pizza maker pro

Legal Notes

The strategies reported in this document are the result of

years of experience, but it depends on the subjective
conditions of the various places in which the dough is
prepared, the raw materials and the different
characteristics of the machinery used, if there are any, so it
is not guaranteed to achieve the same results. The author
can update or change the content based on new conditions.
 pizza maker pro

This document has just informational purposes, and the

author takes no responsibility for an improper use of this
informations.
 pizza maker pro

All rights reserved

No part of this book can be reproduced or transmitted in

any form, electronic or mechanical, without a written
permission by the author.
 pizza maker pro

Congratulations!
Hello by Giuseppe, and congratulations for your choice of
keeping on learning!

Thanks to this book, you’ll learn the basic information to

prepare the classic high digestibility pizza and how to work
well in the pizzeria. What you’ll find in these pages are the
things I learned along the way, that I never wrote before. It
contains topics that I teach in Italy and abroad in a
classroom during 50 hours of the value of the 1500 euros.
With a symbolic price now this information are yours. This
book gives you basic notions that can’t be missing by a
person like you, that works or that wants to start working in
the beautiful and, sometimes, difficult world of the Italian
pizza.

If there exists a secret to excel in our industry, this is the

perpetual study, accompanied by the practice and the
healthy desire of discovering new things and learning
something every day.

Remember; to prepare a pizza isn’t something that you

can learn “only” by books, you mostly need much
practice, fantasy and taste. I’ll give you correct
information and I’ll show you a valid method; “I show
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you your way“, but you have to walk on that road,

nobody can do that instead of you. What you’re going to
read is the book I wish I’d read when I began this job. I
dedicate this book to all the people that I met until
today and that contributed even unawares to make me
become the person that today I am.

Thanks to my family and to all the people that believed and

that still today believe in me. Love you all.

Let’s enter into the magic world of the pizza maker pro and
let’s find out the index, turn the page we’ll have a nice trip!
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Topics Index

Chapter 1 – The ideal dough ............................................. 8

Chapter 2 – Five things that create the ideal dough ...... 12

Chapter 3: Yeast .............................................................. 26

Chapter 4 - Water ............................................................ 30

Chapter 5 – Salt............................................................... 33

Chapter 6- Oil .................................................................. 35

Chapter 7 – The dough temperature .............................. 36

Chapter 8 – The recipe of the ideal dough: .................... 39

Chapter 9 – The procedure of the ideal dough ............... 41

Chapter 10- The preparations of the pizza ..................... 50

Chapter 11- The pizza's topping ...................................... 53

Conclusion:...................................................................... 91
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Chapter 1 – The ideal dough

The pizza dough that everyone likes.

The pizza dough is the main element of our work and in

these pages I will reveal you the dough that I’ve served to
hundreds of thousands of people, in Italy and abroad, and
it will become your faithful ally; it has always been liked
by everyone and it brought the triple of costumers in
various restaurants and pizzerias.

It’s for this reason that I’ve called it the ideal dough,
because if it’s true that there exist much ways to prepare
the dough, it’s even true that we need to care more about
the dough that everyone likes, simple to prepare and
“standardized“; that’s it’s always the same. It’s
fundamental that the dough is correct and balanced, by
the nutritive way and the technical way, that is the one
that makes us work happily, without problems and
worries.

One of the problems of pizza makers is this; to have a dough

that it’s always different....

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Sometimes it is leavened, sometimes less, sometimes it is

harder, sometimes softer, sometimes, sometimes..

The problems arising from this fact, affect the entire work
process; first, customers find themselves eating a pizza
that is never the same (and therefore will not become
repeat customers),the second thing instead is concerned
even more closely; it is us who must prepare the pizzas ...
if the dough works "against us" is really hard!

For example a dough too hard, it will be difficult to

spread and another too soft, it will be more difficult to
manage, because you can stick to the bench, tearing and
so on, as well as a dough prepared and served in a few
hours, with too strong flour, become a chewy pizza and
heavy, which will put on the stomach of the unfortunate
customers...

First, it is important to know the five elements that make up

the dough before you can manage it.

This is the ABC of any good pizza maker.

Too many pizza makers ignore which are the functions of

the 5 elements that make up the dough and end up doing
damages, serious damages...

I've seen all the colors in these years, and I can guarantee
that too many pizza makers when they make a dough, do

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not have the slightest idea what they're doing. Just this
week, an Italian entrepreneur who has 3 restaurants
/pizzerias in Germany, he called me for advice. He and his
pizza couldn’t explain why their dough did not arrive in
optimal conditions after the second day spent in the
refrigerator; the dough " collapsed "he sat", "deflated" after
the second day even though it was kept in a refrigerator at 4
degrees and despite using (according to him) a flour 405
W...When I asked him who was his supplier and to show
me the flour, he told me that he bought it at the
supermarket and it costed 35 cents per Kilo; on it was
written:“ TYP 405”.

Then I explained to him that everything was normal. He

was not using a flour 405 W, but a TYP 405 flour that is a
flour 170 W because the number 405 in his case indicates
the degree of flour refining ( and not the W ) and TYP 405,
in Germany, corresponds to the Italian flour type 00.If we
add that this flour, bought at the supermarket so it was a
flour for domestic use and for short leavening, we
understand why his dough did not arrive intact on the
second day. He used a flour suitable for making the pastry,
and he insisted by saying that instead it was a flour for
professional use with a force greater than the Manitoba! It
took quite a bit of time to make him understand, it was not
easy, because he didn’t know the basic rules,(he didn’t
know the abc of this job) He had read something here and
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there on the internet, and he opened three

restaurants/pizzerias (that were on the verge of
bankruptcy) . After our meeting, he finally works properly,
he realized his mistakes, but above all, his work are
booming. Obviously the damage that you can do when you
do not know what you do are manifold, for example a
classic mistake is to believe that salt is useful only to give to
the dough flavor, while it has other equally important
features that allow us to obtain a balanced mixture, as for
example, to strengthen the gluten mesh that helps us
during the stretching of the pizza. These, and other errors
happen especially when you make the dough "by eye
",without weighing the ingredients and without knowing
the basics of this job.

Later we will clarify all these aspects; It will be a little trip

that will be important to your professional growth and for
your business. Having clarified this, I want to clarify that
the dough that I present to you is a standardized method
that I made by my own way and is the result of trials to
achieve a specific result but it is not the only way to make
a dough. God forbid! It's my favorite and it is for this
reason that I want to show you. The doughs are divided
into two categories: direct kneading (where you knead all
the ingredients in a single phase)and indirect dough
(which provide more separate processing stages). The
dough that I show you is a direct dough.
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Chapter 2 – Five things that

create the ideal dough.
Let’s find them out one by one.

The elements that make up "the perfect mix"(for the classic

pizza) are 5: flour, baking dry instant beer, water, salt and

oil.

Let's see them in detail.

Flour; production and technical characteristics.

To explain all kinds of flour and all their technical

characteristics, we should go into details and technicalities
and it would take a lot of time, so we’ go far from the
original purpose of this book, which shows the abc of a
pizza maker. I therefore give you only the truly useful
information, selected to make you have a clear and
complete picture on the flour used in the pizzeria.

The flour is the product of grinding grain (hard and soft)

and subsequent refining. There are also different flours
obtained from other cereals and legumes,such as chickpeas,
peas, beans, soybeans,corn, rice etc. For your comfort and
because we're talking about classic pizza,I tell you now that
the flour used in 100% of cases for preparing this type of
pizza, is soft wheat flour.

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In Italy we use type 00 or type 0 .

Let's see how quickly you get the flour; The grain, once
brought to the mill,is "washed" with water and then it gets
wet; (cleaning).

This stage gives the right humidity to the grain (the 15,5%)
and it facilitates its detachment from the germ and the
bran, in the next step and that is during the grinding.In the
stage of grinding,the grain is crushed,pressed and
subsequently refined.

The refinement will separate the bran (outer part of the

grain,which is dark in color) from the central part of the
grain (which is of white color) until getting to the desired
degree of refining.

The table we will see later, ranking the flour into different
"types",depends on the amount of residual ash that contain
within them.

The ashes are nothing more than the mineral salts

remained in the flour. To quantify them,do a test where you
burn a small amount of flour and subsequently weigh the
remaining "ashes".

From the moment that the flour is burnt in fact, after the
test, there will remain only the blackened minerals;that’s
why they are called "ash".

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This is a fast description of what happens in the classic

mill,where the grain that comes in goes out in the form of
flour.

The flour is composed of: carbohydrates (starch) 60/80 %,

proteins 9/16 %, moisture (water) 12/15,5 %, fat 2/3%,
minerals (ash) from 0.3 to 1.6 % vitamins (tracks).

This does not mean that the flours are all the same; every
flour has its own specific characteristics which vary from
grain to grain.

For this reason we must know that the flour that we find in
the bag of flour for professional use, is a mixture designed
by skilled technicians to obtain very specific results.

To obtain these mixtures,they just use different types of

selected grains,that have their specific characteristics.

We continue with refining,and we see in detail what are the

types of flour and how we obtain them.

As we have said,by refining the grain you get the flour but
depending on how we refine it,we obtain different types of
flours.

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The more bran and outer part of the grain will be

eliminated during the refining,the more the flour will be
refined.

