How To Make An Authentic Italian Pizza At Home

16 Nov How To Make An Authentic Italian Pizza At Home

Pizza is a globally adored dish, with several variations to the classic recipe being incorporated to reflect different cultures and countries of origin. Although pizza is seen by far to be the most popular Italian dish in overseas countries, it wasn’t actually invented until the 19^th Century and was originally sold as fast food on the streets of Naples. If you fancy a relaxing night in at home with a taste of authentic Italy, then read on to find out how to make an authentic Italian pizza at home!

What Ingredients Do You Need

This dough recipe prepares enough for four pizzas each measuring around 12 inches in diameter.

• 600ml of warm water
• 1kg of flour, the authentic Italian pizzas use type ‘00’ or ‘doppio zero’ flour which is the finest ground flour available in Italy, if this isn’t readily available to yourselves an all-purpose flour will do the same job
• 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 25g of fresh yeast, or around 8g of dried yeast
• 5 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• Any toppings you want, the classic authentic toppings would be tomato sauce, oregano or basil, salt, garlic and olive oil, although you can layer your dough with whatever you desire.

Making Your Authentic Italian Dough

First

sprinkle the fresh or dried yeast into a bowl filled with warm water. Yeast reacts best with warm water so ensure it isn’t too hot or too cold.

second

Pour the flour into a pile on the table and make a groove in the top so the flour resembles a volcano.

Third

Pour the yeast mixture along with the olive oil, salt and sugar into the groove of the flour.

Fourth

Combine all the ingredients by kneading the mixture for 10-15 minutes until a smooth, elastic-y dough has been formed. Ensure that the surface remains floured throughout the kneading process.

Fith

Grease a bowl with some olive oil and place the ball of dough inside, turning it over once placed to make sure the top of the dough is oiled.

Sixth

Cover the bowl and leave to prove for at least four hours.

Seventh

Preheat the oven to around 200°C.

Eighth

Remove the dough from the bowl onto your floured surface and punch it down to remove all air bubbles from within the dough.

Ninth

Divide the dough into quarters and leave to rest for a few minutes.

Tenth

Roll each section into a 12-inch disc, deciding on how thick or thin you would like your crust to be.

Eleventh

Move the rolled-out dough onto an oiled baking sheet or pan.

Eleventh

Add tomato sauce and brush the edges of the crust with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes. Many pizzas in Italy are actually pizza Bianca, which means the base has no tomato sauce on it, so if you would prefer it without, then just brush the crust with oil and bake.

Twelfth

Once the baked crust comes out of the oven, you can then add all your toppings and mozzarella cheese.

Thirteenth

Place the pizza back into the oven until the crust has browned and the cheese has melted. To make sure your pizza is done, check the base to see whether that has browned too.

Fourteenth

Remove the pizza from the oven, garnish with basil leaves and enjoy!

Authentic Italian in Knutsford

If this post has made you crave an authentic Italian pizza, but you don’t have the time to follow all these steps at home, then why not come and enjoy one at Giovanni’s in Knutsford?

Come into 125A King Street, Knutsford, WA16 6EH to enjoy a delicious authentic Italian pizza today! Check out our menus or make a reservation, call 01565 632 576.