Lately, I have been researching different recipes and methods to reproduce that wonderful pizza crust we eat in Italy (Napoli). It seems that its not as easy as it seems and there is a lot more to it than just dough. I started my search for “pizza dough” as usual on google and end up with a list of the usual sporadic results in which I must sift through and eventually modify my search terms. The result was a recipe that not only made me understand pizza dough, but gave me a good primer on artisanal bread baking all together. Before I read this site, I never thought that bread was worth my time. Jeff Varasano, a resident of Atlanta, USA, has followed his passion for recreating the great pizza at home with regular home equipments. His findings from his extensive research gave me an insight into what I should be looking for in a perfect crust. Crisp and charred outside with a soft and tender inside. It is this double texture impact that we are looking for. According to Jeff, the most important factors in achieving a perfect crust is 1) High heat 2)Kneading technique 3)Yeast culture or sourdough.
Essentially bread is more about method than quality ingredients. Think about all those great breads that were made for the masses. Baguettes, Arabic bread, naan and many more, all were made using easy to find and fairly cheap local ingredients. Keep in mind that it is cheap in their local environments, so French flour in India would be extremely expensive and thus you wouldn’t have authentic baguettes and so forth.
Anyway, my craving for authentic pizza in a country where the bar is as high as a thin crust Pizza Hut meat lover’s pizza meant that I had to spend sleepless nights searching for it (until I smack down my blood sugar with a late night burger). Figuring out the kneading process is not a big deal, even though the right equipments can give far superior results than regular home mixers, but I have to start somewhere. Sourcing the proper yeast culture is a simple mouse click on the screen of some obscure sites. Getting the right heat and we are talking about 450 degrees celcius is very difficult using home ovens. This kind of heat can only be achieved in commercial ovens and best achieved with wood fired ovens. I’m in trouble.
All I had was regular all purpose flour, pizza yeast which I got off the shelf, and a little device called Pizza Pronto. I hope this little device does the trick or I’m booking the next flight to Rome.
Before I begin mixing I understood one very essential technique in pizza making and artisinal bread making in general. Autolyse is a french technique of allowing the dough to untangle its gluten strands without the use of kneading. Why do that? Well its for two very good reasons. The first reason is that it cuts down the kneading time in half or a bit more and that means a lot for those that are proponents of hand kneading. I am not a purist and love technology, so to me its all about the time. Cutting kneading time gives way to the second reason, which is not to allow too much oxygen to permeate the dough and over bleach it. This tends to damage all the natural fats of the flour and thus the flavor.
Another important technique is folding. Folding during the fermentation of the dough is important as it adds further strength to the dough structure. This is an important step for any artisinal bread. This allows the gluten strands to further elongate as you fold in the dough. The wet dough might not give you the feel of the dough working, but in fact it is and it will show in the final product.
I still need that sourdough to make the flavor more authentic, but I’m not going to wait for that shipment to arrive. This is how I did my pizza :

500 gms all purpose flour
325 gms water
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp Fleur de Sel or Sea Salt

Mixing

Mix the flour and water properly and leave it to autolye or rest for 30 minutes. Add the salt & yeast to the mixer and mix on medium spead with the dough hooks for 3 minutes. Don’t over do this as it will lose flavor and bleach. Let to rest for 10 minutes.

Fermentation

Leave the dough in the refrigerator for a minimum of 24 hours. The slow rise process allows the flavors to develop and the alcohol released by the yeast to condition the dough. Keep folding the dough occasionally.

Preperation

Once the the dough is ready, it could now be portioned according to your preferred size. Shape into a ball gently and leave it to rise in a damp area for 1 hour. Flatten the dough with the palm of your hand on a lightly floured surface. Keep flattening in a circular motion until you get a very thin sheet of dough. It is now ready for the toppings.

Pizza Bianca with Mozzarella, Ricotta, Parmesan, Scallions & White Truffle Oil

1 Prepared Pizza Dough
50 gms Fresh Mozzarella
50 gms Ricotta
20 gms Parmesan & more for presentation
1 Scallion bottom half
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
White Truffle Oil

Distribute The cheeses on the prepared pizza dough and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake in the oven until charred bubbles appear. Remove and top with shaved scallions and parmesan shavings. Drizzle with white truffle oil.

Happy Crust.

Slider Station is planning to host weekly DJ Nights. If you think you have the creative and artistic ability to play your music at our venue, you could prepare a demo CD and have it delivered to Slider Station or call 2465047 or email: info@infusioninternational.net.

Dally’s Chocolate Pudding

No we are not a desserts place, but apparently we are getting people down just for this killer dessert!

Slider Station Shop Front

Shaved Fennel, Beetroot & Goat Cheese Salad with Ancho Maple Dressing

We are currently in the Soft Opening stage where we have a limited offering of the menu, almost 70%. We will be fully open however in the next few months as we get a lot more staff. You can book your table now from 7pm till 11pm daily on 2465047.

Wagyu & White Truffle Lasagna with Porcini Mushrooms

I know what you are thinking. No, its not on the menu, but don’t be surprised if it turns out one day as a special. Warning! it WILL be EXPENSIVE, but damn worth it!

Anywho you may look at the picture, maybe taste it one day, but for now I’m just too tired and lazy to write down the recipe.

I have received many requests to have a blogger tasting sessions at Slider Station. Well, this is it!! I have allocated a day or two for all you fellow bloggers to have a serious tasting sampler of some of my creative culinary creations along with a hopefully nice and wonderfull atmosphere. In order to get invited (first come first serve basis) You can e-mail me with your Name and Blog details (to verify you are a real blogger) and will gladly serve you some good food and have a great time

email me at bubasla@yahoo.com

Everyone nowadays thinks that by eating less or by eliminating a certain variety of food, yo ucan lose or maintain weight. In reality, its all about the caloric intake whether is South Beach, Atkins, Weight Watcher or any other technique that seems to be working these days. How do you lose weight while eating absolutely everything you want to eat? The simple answer lies in the timeframe that you actually consume what you like. Instead of having a nice meal of burgers and fries for lunch and a pizza for dinner, pick one for one day and leave the other for the day after. You can replace the other meal with a healthy low calorie meal. The problem with this is hunger caused by the rapid increase in blood sugar due to carb intakes. The other method is to cut your regular meal in half and replace the other half with a healthy alternative. For example a big bowl of salad instead of fries with your favorite burger for lunch, another serving of salad with half a serving of pizza. By eating salad first (as much as possible) you leave little space for other “unhealthy” food items. Overall, you have made your eating habit healthier while maintaining your favorite foods and reduced your caloric intake. If you still feel hungry, simply reduce your carbs and replace with fibers.

In the course of continuos experimentation I always like to play around with ingredients that are easily mingled together wich gives a rather subtle yet deep flavor. This is the result of tonight’s experiment.

Dough:

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup warm water

1 tsp pizza yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tsp olive oil

Toppings:

1 cup crumbled goat cheese

1 tbs oregano

1 tbs chopped sundried tomatoes

1 tbs pine nuts

2 tbs chopped wild mushrooms

2 tbs olive oil

1 tsp chopped garlic

Method:

Mix dough and let to rise for an hour. Punch down and refridgerate for 1 day. Roll out thin. Mix and add the fillings on top. Place in a preheated oven of 200 celcius for 10 minutes.