The very refined flour (white) is given from the heart of the
wheat grain; the more we go into the outer layers, the less
the flour is refined (and more will be rich in minerals and
vitamins, with a dark color).

The whole grain flours,have a greater ability to absorb

liquids and this is due to the substantial amount of fibers
contained inside them. Flours derived from wheat in Italy
are 5 and are diversified by type,so for the degree of
refining.

The following table shows the five types of commonly on

sale Italian flour.

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In Italy:
Whole meal flour Maximum ash content
1,70%
Type 2 Flour Maximum ash content
0,95%
Type 1 Flour Maximum ash content
0,80%
Type 0 Flour Maximum ash content
0,65%
Type 00 Flour Maximum ash content
0,50%

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Italian flours; refinement:

First grinding = the whole grain =

whole meal flour

First refinement = whole meal flour after

the first refinement = type 2 flour

Second refinement = type 2 flour

after another refinement = type 1
flour

Third refinement = type 1 flour

after another refinement = type 0
flour

Fourth refinement = type 0 flour after

another refinement = type 00 flour

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With this scheme we have seen the steps of refining. Let's

go ahead and find the fundamental thing of flour to be
known.

In the example of the pizzeria in Germany, I talked about

the W of flour. Let’s see quickly what is the W.

The W is an index which refers to the “strength of the

flour”; in other words,it is its ability to resist the pressure of
the gas and the leavening and it’s relative to the quantity
and quality of the gluten that contains a specific flour.

It can be precisely in that flour,or may have been added by

the manufacturer.

A “weak” flour like the 170 W for home use (the one we find
in the supermarket) has a small amount of gluten,so it does
not hold a long leavening gases;the dough after rising ends
for "deflate" in a fairly short time.

I've seen a thousand times that dough swells,swells,swells

and then comes down. I mean it when I say "deflated";the
technical term for it is said that the dough "collapses".
When a dough collapses,the gluten leaves from mixing.
Even the dough obtained with flour with a higher W,sooner
or later "collapse" ... but this is only after several days(if
stored properly in the refrigerator) .

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So I'm not saying that a flour with value of 170 W is not

good; I just want to explain that if you need to prepare a
dough for professional use in the pizzeria,you will have to
take several hours or several days, then you need to choose
a flour with a W value higher.

The W is also related to the degree of absorption of the

flour. In simple words the higher the W value,the more the
flour absorbs water. The special flour for pizza so do not
always absorb the same amount of water,mainly depends
on their W. A flour with 170/200 W for example,absorbs
about 50% of its weight in water( kg of flour -
500g.water),while a flour with a value of more than 350 W,
it comes to absorb even the 85/90 % (1kg of flou-850/900g
water).

This is the case of the famous American flour, known as

Manitoba flour, which is the Canadian city where it is
produced and from which it takes its name.

Another key thing to know is that the higher is the W and

the longer will be the time of maturation of the dough .

This is because the flour with a high value of W,are rich in

gluten and for this intended for doughs which require long
hours of leavening and maturation.

Let's see the classifications of flour compared to W.

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- Weak: up to 170 W, they are ideal flour for biscuits,

waffles,bread sticks, small pastry or short housewife
leavening .

Absorb Approximately 50 % of Their weight in water.

Example: 1kg of flour - 500 grams water.

– Medium: from 240 to 280 W, they are ideal for direct

kneading flour,bread and pizza.

Absorb from 55% to 60 % of their weight in water and are

those most commonly used in pizza.

Example: 1kg of flour - 550/600 grams of water.

– Strong: - from 300 to 350 W, they are indirect dough

for flour,bread with chariot, rosettes,long fermentation with
refrigeration pastry and pizza .

They absorb around 65% of 75 % of their weight in water.

Example: 1kg of flour - 650/750 grams of water.

– Special: - more than 350 W, it is flour produced with

special

grains,especially American or Canadian, indicated for

particular sweets,special breads or as reinforcing the
weaker flours. Absorb up to 90 % of their weight in water.
Example: 1kg of flour - 900 grams of water.
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THE P/L

Another fact to be aware of when using a flour, is his P/L .

The P/L is a value which refers to the ability of a flour to

produce a mixture with a fair tenacity (P) and an optimal
extensibility (L).

For toughness,it is the maximum resistance from mixing

with leavening gas.

For reasons of flexibility, it means the extensibility of the

dough .

Then the P/L is the ratio of the two previous data .

An ideal flour for classic pizza,must have a P/L of between

0.5 and 0.7.

In practice,the ideal relationship between P and L to obtain

a great classic pizza should be about 1 to 2; the extensibility
should be about twice the toughness.

What does it mean in simple words?

It means that we need a flour that produces a dough that

retain well the gases rise and that at the same time have the
right extensibility, we need to roll out the handmade pizza
without much effort.

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If we work with a flour which has a P / L balance or that it is

not appropriate for the type of pizza you want to
prepare,the results can be disappointing;try to think of a
dough that is extensible and too little tough;the dough for
pizza,become short and wide instead of swell in the
leavening phase ... and after a few hours then become
totally dishes,attaching to one another.

Even a P/L unbalanced the contrary would be a problem;we

would have a dough that holds well the leavening gas,but

that you can not draw in any way. As you see,the balance of

the P/L

is essential for the success of a great mix and a good pizza.

Of course,in order for a pizza is tasty and easily digestible,it
must be prepared with a well- developed dough and not
only leavened .

Let's see what is the maturation of the dough,which is the

central topic to learn to prepare a highly digestible
pizza,brittle and not rubbery.

The maturation of the dough.

The maturation of the dough is the set of transformations

that make it ready to be used in such a way as to be easily
digestible and get a crumbly pizza and fragrant.

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Inside of the dough for pizza,take place hundreds of micro-

processes,each environment by the particular enzyme and
the leavening is only one of these, among other things,the
fastest of all.

To give time to the other enzymes (maturing the dough) to

work properly it is important to slow down the leavening
process,putting the mixture in a refrigerator at a
temperature of 4° for a minimum of 24 to a maximum of 72
hours depending on the strength of the flour used.

During maturation,certain enzymes (called protease),break

down gluten

proteins,whereas other enzymes (alpha and beta amylase

),break down the complex sugar (starch) into simple sugars
(maltose and dextrose,which later become the nourishment
of yeasts).

The digestion process of our body does the same thing;it

transforms the complex elements simple ones,then the
greater the amount of work already done by enzymes in the
dough,the lower the work that the stomach will have to
perform to digest the pizza.

The time required for the maturation of a dough,depends

on the amount of gluten that contains which is precisely the
most difficult to digest and therefore,the most difficult to

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decompose inside the mixture. In principle to know about

the flour ripening times can help with this scheme*:

Flour with W 200-typical maturing in 6-9 hours.

Flour with W 240- typical maturing in 16-24 hours.

Flour with W 300- typical maturing in 36-48 hours.

Flour with W 380- typical maturation in 60-96

hours.

* These times are approximate because the variants that

contribute to the maturation of a flour are many.

Many pizza makers confuse w with the "quality of the flour."

They believe that a very strong flour is simply more good;

for this reason preparing dough with flour with a high W
and use it after a few hours without worrying about
anything.

In fact a pizza prepared in this way will remain on the

customer's stomach for 2 days because as we have seen was
used incorrectly a very rich in gluten flour, which requires
long hours of aging.

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In such cases the enzymes in the dough did not have time to
break down gluten proteins and this work will now be done
on the customer's unfortunate stomach.

The pizza professionals,do not commit similar mistakes

because they have proper training and know what gluten is.

Gluten:

The gluten is a viscous and elastic substance,which is

formed during the mixture,and is given by the union of two
proteins in the flour which are insoluble in water;gliadin
and glutenin .

These two proteins in contact with the water and stressed

by the energy of mixing,bind to each other forming the
gluten .

Practically: gliadin + glutenin + water + energy (given

kneading) = gluten.

Gluten is also called mesh gluten because just like a shirt

(or network),holds together our dough. And is thanks to the
gluten that our dough takes shape,which takes shape and
which has a structure. The flours that do not contain
gluten,(rice,corn ecct ).

Are more difficult to machine precisely for this reason. Take

on the consistency of a cream,give a dough with no

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structure, because there is nothing that holds it together:

the gluten that acts as a "glue”.

The gluten can be compared to a rubber band.

When a batter has just been made,gluten is very tense,then

as with the passage of time,under the pressure of the gases

produced by the leavening,and the work of the protease,it

relaxes,becomes loose, until it breaks,and our dough is

unity and wholeness. So remember; higher the W,the more

the flour contains gluten.

The higher the W,the flour absorbs more water

The higher the W,the longer will have to ripen the mixture

A W very high indicates that the flour contains gluten and is

very suitable for products that require long hours leavening
and maturation.

A flour with a W tall,allows us to get a very hydrated

dough,that cooking gives us a very developed inside large
bubbles .

Chapter 3: Yeast
Which to choose.

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The fresh yeast is most commonly used in pizza but that's

what outdone guarantees of "stability" because it has too
short a deadline,and is subject to various temperature
changes,which occur during the cold chain(which from
production,the wholesale,purchase storage,preservation,
and finally the use of this precious ingredient).

