the base? At the point the crust would start looking like that, my cheese would be extremely dried out.

Mozzarella goes in 2 minutes before I pull it out, I'm pretty sure this was also a suggestion in the article above.

Re: How to make pizza like a Neapolitan master

#266

Post by TeMPOraL »

bsder wrote: post #240
TeMPOraL wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given the stories I hear from pretty much everyone in my circle who's been to the US, there's a general problem with food there tasting bland, in comparison to Europe. Like others, I suspect the ingredients in the States are worse for some reason (perhaps they've been optimized too much for shelf life).

Send them to Santa Fe. Bland will NOT be your problem. However, you have to understand that a lot of the US really doesn't deal well with food that isn't bland--a holdover from WWII rationing and canned foods, probably. IIRC, McDonalds(?) went through a huge engineering process to attempt to add an ingredient to their pipeline. They found that adding cucumber was fine, but avocado was a step too far for the midwest.

> McDonalds(?) went through a huge engineering process to attempt to add an ingredient to their pipeline. They found that adding cucumber was fine, but avocado was a step too far for the midwest.

That's something I'd love to read in more details about. Personally, I'd say avocado is a step too far in anything that isn't fruit salad. But so is (pickled) cucumber. I wish they'd remove it from their burgers altogether. The reasoning is, pickled cucumber overwhelms everything else with its sour flavor. McD burgers I experienced (in several countries, Europe and Asia) have a balanced composition of tastes, and that slice of cucumber there is as if someone threw a grenade into it. I usually hunt it down and eat it with my first bite, so that I can enjoy the rest of the burger in peace.

Re: How to make pizza like a Neapolitan master

#267

Post by yomly »

xchip wrote: post #7

Please ignore all these experts, all they want is to make you feel special because you drink/eat their stuff. Above a certain threshold one cannot tell the difference between good and very good. Wine tasters know it and it has been very well documented. When it comes to flavours, as long as it doesn't harm you, your judgement is as good as anybody else.

I mulled on this comment for a day - your comment saddens me. That said, your ultimate takeaway is sound - do whatever makes you happy, don't rely on others to validate what you should or shouldn't enjoy.

>Please ignore all these experts, all they want is to make you feel special because you drink/eat their stuff.

But if this isn't cynicism for effect and is your true outlook on life I would encourage you to spend some time with any master of something and have them describe in detail to you the things they are seeing in a fellow master doing the same thing.

This could be anything - sports, music, art, acting, chess, video games...

What you will probably see is the master picking up on all sorts of imperceptible details that seem so subtle that they seem like bullshit. Then try going deep on that same thing, learn it for yourself. Eventually you will reach a stage where you will suddenly discover firsthand how little you know about that skill and how big the world above you is in skill and detail.

Then eventually you will appreciate that this is true for almost every other disciplines and there myriad worlds of hidden detail that you never noticed or appreciated that creators have slaved over. Things that you only notice but can't put your finger on when you compare a pro to an amateur.

Is Monet just dabs on a canvas? Federer just hitting a ball? Is Daigo just a lucky guesser at Street Fighter? Is Mitsuko Uchida just more stuffy and pretentious than your street busker?

Granted, there's a lot of snake oil in food and wine because there's money to be made but don't let that theatre close you off categorically to the world of food (and wine).

Re: How to make pizza like a Neapolitan master

#268

Post by dep_b »

sevencolors wrote: post #209
gregkerzhner wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know much about espresso, but the pourover coffee I make at home is certainly much higher quality than a Keurig machine. The beans are the most important part - you should get them roasted within the last few weeks. Even the fanciest pourover funnel costs only 50 dollars, but you can certainly get by with a cheap plastic one for a few bucks. If you want to go full hipster, you will also need a temperature con…

Last month I got a simple pour over setup that's not full-hipster. Coffee is 10x better than a Keurig or instant coffee. Both of which i have. Maybe it's partially being trapped in house but it's bordering on better than the coffee shops nearby. Setup: Hario v60 ~ $20 Pour Over Filter ~ $10 Grinder - $30 (already had) Kitchen Scale - $10 (already had) This guide is a good start: https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/brew-g…

Having a water cooker that is accurate up to the degree is essential too. I'm experimenting with different temperatures and it's a huge difference. Some coffee is nicer at 91c, some of it is better at 93c.

Re: How to make pizza like a Neapolitan master

#269

Post by dep_b »

CraneWorm wrote: post #132
lisper wrote: post #126

I can't speak to pizza, but I have an espresso story to tell. One of my favorite things about going to Italy is the quality of the coffee. I really like extreme dark roast (your typical American diner coffee doesn't even count as coffee in my book). In Italy you can go into pretty much any coffee shop and come away with a top-quality espresso. (Don't even get me started on Starbucks.) It's a taste I inherited from my…

> It is still a mystery to me how the Italians manage to produce such consistently good coffee I thought they use moka pots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot Easy to clean, easy to use, doesn't burn the coffee, like a percolator inevitably will.

Hmmm burns the coffee easily when used wrong. You need to be right there to control the temperature and cool it off immediately once the water runs out.

Re: How to make pizza like a Neapolitan master

#270

Post by 0-_-0 »

ThePhysicist wrote: post #17
JackMcMack wrote: post #3

My favorite read on pizza: http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm

Damn, he bakes those at 825F (440 °C), which unfortunately is unattainable with most regular home ovens. Mine e.g. maxes out at 300 °C so it's not hot enough to let the crust rise significantly and produce a nicely charred underside, at least not before completely burning the top. What I'm currently experimenting with to solve this problem is to put the pizza on a flat, heavy and preheated iron pan or plancha and hea…

I heard good things about the baking steel:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bakingsteel/baking-stee...

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