Neapolitan pizzas are distinguished by their thin centers and high edges. Flour, water, salt, and yeast are all that are needed to make the dough. Sourdough is an alternative to yeast.
The Neapolitan Pizza Association (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana), however, clearly states only yeast should be used for the dough. This is a debatable point, as our ancestors had no access to yeast. They used sourdough instead for their pizza. You can also debate the authenticity of our ancestors' ability to make pizza. Pizza is made with a high level of gluten. The gluten is what makes it possible to make the dough thin and stretch it apart. It's also what allows air to get trapped in the dough, creating the open edges with tiny alveoli. This flour with high gluten was never used.
Take a look at Caputo. It started selling wheat flour back in 1924. The use of radioactivity or toxic substances has allowed for the creation of new flour varieties. This enabled faster genetic mutations that resulted in higher yields. You can argue that pizza was made from new flour and modern yeast when it was invented. Because you have fewer variables to manage, yeast is much easier than sourdough. The gluten structure of the dough can be affected by a long fermentation. These factors can easily be controlled using regular yeast.
Neapolitans have always made their pizza dough the night before. This is the key to creating a dough with great flavor. The dough could be baked whole and still taste great. Special enzymes are created by combining cold and room temperature fermentation to create pizza dough that has a complex yet very pleasant taste.
Ingredients for Dough
For a beginner pizza maker, it's surprising how many ingredients are required to make pizza dough. You will need to use a percentage of the flour's mass to determine the quantities of ingredients.
Flour60.00% Warm Water2.0% Salt0.05% Dry yeast and 0.15% Fresh yeastIt's easy to scale up a recipe and make more pizzas by calculating the amount of yeast, salt, or water as percentages in the flour. This is called bakers mathematics. It is very simple to adjust the number of pizzas you want.
For two small pizzas, you'd need 200g flour. You will need more flour, but this is just an illustration. You don't have to worry, the calculator is available later. It would look something like this.
200 grams120 grams warm water4 grams of salt0.1 grams dry yeast and 0.3 grams fresh yeastThe typical Napoli pizza has a final dough mass that weighs in at around 250g.
Choose the flour
Your dough is made up of flour. The right flour can make everything go smoothly, but the wrong flour can cause disaster. An experienced Pizzaiolo will be able to overcome some of the flour deficiencies, but a novice can find this crucial ingredient the difference between great success and disaster.
The rule of thumb is to choose flour rich in protein.
Your bread should have as much protein as you can. Bread flour, also known as all-purpose flour, is what you should look for. The one with the highest protein content is the best. The pizza's properties will be better if the protein is higher. The wheat kernel's nature is the reason. Bread flour is a mixture of the germ of the wheat kernel and its endosperm. The bran is high in fiber, which can cause problems for the gluten matrix you are trying to create. This depends on what type of wheat you use. The endosperm may contain more protein in some types. In Italy, the Tipo 00 bread is commonly used. It's not the Endosperm. Endosperm already provides Caputo bread flour with around 13 grams per 100g. In general, however, you should choose bread flour that is high in protein.
Making the dough
It takes time for the perfect dough to develop more flavor. This is because flour and water are mixed together to start the germination process. Even though the flour has been ground up, the enzymes activated through water will continue to work. Amylase and protease are the two most important enzymes. Amylase will break down your starch and convert it into sugars that are easier to digest (food for yeast). Protease will convert gluten stored in storage into shorter amino acids. You won't see these effects if your yeast is too high. You can make your dough fluffy faster if you use more yeast. You want these reactions to take place and they will take time. If you wait too long, your flour will be broken down and the dough will become sticky and unusable. It is important to find the right balance between too long and too short fermentation.
This recipe was created in the summer. The fermentation process is quicker in summer. A temperature variation of just a few degrees can make the entire process much faster or slower.
Use double the yeast in winter when it is colder (less than 20°C). Summer uses the same values as the recipe. You can adjust the time by using colder or warmer water.
History of Pizza
Pizza has a long history. Flatbreads with toppings were eaten by the ancient Egyptians and Romans. The latter had a similar version of focaccia with oil and herbs to the one we have today. The modern birthplace for pizza is in southwestern Italy's Campania, where the city of Naples is located.
Around 600 B.C., Naples was founded. Naples was founded around 600 B.C. as a Greek settlement. It was a vibrant waterfront city in the 1700s and 1800s. Although technically a kingdom, it was known for its large number of lazzaroni, the working poor. Carol Helstosky is the author of pizza: A global history, and an associate professor of history at The University of Denver.
These Neapolitans needed cheap food that could be eaten quickly. This need was met by pizza--flatbreads with different toppings that can be eaten at street vendors and informal restaurants. Helstosky points out that judges often called the eating habits of Italians 'disgusting'. The tasty toppings that are so popular today include tomatoes, oil, anchovies, garlic, and cheese.
Italy was unified in 1861 and Queen Margherita and King Umberto I visited Naples in 1889. Legend has it that the couple became bored of their constant diet of French haute cuisine, and requested a variety of pizzas from the Pizzeria Brandi in the city, which was established in 1760. Pizza mozzarella was the favorite variety enjoyed by the queen. It is a pizza topped with soft cheese, red tomatoes, and green basil. It is possible that it was not an accident that her favorite pizza featured the colors of Italy's flag. The story goes that pizza Margherita was named after the particular topping combination.
Queen Margherita's blessing could have triggered a nationwide pizza craze in Italy. Pizza would not be known outside of Naples until the 1940s.
Although they were far away, the immigrants from Naples to the United States were making their familiar, delicious pizzas in New York as well as other American cities like St. Louis, Trenton, New Haven, and Boston. Like millions of Europeans who arrived in the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, the Neapolitans came to work in factories. They weren't looking for culinary fame. However, pizza's delicious flavors and aromas began to appeal to non-Neapolitans as well as non-Italians quite quickly.
G. Lombardi's, a pizzeria in Manhattan that was licensed to sell pizza in 1905, was one of the first American pizzerias. The dish was made from scratch or sold by unlicensed sellers before that. Lombardi's is still in business today, but it is no longer located at its 1905 location. John Mariani, a food critic, notes that the oven "has the exact same oven as it did initially." How Italian Cuisine Conquered the World.
The popularity of pizza in America grew as Italian-Americans and their food moved from one place to another, especially after World War II. It was no longer considered an ethnic food but became a popular fast and fun food. There were many regional, non-Neapolitan versions that emerged. These included California-gourmet pizzas with everything from barbecued chicken and smoked salmon.
Pizza from the postwar era finally made it to Italy and other countries. Mariani explains that pizza was adopted by the rest of the world just because it was American, much like blue jeans or rock and roll.
International outposts of American chain restaurants like Domino's or Pizza Hut are flourishing in around 60 countries today. Global pizza toppings reflect local tastes. They can include Gouda cheese from Curacao or hardboiled eggs from Brazil.
Pizza Dough Calculator English
Published: Mon Apr 11 2022
In category Food and nutrition calculators
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