The rule wants that the yeast is kept at a constant

temperature of 4°but due to the various transport and
passages of hand, often undergoes the thermal shock,and
accordingly a good part of the bacteria that are inside start
to die.

The bacteria from which is made the brewer's yeast,are

saccharomyces,and have been selected in nature for their
characteristic of feeding on simple sugars and release (in
the absence of oxygen then when they are in the
dough),carbon dioxide,ethyl alcohol,and other higher
alcohols.

The Ethyl Alcohol,It is very thin and can pass through the
gluten.

The Carbon Dioxide it remains "trapped" in it,pushes it,and

rise to the leavening making inflate the dough .

The other Higher Alcohols evolve in cooking delicious

aromas and flavors.

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As you can see,therefore it is important that we put the

yeast in the dough is composed of bacteria "alive".

For this reason I suggest you to use the instant dry yeast
beer, which is formed by the same bacteria than fresh;
saccharomyces.

The difference between the fresh yeast and instant dry yeast
of beer, is in the amount of water that contain within them.

In fresh yeast is about 70%,while in the instant dry only 7%

.

This dehydration of the yeast,has resulted in a product that

will keep for less than 12 months,even out of the
refrigerator and ensures that the bacteria in it are all alive.
It is not subject to the cold chain !

The instant dry yeast beer,should be used for about a third

of that fresh.

So if for example you used 12 grams of fresh yeast in

dough,you can prepare the same with the instant dry
yeast,using only 4 grams.

Instant dry yeast is added to the flour , and not dissolved in

water like the fresh one.

The amount of yeast to be added to the mixture can vary

depending on several factors such as the temperature of the

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environment in which prepares and keeps the dough,but in

many case, you should not drop below the minimum
threshold 1 gram per kg of flour and never exceed 3 grams.

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Chapter 4 - Water
What a pizza maker must know.

Water is one of the main ingredients for the pizza dough.

Depending on the nature of the terrain which passes
through,it is enriched with salts and other substances; for
this reason,according to the different locations has a
different chemical composition.

The water used for the pizza dough should be drinking,do

not have any unpleasant tastes or smells.

It is classified according to the hardness measured in

French degrees,(1 French degree hydrometric corresponds
to 1 gram of calcium carbonate dissolved in 100 liters of
water).

Classification of water hardness:

Fresh Water – up to 5 French degrees

Moderately Hard Water – From 5 to 20 French degrees

Hard Water – Harder than 20 French degrees.

The ideal water to prepare the pizza dough is moderately

hard, around 15 French degrees.

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The use of water too hard in fact results in a low gas

production reduces the activity of yeasts and creates a very
tenacious gluten mesh lengthening the time of leavening
and maturation of the dough.

Conversely too sweet water produces a dough sticky and

tacky.

The ideal pH that must have water to prepare the

dough,should be between 6 and 7 degrees,that is must be
slightly acid; this ensures the correct activity of yeasts and
enzymes. Another fundamental aspect that concerns the
water is the quantity that we use in our dough; this is called
hydration.

The right hydration is a key feature to get a good

dough;hydration of the dough,affects the leavening,
maturation,writing, cooking,and the overall result of the
pizza.

Even the temperature that must have the water it is

important because it affects the speed of the leavening and
maturation. Water which is too cold especially in
winter,brakes the leavening and on the contrary water
which is too hot,it causes an excessive speed of maturation
and lose elasticity to the dough,damaging the gluten mesh.

So,what is the ideal temperature to have the water?

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It depends on several factors,which is why the question to

ask is:What temperature does my slurry has to have at the
exit of the kneading machine? This applies to what matters,
and reasoning in this light that changes your approach to
work. The water temperature we have to calculate each time
kneaded to obtain a final mixture at a temperature of about
23-28° which is a good temperature for the work that must
carry out the yeasts and enzymes. Later, we will see how to
calculate the perfect temperature.

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Chapter 5 – Salt
The importance of salt in the dough.

Salt is very important in the dough;

In fact in addition to flavor it carries out a strengthener

(thickening) on the gluten proteins and thus "strengthens
the gluten mesh" by the electrostatic ties.

Have you ever tried to make a dough without salt ?

You’ll never work with a similar mix.

Even when the salt is too little the same thing happens ...

For this reason you should put a precise amount .

In the ideal dough the percentage of salt should be of 3%

compared to the weight of the flour (1kg of flour -30 grams
of salt).

This is the amount that I invite you to use; I remind you

that we are talking about classic pizza dish.

Another function of the salt is to inhibit the growth of mold

and bacteria both during the leavening that in the
preservation of the dough.

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Also the salt promotes browning of the surface of the pizza

giving the board a more lively color the greater crispness
and a strong aroma.

How to use salt.

A good rule is not to come in close contact with the baking

powder salt,to avoid the death of the yeasts. In simple
words it happens that the salt dries the water containing the
yeast and then kills the cells. Another thing to keep in mind
is that when we put the salt it is crucial for the consistency
of the dough.

In fact,since the salt also acts on the gluten mesh to

reinforce it if we put the salt from the first minute of
kneading,the dough once completed will be more compact
firmer.

If we put the salt towards the end of the kneading time,our

dough is softer.

So the salt in our mix we will put it in the fifth minute of

kneading.

Even this talk we will come back later in the chapter titled
recipe. Let’s go forward, and we discover what is the oil in
the dough for the pizza,to put what and when.

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Chapter 6- Oil
The importance of oil in the dough.

The pizza dough can also be prepared without oil and there
are certain types of pizza,in which it is strictly forbidden to
add it,as in the case of the True Neapolitan pizza STG
(Traditional specialty guaranteed),because you want to
produce a very soft and not crispy pizza. In our case,
however,that we deal with classical Italian pizza,the oil
added in the dough is provided,because there from of the
important characteristics,both as regards the taste,the
crispness and process ability of the dough balls.

The oil inside the mixture of the pizza performs several

functions,both from the point of view of " technical "that
the taste and the benefits that derive from its use, are
multiple. As first thing in fact,it increases the workability of
the dough;a dough with oil, gives us a mix that lie easily and
without much effort,this is because the dough is soft and
velvety thanks to the fact that has been emulsified. There is
also to say that the oil helps all the ingredients to blend in
better in the mix. Also it gives the dough a large bubbles
finer and homogeneous, promotes better leavening (if
added in the right amount, otherwise it is the opposite)
because it perfectly closes the pores of the gluten network,
forming an invisible film, which helps to retain the gas
resulting from yeast. In addition to the emulsifying power
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also it has the property of giving more flavor and fragrance

to the mixture because it helps (high temperature) inside
the cooking of the pizza.Which oil to use then? Seed oils
and olive oil in a pizzeria are used both.That oil is added to
the dough when you want to get a crumbly pizza while the
seeds must be added when you want to get a crispy crust.

In our version,the oil must be added near the end of the

process,we will add it to the tenth minute of
kneading,(although we will review this later in this chapter
of the recipe). As for the rooms I suggest you add 3% by
weight of the flour.

Larger amounts can affect the digestibility of pizza,they can

give a fragrance too intrusive and make the dough "heavy."

Chapter 7 – The dough

temperature
Here's the formula to obtain the ideal dough temperature.

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The following is a rule that allows you to get a more optimal

temperature dough between 23-28°. By controlling the
temperature of the dough we will get different benefits; we
can control it and predict the development with great
precision. If we know the temperature that has the dough at
the end of its processing, we avoid the problem of ending up
with a dough that does not rise or on the contrary with a
dough that takes the flight and begins to rise. If you use this
rule you will not have to fear the change of seasons, and if
you travel often for work, not even the change of nation and
continent.

The temperature indicated above (23-28 degrees) is one in

which the yeasts reproduce the best, not too slowly or too
quickly. Let's enter in the heart of the speech and see how it
works.

Here's the formula;

THE RULE OF 60

60 is a fixed number to which you subtract the temperature

of the room in which prepare the dough and the
temperature of the flour. The result indicates the grades
that must have water that you will use for the dough.

Example: Ambient temperature 23 ° Temperature of the

flour 22 ° Calculation: 60-23-22 = 15

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The water to be use in this case, will have to have a

temperature of 15°. Now I'll explain what are these numbers
and why I've chosen them. A professional spiral mixer (The
one most used in a pizzeria) in a time of kneading of 15
minutes, heats the mixture to about 5°(This depends very
much from the model on the type and quantity of mix
which there is in the tank, but in 99% of cases, this data is
accurate).

So what does the number 60 do? The number 60 is formed

by the number 20 used for 3 times, symbolizing the ideal
temperatures for the place, flour and Water.

If we always had; Place 20° Flour 20 ° Water 20 ° It would

be perfect, because the ingredients would all be at the same
temperature 20 °), after having made them kneading for 15
minutes, our version would come out to 25 °. We know,
however, that the temperatures during the year they change
often and there is a difference of degrees between summer
and winter in the room where we prepare the dough.

