Dear {NOMEUTENTE}
Lievità is the name of a new pizzeria in Milan, in Via Ravizza 11, tel. +39.02.91328251, serving gourmet pizza. This is very welcome in a town whose weak point is pizza. Something is changing but we’re just at the beginning of the journey. It’s easier to eat good sushi than good pizza but do not despair.
Defects first: Lievità is noisy and small; the dining room staff comes from other fields and clients can sense this right away so gather all your patience because, after all, they’ve just opened. Still, the pizza is good, intense and easy to digest. In my opinion, this sector can today be divided into digestible and non-digestible pizzas, those uncooked masses than rise in your stomach, whose authors should be condemned for offence to the history of Italy.
There are 18 variants in the menu, few, a sign of seriousness. There’s more: I immensely like that half of them are margherita, fiordilatte or bufala, cherry tomatoes and basil. Each pizza has a different tomato or cheese variety. The other half is called “Le gourmet estreme” and ranges from Bronte pistachios to (raw) red prawns. A constant ode to the best products. Fancy some fries and frankfurters? Too bad, look elsewhere.
Paolo Marchi, content by Luciana Squadrilli and Carlo Passera |
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Pizza and bread in black and white  The mixtures of flour, water and yeast used for bread and pizza have changed shade of colour in the last 70 years, passing from dark to light and now, vice versa, from light to dark.
The dark mixtures of wartimes were substituted by the spreading of the increasingly whiter (and more refined) post-war flour. However, we’ve recently been experiencing a return to warmer shades and darker mixtures with less refined flour and the establishment of different cooking techniques instead of the usual wood oven. We feel partly responsible for this return to dark mixtures, which started in 2007 at Università della Pizza and Accademia del Pane, the projects created to make pizza chefs and bakers more aware in using Petra flour to give back the flavour of old times’ cooking to baked products using a contemporary nutritional approach. Yet the goal was not, and is not, that of changing colour. The goal is to make the different choice of ingredients be manifest in the product.
Indeed it is easy to understand that a darker flour also contains the external part of a wheat grain. And this requires the greatest attention on behalf of the miller in knowing the farmer and choosing the wheat (where was it grown? what treatment did it receive as the spike was growing? How was it preserved and transported?). If the flour is darker we have to be sure that the external parts of the grain have no substances that can harm the consumers. Therefore, it is once again essential that the process transforming grains into flour is extremely clean. The return to dark flour is a sign of taste and nutritional completeness and, at the same time, it is a way of stimulating a better knowledge of the wheat’s origins.
Piero Gabrieli |
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Pizza, Renato Bosco’s monograph “What’s the difference between meeting Renato Bosco and a fully active volcano? None! He’s a hive of ideas and projects, never still, optimistic and concrete; even the temperature of magma and of an angry (a very rare case) Renato could be close” says Matteo Maria Carminucci ironically, in the preface to Pizza, the monograph written by Bosco and published by Italian Gourmet directed by Carla Icardi, the sixth volume after those dedicated to pasta, rice, soups, cookies and fish and signed respectively by Enrico Bartolini, Enrico and Roberto Cerea, Marco Sacco, Omar Busi and Claudio Sadler.
“In this book you’ll find recipes, techniques that are perhaps rather conventional for those who’ve been in this profession for a long time as me, or perhaps stimulating for beginners” writes Bosco. Concepts that were confirmed during the presentation of the book, organised at Identità Expo within Identità di Pizza. So, to get an idea: Pizza includes a bit of the history of Bosco, an excursus of his career, because the man from Saporé in San Martino Buon Albergo and in nearby Verona refers to the next book for a necessary deep analysis on his favourite subject, namely mother yeast.
