Eating in Italy #2--Pizza and Gelato (Part 1 of 3)

A recent outing found us on a farm just minutes outside the heart of Florence.  We visited the farm to attend a class on cooking pizza and making gelato.  We learned a lot and enjoyed the experience.  Who wouldn't enjoy eating fresh made pizza and gelato?

Pizza: 

First things first.  Before starting the class, we enjoyed some fresh bruschetta and wine made from grapes grown on the farm.  It turns out that Italians are ingenious when it comes to enjoying food.  We used plates that doubled as glass holders.  Who knew?

There was no risk that we would run out of wine to enjoy while preparing and eating our meal.

Sally was visiting from Florida and we enjoyed the evening together.

Let's make a pizza!  We started with a lesson in making the pizza dough led by our chef and her handsome assistant.  (Several women in the group almost fainted when they first saw him.)

We made our pizza dough from scratch.

We mixed the dough by hand.

After kneading, folding and throwing the dough, our dough was ready for resting and rising. 

After rising, we spread the dough by hand. 

Sally was naturally skilled at throwing and catching the dough. 

Susan not so much.

Next, we added tomato sauce and fresh ingredients on top of the pizza.

Then, the pizzas went into the brick oven and 90 seconds later they were ready to eat. 

We were three very happy pizza chefs.

Next Up:   Gelato! 

P.S.  Our hosts were kind enough to share their recipe with us.  Here it is.

Pizza 

Preparation of the dough: 

Ingredients for one pizza

200g (7oz) '00' flour

1 pinch of fresh yeast

1 and a ½ teaspoons of salt 

1. Melt the yeast in half a cup of lukewarm water. 
2. Sift the flour into a bowl. Pour the water with the melted yeast in and mix it into the flour with your hands until the flour has been absorbed. At this stage add the salt. You may need to add more flour if the dough is sticky. 
3. Next clean your hands and the work surface and lightly sprinkle with flour. Start to knead the dough with the heel of one hand. To knead the dough. you should stretch out the dough and then fold it over, stretching it out again with the heel of your hand. Repeat this procedure. Continue to knead the dough for 5 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. The dough should be neither too hard nor too soft. 
4. The next step is to take the dough and throw it down on the surface with force 10 times to activate the rising process. 
5. Pinch the ball between two fingers. With the other hand pull the dough held between the fingers over and push it under and into the ball with your thumb. This step is done to stretch the surface to become smooth so continue the procedure until you have this result. 
6. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to rest at room temperature. If you are making enough dough for say 5 people you should leave the dough to rest for 8 hours. The resting time will change according to outside conditions, i.e., during winter the dough should be left at room temperature for longer and during the summer the opposite. The water used may also influence how long the dough should rest for. If the dough starts forming little bubbles then it has rested for too long. We suggest experimenting a little until you find the right time yourselves. 
7. The dough will now be ready to use to make your pizza. If you wish, you can leave it in the fridge for up to two days or if you prefer you can freeze the ball for maximum one month. If chilled or frozen take the dough out two hours before you are ready to start. 
8. When you are ready to make your pizza place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and gently press the dough down with the palm of your hands to form a circle. Then press down lightly with your finger tips and massage the base without touching the border. It's easiest to rotate the pizza as you do this. Then with both hands flat on the base you should stretch out and turn, stretch out and turn.... Finally pull the base toward you so that half hangs over the side of the surface and use the gravity to turn the pizza around in a circle. Careful not to hang too much of the base over the surface otherwise you risk the pizza falling. 
9. Sprinkle the top of your hands with flour and then place the pizza base over your hands and do the spinning action you learnt in class!

Preparation of the topping:

Ingredients for one pizza

100g of peeled tomatoes (Roma style)

1 teaspoon of salt 

Dry oregano (not fresh)

Fresh basil cut by hand

Extra virgin olive oil

1. For the sauce place the peeled tomatoes in a bowl and squash them with your hands to make a puree. Add the oregano, salt, basil and olive oil and mix. 
2. Place the sauce in the middle of the pizza and slowly spread over the base in a circular movement with a spoon reaching but not touching the border.
3. Add the ingredients of your choice: Fior di latte mozzarella (not buffalo), mushrooms, olives, ham, bell pepper, zucchini, fresh sausage, salami... For the vegetables, such as bell peppers and zucchini you should part cook them in the oven before adding them as a topping later. We strongly recommend you using only the best quality and freshest ingredients.

Cooking the pizza:

When using a wood oven (use either oak or beech wood) cook for one minute and a half. The temperature needs to be 450°C or 700°F. Remember, when cooking the pizza, that you need to rotate it so all parts cook but without moving its position within the oven. This is because the wood is all on one side of the oven.

When using a pizza stone first heat up the oven to the maximum temperature and then heat up the stone to the maximum temperature and place the pizza base on the stone and cook for seven minutes.

When using a normal oven, set it at the maximum temperature and only when the oven has reached the maximum put in the pizza and cook for ten minutes.  Half way through you should add the tomato sauce and toppings to the pizza for the last half of cooking.

GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY!!!!!!!