The 60 rule solves the problem in an easy manner because

we can not change the temperature of the place and of the
flour, so let's change the temperature of water, which is very
easy to do; in fact to tap water, we can add hot water or cold
water (Refrigerator) to obtain the desired temperature.
Important; I suggest you to give it a try for see what heats
your Heading machine. When you do the first dough, fit
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well all temperatures that provides the rule of 60 with a

food thermometer and when the dough is ready, make the
test controlling the outlet temperature. If your dough
should come out from the heading machine with a
temperature below 23-28 °it means that your mixer heats
little; correct it hanging the number 66 (3x 22). If your
mixer heats too much batter and this exceeds 28 °, replace
the coefficient number fixed with the number 54 (3 times
18). This way, you will have always the same number for
your mixer. In general, I suggest you to have your dough in
a temperature of 23 ° in summer and in winter of 28 °.

Important; to do for the first time.

I suggest you to give a try to see how heats your mixer.

In general,you should make sure that in summer your

dough has a temperature of 23 degrees and in the winter
instead

of 28°.

Chapter 8 – The recipe of the

ideal dough:
The importance of thinking in percent.

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How you see so far with regard to the salt and oil,I always
told you about percentages to be added in the dough;never
grams.

This is because the grams to be used for each ingredient

varies depending on the weight of the flour that we use.Our
point of reference is the flour and we calculate everything
according to its weight;in this way the calculations are
simple and immediate to do. At this point I show you the
recipe of the perfect dough, which you will need to adapt to
the flour you use.

This is because as we have seen,the amount of water you

need to use,depends on the strength of the flour you use,(if
you already use a flour of which does not know its W, write
an e-mail to the mill manufacturer and ask for the technical
data sheet) .This is the ideal recipe dough,which involves
the use of a 260/280 W strength flour,which is a very
balanced flour for the preparation of the classic round
pizza.

Flour 100 % 1KG

Dried brewer 's yeast 0.1 / 0.5 % = 1 grams

Water 55/60 % = 550/600 grams Salt 3 % = 30 grams

Oil 3% = 30 grams

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Chapter 9 – The procedure of the

ideal dough
And the various processing steps explained one by one.

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In a dough,are solids that absorb liquids and to facilitate

this process must be put first inside of the kneading*. In
fact the flour lying on the bottom of the tank, it will absorb
water better, by working the kneader correctly. Another
recommendation is to not add flour during kneading so that
the flour may be kneaded all for the same time.To make the
dough,the ingredients should be placed in the mixer in the
exact sequence in which we have studied them :

-Flour

-instant active dried beer yeast

-Water

-Salt

-Oil

* Except for the True Neapolitan Pizza that instead we

prepare from water. Nothing in these pages refers to that
particular (and delicious) pizza type, but only to the classic
Italian pizza.

Procedure:

Weigh all the ingredients and place them near the kneader,
on a workbench, so that you can have them all in view.

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Now measure the ambient temperature and flour and the

water to the right temperature.

Now you can start.

Pour into the mixer all the flour and baking powder Instant
Dry beer and start the mixer.

Spread the mixer only with the flour and baking powder for
one minute so as to thoroughly mix the two ingredients and
make oxygenate the flour. Watch the clock or start a
stopwatch that you have set to 15 minutes.

This is the time that will last the step of kneading.*

Start the time and pours in a decisive manner in the mixer

for about 80% of the water used for the mixture and add
slowly one that remains, during the first 2-3 minutes of
kneading, the points where you see some residue of flour,
for example on the tank edges.

After 5 minutes add all the salt,sprinkle over the entire

surface of the dough without stopping the mixer.

After 10 minutes,add the oil to the mixture again without

stopping the mixer (if you use a mixer at double speed,wait
a minute that the oil has been absorbed and then switches
to the second speed, maintaining it until the end of
kneading).

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After 15 minutes,when the dough is smooth,compact and

homogenous,turn off the mixer,extract the dough and Fix it
on a workbench,forming a single compact pizza.

* Warning: 15 minutes is a great time to get a good mix with

the flour that I have indicated to you, but as I explained at
the beginning, here come into play your experience and
your style. Will your eye, and your hand will be judging if
the dough is ready at the expiration of the specified time, or
if it will be ready a minute earlier or a minute later. I repeat,
these are GOOD GUIDELINES, but they are not absolute
laws, no one can write them or know them because in game
variations are endless. So, my advice is always the same;
Test what I tell you, and when you make the first dough,
write everything down in a notebook, everything you do and
the results you get, after FIT method to your specific
situation and the specific results of the pizza you want to
achieve. The dough is ready when it is smooth,
homogeneous, without lumps and not sticky to the touch. I
suggest to every opportunity to observe the dough
throughout his work and not to make it run inside of the
mixer for more than 20 minutes; if you have just started
this job please follow the 15 minutes I have led.

Now add a little oil on the mixture and with both

hands,sprinkle over the entire surface so that it forms a
protective film to prevent it from drying. If the place where

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you rest the dough is too windy, you can further cover it
with the plastic wrap and then with a dry cloth.

In this phase of work the dough that just came out from the
mixer is called “mass”.

At this point,rest the mass;waiting 30 to 60 minutes to

relax the gluten and to kick off the first rise,before forming
the dough balls. If you do not respect this stage and proceed
directly making the dough,the dough will be tense and
wrinkled and the pizza dough balls will be ugly and striated
, so it will be difficult to roll out .

The phase of the rest mass,before the shaping of the dough

balls is called " spotting".

After spotting, you will notice that the mixture,which had

been tense and "nervous" now is relaxed and ready to be
divided into pats. Dab any excess oil with kitchen paper and
with the help of the spatula,detaches from the mass of
dough loaves and separate them into pieces of 250 grams
(ideal weight for a pizza of about 33 cm in diameter) to
which give a form of balls (ingots). Put them in special
plastic crates for leavening (so that they are comfortable
and at the right distance from each other; keep in mind that
will rise tripling volume. In a standard 60 x 40 cm not put
more than 12)

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The phase in which the mass is divided into dough balls is

called in italian "Staglio".

After the Staglio let rise the dough balls at room

temperature,from a minimum of one hour to a maximum of
three hours,inside of boxes in columns one above the other,
covering the last with a stopper. This passage is
fundamental for a good leavening that is ideal for the
development of the dough balls! A very common mistake is
to immediately put the dough in the refrigerator after
Staglio but doing it this way,the leavening is slowed down
too early and the dough will be low and flat ..

This stage where the dough balls are left to rise at room
temperature is called "primer”.

After the primer put the boxes with the mixture in the
refrigeration compartment and leave them to rise and to
mature for a minimum of 24 hours at a temperature of 4
degrees. If you do not have a big refrigerator cell, a good
rule is to have a refrigerator which only purpose is to keep
the dough. By doing so, you will avoid that the mixture
undergoes continuous changes in temperature too quickly
due to the continuous opening and closing the refrigerator
from colleagues, who need to do to take and store other
products. The pizza dough is the prince of the pizzeria, it
deserves respect, treat it as if it were sacred ... ( it is).

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This operation where the dough is left to rise and to mature

in a refrigerator at 4 degrees, for a minimum of 24 hours, is
called "cold technique " and is used to slow the rising to
ripen the dough. Spent the time required to ripen the
dough, before preparing the pizzas,leave the tapes with the
dough balls at room temperature for about 2/4 hours before
use. This depends greatly on the temperature that is in a
pizzeria;in every way,the mixture must never be used cold,
the dough,at the time of being used must be at room
temperature or in any case have a temperature of about 20
°

Notes : an aid for your first mixture.

To prepare the dough with the flour that you already have a
pizzeria and of which you do not know the W,the only thing
you have to do first is to verify the degree of absorption,that
is the amount of water necessary to obtain a soft
dough,velvety, smooth and homogeneous.

Do it this way: prepares a tiny dough,3 kg of flour; the

amount of yeast,salt and oil,you can calculate how I've
previously explained.

Weigh all the ingredients,measure temperatures and pour

the flour and baking powder into the mixer.

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Prepares two jugs; one with 1 liter and a half of water and
another with another half liter both at the ideal
temperature that will calculate with a 60 rule.

Parts with the mixture and after adding the liter and a half
of water wait for a few minutes,just long enough that the
flour has absorbed and then checks whether it is the right
point of pasta sense that it is neither too soft or too
hard;turn off the mixer and tap it. If the dough is too hard,
restart the mixer and pour a little of flush water from the
second pitcher. Always give time to the mixture to absorb
little water before adding more (if any were needed).

When the mixture has reached an optimum consistency it

will be smooth,velvety and elastic.

Complete the dough as we saw earlier, add salt and oil in

the specified timeframe. At the end of the mix, weigh the
water that you have left the second pitcher so you can
calculate how much you have used in total.

If for example you'll add another 300 grams you know that
3 kg of flour,served one liter and a half of water + another
300 grams = tot 1800 grams Divide 1800 by 3 1800 : 3 =
600

Now you know that THAT FLOUR absorbs 60% of its

weight in water, because it takes 600 grams of water per kg
of flour.

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This of course is a test you have to do ONLY the first time.

PS . It could happen that in the course of the seasons the

same flour absorbs a slightly smaller amount or more of
water this can depend on the percentage of moisture in the
air.

My advice therefore is to follow carefully the

dough,whenever you prepare it.

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Chapter 10- The preparations of

the pizza
One detail that makes the difference.

The laying of the pizza is one of those details that make the
difference between a successful pizza and a lousy pizza and
how to roll out varies from pizza maker to another.

The laying is a critical step in our work but is often

underestimated.

During the laying we must pay attention to several

things,such as to leave a little bit of board to the edge of the
dough give the right thickness to the pizza,give it the right
shape and be careful not making holes on it or get it to stick
to the workbench.

First,I must confess that in my way of working and of

thinking about pizza,with regard to the classic pizza are
already banned the rolling pin that the machine crushes
pizzas (the horror!).

The pizza must be stretched by hand for not too much stress
on the gluten and to move the carbon dioxide of the dough,
from the center towards the outside, to create the border.
Thanks to the heat and pressure of your hands,takes shape;
each pizza is unique and unrepeatable,by nature. The laying

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of the so pizza is made from a very personal gestures,craft

and rich human warmth;deserves attention.

It's time to touch the dough,to feel its texture and to realize
all the work previously done to turn a loaf of dough, the
most popular food in the world; the pizza.

There are different ways to roll out the pizza and everyone
has to find her,so I'll give you what I think are the general
rules to stretch a good pizza,always keeping in mind that
the pizza you'll learn to stretch by trial and error and not by
reading a book.

First,we must pay attention to remove the dough from the

boxes,taking care not to ruin their beautiful round shape.

After taking gently the dough (with the help of a spatula and
both hands if it is the case) place it on a little flour (or
another specific flour for the preparation of the pizza) and
turn it a couple of times in flour to prevent sticking to the
workbench.

Soon after always on a little flour start a gentle pressure

with all the hands (thumbs excluded) from the center of the
dough, to the edge avoiding the crush.

The idea should be to transfer the carbon dioxide which is

inside the dough,from the center towards the outer edge to
ensure that swelling while cooking.

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These pressures must be made on both sides of the

dough,first one side and then turning it over,from the other.

You can start it from the top of the loaf or flipping the
dough upside (99% of the pizza starts from the top, is from
the "convex"). As pressure is applied, and the dough is
turned upside down (several times),the pizza begins to
widen and to take shape.

At this point begin with the fingers together, and as the

dough starts to be larger, slightly spread you fingers
continuing to squeeze in order to continue to widen.

When the dough has reached a dimension such as to enter

both hands,begin to rotate it on the counter,spread your
hands at the same time in its interior.

Do not rush just a few movements.

Do not be afraid if it starts to crash and no longer turns.

Raise the pizza from the counter,from a dusting of flour and

resume to make it rotate.

To help in the measurements,the first few times keep close

to you a plate and watch it to orient yourself.

After a few times you've turned the pizza on the counter,lift

it and pass it on the backs of the hands to slide off the
excess flour.

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Put it on the bench (lightly dusted with flour) and that's

it,the pizza is stretched out!

To roll out the pizza it's something that you'll be getting

better as you will practice. You have to get used to feel the
dough under your hands,you have to get to a point where
you understand how the dough should be handled.

This is because the consistency of the dough is never the

same;the dough will stretch it at the beginning of the
service, it is not like what it will stretch six hours later,what
will be risen,softer,gentler ecct. and to the touch it will be
different.

The pizza dough is alive.

It is born,now grows and changes rapidly, within a few

hours takes different consistencies.

We have the task learning to master it and manage it in all

its conditions.

Chapter 11- The pizza's topping

BASIC RULES.

The pizza toppings are something that has a lot to do with

the personal taste of the pizza.

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The first advice I give is to not overdo the seasonings. Not

always "too much" is synonymous with "more good"; it is
often the opposite.

The balance in the quality and quantity of the ingredients is

the rule to follow to prepare a good pizza.

Before we begin I want to clarify one thing: work in a

pizzeria,it is a work of organization.

All the ingredients for the pizza and all the toppings shall be
prepared before the service.

Never and I repeat NEVER,start the service without having

everything at hand.

The only exception can be done to cold cuts,like the Parma

ham,speck and bresaola,which can be cut fresh at the time
to add them on pizza,as long as the entire production
system is well organized;you have to decide in advance
what to slice and what to place on the pizza. If there is no
free no one can slice it at the time,these should be cut in
advance and stored in food containers,(with a sheet of
plastic for food between one layer and another),and kept in
the refrigerator so you always have them at hand.

Ignore what you just read has only consequence ... the
chaos.

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After this necessary preface,as regards the fillings we can

divide the pizzas in white, red and Margherite basic.

The white pizzas (almost unknown outside Italy), are those

that have as their basis, instead of tomato, mozzarella
cheese or cream. The red pizzas are those which have as a
base only the tomato (and should always be made with
double tomato, ie with about double the amount that is
normally used). The queen of the red pizza is the pizza
marinara,which is filled as follows; Double
Tomato,chopped garlic,garlic oil and oregano.

The pizzas "Margherita basic" however, are those that have

as a starting point,tomato and mozzarella,to which are
added the other ingredients.

There are then the pizzas "special" where some pizza

makers put as a basis,some velvety preparing alone,as for
example the pumpkin cream,the cream of eggplant or other.
These pizzas are born from the imagination and personal
taste of different pizza makers;when you're ready helping
with the imagination and YOUR personal taste,you can
easily create your OWN specialties.

We return to the basic fillings.

To have an idea of how much of tomato and mozzarella put

on the pizza can calculate in general,for a "basic daisy"

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pizza about 70 grams of tomato (a spoon) and about 80100

grams of mozzarella.

On a white pizza mozzarella must be added in greater

quantities to avoid leaving empty spaces of pasta that would
burn in the oven.

To stuff a pizza,we must acquire the right technique,the

right speed, and above all we must ensure that the pizza is
pleasing to both the palate and the eye.

These skills are acquired over time, so for the moment not
in a hurry to be fast as a lightning rather focus on doing
things right. Manage each pizza with care and with
attention during the filling.

It is said that you eat first with your eyes. It's true.

I recommend you to put on the pizza only fresh ingredients

and well preserved.

If something is not good, do not even try to put on the pizza

!

Each pizza you serve brings to the table your signature and
also have a great responsibility on people's health do not
forget even for a moment.

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So canned food thoroughly,otherwise the one who will ruin

you will need to throw it. Do not get smart; those that they
overcharged,they close.

Those who work in an ethical way are successful.

We back to us.

Let's start with one of the products "Prince" for topping

pizza;tomato.

Tomato, which to choose and how to prepare it.

The tomato is one of the most important pizza toppings;let's

see which one to choose and how to prepare it.

Frankly I do not like the preparations for "pizza" which

many people use I have always used the tomatoes and I
suggest you do the same. Cans for professional use,are from
about 3 kg and contain whole peeled, naturally, you can
easily prepare in this way; pour the contents into a large
container, fill it with 1% salt (by weight of the tomato) and a
few leaves of fresh basil chopped by hand and whisk it with
the help of a mixer. When you have obtained a smooth
sauce, add the olive oil, about 1 or l '1.5%.

Taste and see if you like. These are the amount of salt and
oil for seasoning a standard weight can of 2.7 kg of drained
product; peeled 2.7 kg., salt 27 grams, 27/40 grams oil. The
tomato is a product that once prepared keeps well in the
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refrigerator for several days,so my suggestion is to prepare

in advance a fair amount (5-6 cans) and keep it in a bucket
for food in the refrigerator the pizza counter,in order to
refill the bowl during the service. To dress the pizza,after
spreading the dough,you must pour a spoon at the center of
the pizza,and support the back of the spoon above, starting
to do the movements concentric spiral so as to distribute
the tomato on the entire surface of the pizza,exposing about
1 cm near the edge. The part that we will leave discovered
we will swell in the oven,creating a beautiful soft and tasty
board. At first it will seem complicated,but then this
method will prove to be the easiest and fastest way to fill
pizza with tomato. Another trick that may help you in
preparing the tomato,is to make the final round with a
spoon,in the opposite direction. This will help you make the
drafting of the tomato,the more precise and without
smudges.

Mozzarella.

Dispelling a myth.

Buffalo mozzarella,is not suitable to prepare pizza. Or more

precisely it is not the most suitable product because it
contains too much of the whey which bathes the pizza. The
only ways to use the buffalo mozzarella (assuming that you

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have available the real buffalo mozzarella,and that has been

stored properly),are:

A - put it on the pizza halfway through cooking, making

only dissolve so slight and partial aware that remain rather
lukewarm and almost intact

B- put on the pizza after cooking, which I think is the best

choice because it offers the chance to savor it fully without
compromising the success of the pizza, and without spoiling
the cheese itself.

The market is full of products and vapid- products,which

are whitish cheese chopped,with the words "mozzarella",
characterized by a very low cost .....

I invite you not to make this choice. Choose a product based

on the yield and according to taste. The products to be
avoided,are those who have neither taste nor smell,and
once cooked,they turn into a kind of off-white gum. The
ideal would be the use of mozzarella braid or of the
mozzarella,which is a product that in the oven does not
release too much whey,and which has a decidedly excellent
flavor. To use the mozzarella on the pizza,you have to cut
by hand into strips and place in a colander to drain in the
refrigerator for about 6 hours before use. There are also
semi-finished products (already cut) of good quality; you
can use those as long as face your trials and that the

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product meets both the requirement of taste aesthetics.

Some of these products in fact,do not hold up the cooking at
high temperatures,and the result is a hatched mozzarella
brownish,or worse still scorched.

I repeat,TEST. Here come into play your style and your

taste. Are you a pizza maker or are learning to become so;
You prepare the best loved food in the world! Felt honored
by this and by the maximum! You're not the pizza guy.

You're a chef. A pizza chef.

Be in love with what you do manage every detail carefully.

Do not settle for the usual things that "vendors" sell around
to all the restaurants,as if they were the only ones existing
products on this planet …

Go in the markets and select the ingredients that deserve to

appear on your pizza. Unless you are a hermit who lives in a
cave,in your city,or your home country, there are local
markets,and if you're reading this book no excuse,there is a
market near you! :)

Look,taste,compare,judge,try,try again and then starts all

over again.

I assure you that doing such a simple thing, you can save a
lot of money as well as to bring in pizza fresh and genuine
original products. The quality of your pizza along with the
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commitment and passion that shines out of your way to

work, they will reward. Do you know why? Because you do
things that your "competitors" do not!

Most pizza makers are actually working like automatons.

Beware though,if you're a pizza maker and you want to do

your job well you'll just make just one good pizza; whereas
if you have a pizzeria or your place,and you want it to work
great,you need other things ... not just know how to do just
the pizza (and good food) to thrive.

They’re different things; the pizza maker,is a 'craftsman’;a

specialist who prepares the food concerned;the one who
manages a pizzeria,it is an entrepreneur,and as such, he
must be able to know how to manage a number of things of
vital importance to the business,which go beyond the
product pizza.

Other Pizza ingredients

Cold cuts such as ham, bacon and dried beef,they should be

placed on the pizza after cooking and you should slice them
at the time,to prevent it from drying out and change color.

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Put them in cooking, as well as damaging making them

salty.

The coppata bacon,or that instead rolled are good both in

cooking after cooking; they cook crispy and have a very
pleasant aroma. You can put the ham and cold cuts into
cooking without problems,but if you want to enhance the
flavors,you can also add them to the end. The important
thing to do, with all the toppings,it’s seeing how they react
in cooking.

Poor quality products,often have a strange color... always

the same rule,the products must be tested,and if something
does not convince you, don’t make have any problems in
changing it. Some kinds of spicy salami like the Calabrian
esplanade , you should put them halfway through
cooking,to preserve the colors,tastes and scents.

Mushrooms; there are many pizzerias that bring fresh

mushrooms on the pizza but put them raw. I do not like
that I prefer them sliced and cooked,they have a much
better taste,more complete. Prepare them in this way; after
they are cleaned and sliced,let cook in the pan a clove of
garlic in a few tablespoons of olive oil,along with the chili.
Add the mushrooms and let them stir-fry for a few
minutes,adding a pinch of salt and after cooking a pinch of
chopped parsley .

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Make them cool and put on pizza.

Only fresh porcini mushrooms, or the porcinelle

mushrooms in my opinion are good raw on the
pizza,because they taste and are more intense especially on
white pizzas.

Same for pepperoni; I’ve met pizza makers that put them
raw on the pizzas and I don’t like it,they do not have flavor.
If you want to prepare the peppers in a delicious way, do it
this way:cook peppers on the grill and then put them in a
freezer bag,close it and store it in a bowl in the refrigerator.
After a few hours,peel the peppers and put them under
running water. Let cook a clove of garlic in a frying pan and
add the chopped peppers coarsely by hand,add salt,add
black olives a handful of chopped parsley and cook for
about 10 minutes over low heat with a lid. Taste and if they
do not need more salt, add a handful of grated bread and
remove them from the flames, leaving the pan with the lid
to blend the flavors. Keep them in the refrigerator and use
them to fill the pizza.

The cherry tomatoes; with them the pizza is a true

masterpiece. Cut them in half or in thirds if they are too big
and put them in a colander (covered with plastic wrap to
drain excess juice in the refrigerator, with a bowl below)
and add in cooking or at the end of cooking. Depending on
your taste, you can dress them with very little salt and
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oil,and also a very light sprinkle of oregano. To prepare the

white pizza with tomatoes, keep them in tomato sauce;as
you add them on pizza,then this will be " stained " by the
sauce,it will gain both taste the pizza aesthetic.

Artichokes :I prefer the ones in oil instead of those in water

that often are disgusting. You have to choose a type of
artichokes that are in market,if they are either whole or
already sliced.

Onion; one sliced,it should be used within the day. It’s not
recommended to use the already sliced onion for over a day,
because after this time inside it produces an enzyme that
makes it hard to digest.

Tuna: It is preferred in oil than natural.

If you do not use much be careful because it is one of

condiments that deteriorates quite easily once the can open.
To avoid waste,once opened,you can pour the contents in a
food container and store in the fridge with the lid.

Capers: rinse them in a colander to remove excess salt

before being used ; excellent the very little ones.

Anchovies: Same here,it comes to choosing the tastiest,and

not just the cheapest.

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Those of good quality are recognized by the excellent

fillets,firm and meaty. My favorites are those in salt,which
must be cleaned from the bones and rinsed to remove
excess salt. If you don’t have it they are also fine in oil

Olives: on the pizza we use the black ones always better if

boneless. Avoid the olives in water,they have no taste. You
can use the excellent olives such as olives from Gaeta.

Eggplant and zucchini, They are excellent grilled but they

retain their freshness for a very short period. The ideal is to
grill few each day in order to put them on the pizza always
fresh, cooked at the time with a pinch of salt and a little oil.

Basil: inevitable on almost all pizzas. Have always a nice

fresh box and store it in the refrigerator,in the pizza
counter;on pizza Margherita add a few leaves more than
other pizzas. To prevent burning, put it under the
mozzarella. Good on almost all pizzas even after cooking.

Ricotta cheese: It is good only when it is fresh, otherwise it

is the opposite. Like basil,it should be stored in a container
for food in the pizza,covered with a paper tower to preserve
its freshness. It should be added after cooking,but always
without exaggeration to not bury the pizza.

Gorgonzola: a tasty ingredient. You can add it on different

pizzas because it goes well with almost all the ingredients .
Some of the classic pizza with gorgonzola are the one with
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bacon and blue cheese,spicy cold cuts and gorgonzola or the

one with tuna onion and gorgonzola. To use it in a
convenient,cut into cubes of about 2 cm per side and "roll
it" in Parmesan cheese (or parmesan cheese) grated,to
make sure it does not stick to the container and hands. A
cube is a perfect portion for filling a pizza. If you decide to
use this method remember to write in the menu that pizza
with gorgonzola also contains Parmesan.

Cheese for 4 cheeses pizza (Pizza ai quattro formaggi);

should be cutted into strips or small cubes; you should use
Hemmental,brie,smoked cheese and gorgonzola. You might
as well replace these cheeses with the local cheese to make
your pizza more original. One last tip; 4 cheese pizza with
Margherita base in my opinion it makes no sense ... prepare
it white.

Garlic oil: inevitable to prepare the Marinara pizza,but also

required on many other pizzas. To prepare it procure a bowl
and add a few peeled garlic cloves you have lightly crushed
with the palm of the hand on a work table,and fill the whole
with olive oil or extra virgin. Let it cook for a few days
before use.

Origan: like all the other spices,put it under the mozzarella

to avoid burning and ruining the aroma. Alternatively, you
can put it on the pizza after cooking.

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Potatoes: There are a few pizzas that you can prepare with
the addition of potatoes, proceed as follows; Peel the
potatoes and cut into slices not too big,pass them in the
oven for a few minutes with a few cloves of garlic and cook
with salt and olive oil and few sprigs of rosemary. Make
them cool and add on some special pizza toppings,like
sausage,roasted potatoes, mushrooms and bacon.

Pesto sauce: you can use it as a base,using it instead of the

tomato,or add it on pizza like other toppings; if you prepare
it by yourself,use fresh basil,pine nuts, parmesan cheese
and a drizzle of olive oil.

Wurstel: cut into rings or strips;it should be stored in the

refrigerator for a short time, then throw it away. A classic
use is on the pizza for the kids;wrustel and fries (the fries
cooked to order).

Sausage: many use them raw on the pizza, but sometimes

they remain uncooked because they requires a longer
cooking time than that of the pizza. Here's how to prepare
them in a delicious way: Boil lightly salted water and add
the sausages. Make them blanch for a few minutes,in time
they will have changed color. At this point flaws brown in a
pan with garlic and olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
They’re now ready to be added on the pizza (thin slices).

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Spinach: great if stir-fried with garlic and oil, or browned

with a little butter and parmesan cheese. Prepared in these
two ways they are much more tasty than frozen ones.

Broccoli: Cut them into small pieces and make them blanch
in salted water. Finish cooking them in a pan with a clove of
garlic,olive oil and chili oil. Delicious on pizza,cut them into
small pieces.

Local ingredients : They are typical of the area where is

located your own pizzeria and an advice is to make your
truly unique pizza:you’ll discover them and exploit them
better thanks to your taste and your style.

The baking;
The three heat sources of the oven; Conduction, irradiation
and convention

How does the pizza’s cooking happen? When we bake

it,what happens?

Most of pizza makers bake the pizza, and “wait” for it to be

cooked,without knowing anything about the oven.

Fortunately, you’re not making this mistake.

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Not knowing what happens and ignoring what are the three
heats sources, which through our pizza will be cooked,
makes us feel anxious and stressed, and it will affect our
pizza’s outcome.

So let’s start clarifying something : First,we must know that;

independent of the type of oven we use,our pizza,will be
cooked,thanks to the three heat sources that are;

1-Conduction

2-Irradiation

3-Convention

That come to different parts of the oven,as;

1- the Bedplate

2- the Bow

3- The heating chamber

So if we use a wood oven,an electric oven, a gas oven,a

rotary or combined oven we must know how to manage
these heat sources and balance them,so you get a pizza
cooked in and excellent way.

What a good pizza maker has to know is that cooking is a

very important thing that makes the difference (in a bad
or a good way) on the outcome!

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We might have prepared a good dough, have stretched the

pizza perfectly, have topped it in an original way,but if we
don’t bake it right,our work will be lost at all. Even if the
temperatures vary according to the type of pizza we want to
prepare,and the oven we use we will talk about it with
various examples. At this point,let’s see what are and how
do the heat sources work,and how to handle them.

CONDUCTION
What is conduction?

It’s the baking source that the Bedplate give us. The
Bedplate, it’s the part of the oven on which we put our
pizza; it’s often made of refractory stone,but it can be of
steel,in case of specific ovens for pizza pan.

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Bedplate ( conduction)

Let’s start with the most difficult to use oven:the wood

oven; let’s see what happens in detail,when we bake our

pizza: First,when we bake our pizza, it comes in contact

with the refractory stone;

the stone’s heat begins to dry the water on the underside of

the pizza,then it makes the pizza coloring... This is the

baking cooking;

it’s called in this way,because the stone’s heat, goes directly

to the pizza, by direct contact.

First thing to know,is that every pizza that is cooked

“lowers” for a while the temperature of the refractory stone
surface occupied, of over 30 grades; this happens because
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the pizza that we bake,has a low temperature compared to

the refractory stone,and it’s wet,so it releases water on the
stone.

To this we add the fact that the bedplate, to cook the bottom
of the pizza,must “give” a part of his heat.

It’s for this reason that when we bake the pizza and we turn
it we must put it on the same place that it occupied (or that
a pizza baked at the same time occupied);

If we don’t follow this rule,after we turn our pizza,we don’t

put it on the same place that it occupied,it will be baked 2
times on the underside and the outcome will be a burned
pizza,or a totally black pizza.

With the wood oven,after every baking,it’s very important

to turn our pizzas and invert them(the pizza that was on the
bottom moves to the place of the pizza that was behind).

However,the problems linked to the bedplate can be

different;for example when the oven has been turned on by
a short time or during peak hours,(when we bake
frequently) we can watch the opposite of what is written
above....

Our pizzas can’t be cooked very well on the underside,and

they can result white because of the refractory stone that
hasn’t already come to the optimum temperature(in the

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first case) or after the frequently bake,(in the second case)

the refractory stone has given all the heat which it absorbed
during the heating phase, and the remaining temperature
isn’t enough anymore to cook our pizzas in the right way. In
these cases,to make our pizzas be cooked well on the
underside too,we need to turn the pizzas and put them in
the oven’s places that were occupied by other pizzas.

✔Trick 1: in this cases,we mustn’t fill the oven of pizzas,but

we have to remain empty spaces,(at the center, because it
will be warm fast),on which will be put at the last seconds
the pizza that isn’t cooked yet, so we will serve it perfectly
cooked.

So it’s so important to know how to handle the “reactions”

of the wood oven that can always change.

✔Trick 2 : a secret weapon I use is to begin the service

baking the first pizzas vertically, at the oven’s center,so we
will use this space all the time. In few words,I use pizzas as
“buffers”,to keep a constant temperature,in the most critical
part of the wood oven; the vertical center line (look
down).But if you want this to happen,I repeat;we have to do
this at the beginning of the service.

The worst way to begin the service is to bake the first pizzas
to the sides of the furnace and to let the central bedplate
absorbing the heat.....until it becomes incandescent.
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Outcome;an oven with half bedplate unusable and… panic.

Again I invite you to make a test.

This is the most critical part of the wood oven’s bedplate.

The pizza in the pic has been baked at the end of the service.

Another thing that is often forgotten is to;

bake pizzas in different places of the oven,depending on the

topping;a pizza (like a Margherita) it’s light not like a pizza
more seasoned,(like a Capricciosa) that is more “heavy”

This affects the cooking conduction !

Why ?

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Simple. Because light pizzas they make less pression on the

refractory stone,and so, their cooking will be less aggressive
then an heavy pizza cooking,that make more pression on
the oven’s bedplate,that depends on the weight. So,because
of the “buffer effect”,the heavier pizzas,will be baked on the
warmest places of the oven, to avoid too much color on the
underside (and because they have to cook more time,too).

So where are the coldest places?

In case of wood stone,the coldest places are the oven’s

mouth (the input of the furnace on the opposite side of the
flame),and the opposite side portions of the bedplate to the
side of the flame.

Same for gas oven and combi oven (gas oven/firewood).

In an electric oven instead,the coldest part, it’s only the

oven’s mouth,and it’s the horizontal side to the
bedplate,which is located just behind the door.

These are the right places to bake the Calzone (fried

pizza),which needs a longer cooking time because it needs
time to cook the ingredients inside. You know,when you
bake a super-stuffed pizza,at the center of the
bedplate,when the oven is at an optimum temperature if it
isn’t like this,just listen to what I say. To obtain an
homogeneous cooking conduction,it’s important to
“dissolve” the bedplate’s heat with a wet cloth;this is
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especially recommended to a wood oven,when the baking

are not frequently made.

In this case,it happens that the refractory stone heats too

much to receive pizzas.

Anyway,doing this several times during the service is part of

a good management of the oven, also because in this way
you clean the bedplate by inevitable flour residuals and
ashes with which it comes in contact.

By the way; the ember in the oven contributes to heating

the bedplate;it is good that there will be a lot of it also
because it prevents the normal burning of firewood. So I
recommend you to not keep too much ember (or ashes) in
the oven and to empty it when it becomes too full of it, also
because in a too much full oven, oxygen misses,and it is
important to burn the firewood. In case of electric oven,it is
easier to keep the optimum temperature in the
oven,because we can adjust the thermostat,but that’s not
all.

During peak hours,it can happen that pizzas don’t get

colored on the underside and so the temperature needs to
be rised.

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In case of the first bakings with the electric oven,I

recommend you to keep the bed plate totally turned off and
to raise the temperature only when we need to do it.

This,because use the bedplate is already heated of the heat

that comes from the sky. And for this reason,to cook the
round pizza, it is good to keep the bedplate at the minimum
power,because we must remember that the heat that comes
from the sky will add the heat that is already there. In case
of the pizza in a pizza pan, we must need the temperature at
the maximum power,so the heat will cross the pan to get to
cook the pizza. For this reason,for pizza in a pizza pan I
recommend you an electric oven with a steel bedplate. For
pizza in a Roman shovel,we recommend you an electric
oven with a refractory stone bedplate.

Recapping;

For a classic round pizza the temperature must be low (and

the temperature of the sky up). For a pizza in a pizza pan,
the opposite, the bedplate raised, (and the sky at the
minimum). For pizza in a Roman shovel,the bedplate must
be at minimum, and the sky at a 80%/90% of its power. To
understand more let’s go on and let’s search for the other
heat sources; there will be the irradiation and the
convention !

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Irradiation
The irradiation it’s the second heat source of the oven and
it’s so important.

In case of wood oven we have it thanks to the fire of the

firewood (that can’t be missing) and the blocks (the oven
dome). See this pic :

In case of an electric oven irradiation, is given by the “sky”

(the oven roof) and by the walls.

In the gas oven it is the fire of the burner and the curve of
the dome. It’s the most violent heat source so we must
control it so carefully,specially for the wood oven, because it
is never constant,and it changes depending on the amount

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of wood burning in a determined time and on the proximity

or distance of pizzas to the flame. With an electric oven
instead, we can set up this heat source in a permanent way,
and this let the baking be lighter. By the way here’s a rule
that you must ignore with an electric oven: there’s not need
to turn the pizzas.. so fake!

We turn pizzas less often but WE TURN THEM otherwise

the cooking will be uniform.

In case of gas oven,the flame given by the burner it has the

possibility to be adjusted in a determined manner and then
the irradiation is more homogeneus. At this point let’s clear
one thing that everybody ignores;with a wood oven we must
balance irradiation depending on the pizza we want to cook.
If we have stretched a pizza with a big board to make it
inflate we need a flame. If we streched out the round pizza
in the Roman way (crushing the board,to make it thin and
crispy) we bake the pizza with a VERY-LOW flame, with
only a little ember, otherwise the board cooks faster than
the rest of the pizza,hat will keep on being soft. This
because the flame irradiation is so violent,and the pizza
board (when there’s a board),equalize the baking. But if
conduction reacts to the underside of the pizza, where does
the irradiation react? Irradiation cooks the pizza on the
surface and on the sides. Practically this heat source begins
to dry up the water that’s on the pizza and when the water

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has evaporated the board will start to be colored due to the

caramelization of the sugars in the flour. Naturally, the
water on the board, will begin to evaporate much more
quickly than the center of the pizza that contains the
ingredients. From this fact we understand how important is
to know how to adapt the cooking according to the draft we
did. If we want to make it easier and we want an excellent
cooking we need to do always a board, even little. If we
don’t do this we enter in a closed road, and we only have 3
terrible, possible ways out;

✗ -1 cooking pizzas and serving it burned and with a dry

board.

✗ -2 to avoid it bring out the pizza in advance to avoid

burning the board (and so you’ll serve a pizza too moist
in the center, because it has not had time to cook).

✗ -3 cook pizzas without flame in the

oven “
wishing”(praying) that in this way the cooking is less
aggressive, and that the pizza won’t result burned.

As you can see to make easier the baking of the board (even
little) is right to do, because we must always remember that
from the chemical point of view the cooking of the pizza, it’s
only the “extraction”of a large percentage of water by
“evaporation”, and in this case the water evaporate first

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where there are no obstacles,like moist ingredients

(tomatoes, mozzarella..),so by the board.

To not commit mistakes in cooking and especially when we

talk about classic pizza,remember to make the board to the
pizza,even little. In this way the pizza will be beautiful and
will be cooked well,because as we can see the pizza’s board
“equalize” the cooking,because it’s thick,it contains
water,which requires a time of evaporation and coloring to
allow the rest of the pizza to bake without haste. Many of
the mistakes that have been described above are committed
by improvised pizza makers who stretch the pizza with a
rolling pin and make giant pizzas with small doughs. Last
but not least,we must know that if we do not do the board of
the pizza,we obstruct the third heat source;the convention.

Convention
The third heat source of the oven is the convention, and it is
the hot air that moves in the oven;

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The convention,dries the pizza(the board)

inside,penetrating between the alveolus.

It’s easy to understand that if we don’t make the pizza

board,there won’t be a good convention so the cooking will
be lower and longer. Instead if we do the board,an
irradiation more violent will make it inflate in a few seconds
and the convention will work faster.

Recommended cooking
temperatures
The pizza maker is a craftsman a person that,starting with
simple ingredients like water and flour can turn them in
something delicious like a pizza. An example are the
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cooking temperatures;they must be customized depending

on the type of pizza that we want (soft,thick ecct.) and
depending on the oven we use,because “every oven, cooks
different,” for a million reasons (model,type,use,ecct.).

After this,I give you a very important scheme that you can
follow to get come good cooking:

✔Round pizza – Every oven at 320/380 grades; bedplate at

its minimum sky at its maximum, cooking time
2/3minutes.

✔Pizza in pizza pan- Electric oven, temperature 300

grades; bedplate at 80/90% of its power sky at 10/20% of
its power,cooking time 15 minutes.

✔Pizza in a Roman shovel – Electric oven,temperature 300

grades;bedplate at 10/20% of its power sky at 80/90% of its
power, cooking time 7/8 minutes.

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General recommendations
Which firewood should we use with a wood oven and which
to avoid? Not every wood is good to cook pizzas,some types
of wood have a bad smell,others crackle, others burn too
fast....other make much firewood and other make a durable
flame. Here’s for you a guide to choose the right wood for a
wood oven (traditional one and a rotating one).

The beech that is at the top of the list,is one of my favorites.

The “Yes” Wood:

Beech
➔
Oak Holm Olive
➔

➔
The“No” Wood: ➔
➔
Fir
➔
Pine
➔

➔ Resinous wood Painted or

treated wood
➔
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Also remember what follows;

If you use a wood oven,the wood you use MUST be dry

otherwise it won’t make a flame and the pizzas will result
bad; make sure your provider gives it to you always dry (or
better, aged from 6 months)...sometimes it happens that
providers give it to you wet because it weighs more.

Preserve the wood under the oven to make it dry further

and to ensure that it’s dry and ready for the use.

The oven, when you start, must be hot and at; if you forget
it,you might compromise the outcome of the work.....if you
use an electric oven,you have to know in advance how many
time it takes to rich the right temperature.

If you use a wood oven,the same;but, differenty of the

electric one,the wood oven has to be ready for the use,it
must be brought at the right temperature,and it has to be at
right temperature for an hour before baking pizzas. If the
restaurant has a closing day (and has a wood oven),the next
day you must let it warm longer. I recommend you: do not
make the mistake that many do,lighting the fire and
believing that the oven is ready! The bedplate and the
bricks has to absorb the heat,otherwise the oven does not
give a good result and your pizza come out bad;to absorb
heat,the oven needs time.
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Be sure the bricks are white before baking pizzas,(it takes

just half or three quarters of white bricks to make sure that
the oven is at temperature) if they’re all black it means that
the oven is cold and that pizzas won’t result. Same if there’s
too much fume in the oven; bad sign the oven is cold.

To turn on the wood oven,NEVER use a firelighter or others

chemical products to turn on the chimney or the barbeque!

Nowadays, I often see that people make this DANGEROUS

mistake for clients’ health!

These toxic substances release products that are deposited

on the bedplate and then they’re absorbed by the pizza.

To turn on the wood oven effortless you just have to put a

few pieces of firewood on the oven stand and leave closed
the oven for 10\15 minutes (depending on the temperature
that is already in the oven). After, you just have to remove
SLOWLY the oven’s cap, KEEPING YOU FACE AWAY
FROM THE OVEN’S MOUTH TO AVOID ANY RETURN
FIRE.

At this point,the firewood might burn by self-combustion. If

this doesn't happen WAIT FOR THE FUME TO BE
FINISHED and throw a little piece of kitchen paper burned
near the firewood. Keep your face away from the oven.

This smoke can catch fire!

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If,turning you pizza,you hear a sizzle, it means that the

pizza is holed;you should make it again if you have time.

If a pizza brake in the oven,make it cook before turning it

otherwise you make the bedplate dirty and you can’t use it.

If an ingredient fall in the oven,the best thing to do is to let

it burn and then sweep it away. Wait before putting another
pizza on that place.

Don’t use the wood oven like a basket of junk;don’t throw

down in the oven piece of papers,empty cigarette packets,
receipts,leftovers and other things even if nobody’s
whatching;in the wood oven only goes firewood.

The shovels should always be clean and you must be careful

to not let it take hits; if the shovel takes a hit it has difficulty
at take the pizza;you can hole pizzas,too.

If a pizza has difficulty at going up on the shovel,it will have

difficulty at getting off, too...let it slide on the desk; a
drawback on the desk can be solved, but no one in the oven.
It could be very very boring.

When you finish you service,if you use a wood oven,close it

immediately (when there’s no more flame) so it will
conserve the heat for the next day.

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Avoid baking pizzas in a place where you don’t have baked

during the day; that place is incandescent.

If you add firewood when there are pizzas in the oven,be

careful; ashes can fly on pizzas.

When they’re colored, turn your pizzas; don’t you ever try to
turn a freshly baked pizza, you’ll burn it.

When pizzas are ready, make it serve fast...clients want hot

pizzas. They’re more delicious.

Be careful to not “brake” the ordinations; if a table wants 4

pizzas they have to be served together.

Use the right shovel for everything; the shovel for the
firewood only for it,the shovel for baking only for it and for
turning pizzas,and the little shovel to turn pizzas only for it.
If you don’t do it you ruin the shovels and the pizzas too.

Sometimes you need to lightly flour the shovel to be able to

take the pizza from the desk;don’t dip the shovel in the
flour you use to stretch the pizzas it will be dirty.

During your service, forget everything, think about what

you have to do. Be calm and happy,don’t care about
anything.

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Don’t panic if there are too much ordinations,don’t think

about people’s judice and wait a minute to serve a good
pizza, because it’s better than serving a bad pizza.

The pizzeria is like a theatre and we’re the protagonists.

Always dress properly and be flawless. People sees
everything and notice everyone (and then they tell
everything you everyone)

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Conclusion:
We have reached the end of book and I assure you that as
soon you’ll put into practice everything you've learned your
pizza and your way of working will no longer be the same.
You can simply "copy and paste" of what I wrote and do
literally what I described. All right. You can take the
method I exposed you as a good "model" from which to
start. The variations you can make to your pizza are
endless.

Before saying goodbye,I make you a recommendation; find

your dough point.

This is the point where you think the dough is ready to be

removed from the mixer and only your touch and your eye
will be able to tell when it's time (in any case I advise you
not to exceed an upper mixing time to 20 minutes). Find
YOUR point of cooking, compose YOUR fillings,YOUR
specialties.

Create and taste your pizza and be the first "critical" of your
pizza. These small steps will become YOUR SIGNATURE;
each of us, and it MUST be UNIQUE. What you read is a
great book that I have not kept for me,I gave you everything
you need to prepare an excellent classic pizza, but the book
does not work alone; It needs your interpretation,your

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warmth,your passion. So find the right balance between my

directions and YOURSELF.

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Make this work with love, and success will be a simple

consequence. Now you have the rules to be a great pizza
maker, but your education cannot and should not stop
there. Carry on learning,there are many types of pizza than
the classic pizza,like pizza pan,the pizza shovel,the
Neapolitan pizza,gluten-free pizza and all methods of
indirect dough ecct. Then...just put it into practice what you
have learned and never stop learning;

Have a good life and good work! I wish you a great success!

Giuseppe.

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