During the cooking demonstration at Expo he gave an extraordinary example of his skill, illustrating (and making us taste) his “crunch”, a pizza with double cooking with a totally delicious topping: a base of burrata from Andria, then caramelised onion from Tropea, dehydrated pancetta, curry and gialét beans from Valbelluna, a rare delicacy – as well as a Slow Food presidium – from his Veneto, with a very thin peel and an incredible sweetness, «I basically used its entire production last year», laughed the sparkling Renato, and thus closed: «I feel lucky to have now a rich technical knowledge of the world of pizza. And to be able to share it, making it available to everyone, with this and the next books». Bravo!
CP |
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Identità Expo: Padoan, Lombardi and Pepe On top of Renato Bosco, of whom we wrote above, three more great pizza chefs livened up the afternoons at Identità Expo (and it will be the turn of young Massimo Gatti next 16th June at 5 pm). The first could only be Simone Padoan, the inventor of pizza slices for tasting. This time he focused on toppings: first presenting his pizza Orto, rich in seasonal vegetables; then giving his personal interpretation of the theme of Expo, with a pizza using “leftovers”. That is to say first he seasons the crispy base with a little burrata, then he sprinkles a powder made by crushing dehydrated leftover vegetables: pea pods, thyme, oregano, basil and then olives and capers with an imperfect shape, tomato skins … «At I Tigli in San Bonifacio we dry all this by leaving the vegetables on top of the oven, so we don’t use extra heat». Simone Lombardi and Franco Pepe followed.
Lombardi, born in 1981, told about his journey from Mexico City to Italy, at Dry in Milan, summoned by Andrea Berton. There he presented his focaccias fermented in a pan or pre-steamed, and his pizzas, with a diameter of 28 cm to facilitate a tasting experience. Some are “signature” pizzas: Calzone with braised endive, pine nuts, buffalo milk ricotta and raisins or Pizza with roasted pancetta and fiordilatte and Sarawak pepper.
Pepe instead, illustrated his Margherita sbagliata (in the photo) – a mistake in the sense that the tomato is only added at the end, raw – a huge success among the enthusiasts who arrive at Pepe in Grani. And then other unique delicacies, such as Pinsa conciata, following a recipe from the 16th century: conciato romano cheese paired with lard from Nero casertano pigs, oregano from the Matese mountains, pepper, basil and, a tip by Alfonso Iaccarino, fresh figs (or, when not in season, a jam made with figs from Cilento).
CP |
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Coccia and the code for Neapolitan pizza  In recent years pizza – starting from the Neapolitan one, after centuries of stillness based on an ascertained deliciousness – became the subject of experiments, revolutions, special events and lively debates. Pizza chefs became stars and researchers, books and TV programmes were created. However, a scientific work of coding and “high-level” diffusion of the technical elements of Neapolitan pizza was missing. A necessary work of codification.
Enzo Coccia – the genius pizzaiuolo of La Notizia – worked on this together with Paolo Masi, professor in Food process engineering at Università di Napoli Federico II, and Annalisa Romano, manager at Caisial in the same university. Together they worked at length on the book “La Pizza Napoletana…più di una Notizia scientifica sul processo di lavorazione artigianale” (published in Italian and English by Doppiavoce Edizioni) who some have already defined as a real “code” of Neapolitan Pizza.
The book, presented by the authors on 30th May inside the Royal Palace at Portici together with anthropologist Marino Niola, author of the preface, is a precious guide to the technical elements of the work of a pizza chef – from raw materials’ chemical-physical properties to the various steps in its preparation – with illustrations, photos, graphics and tables that enrich its educational capacity and the scientific rigour with which the work of the artisan was analysed for the first time. «We’re pizzaioli inside – says Coccia – those in this profession have it in their DNA, and this is a deep gratification. Yet we also need to give a scientific answer to questions arising from experience: tradition, technique and scientific research are links in the same chain».
The book is thus an essential “handbook” for Neapolitan pizza in which concrete elements – such as why does salt make the dough easier to handle? Why using hot water spoils it? – are thus analysed deeply, giving scientific explanations and solutions. A strongly recommended reading not just for pizza chefs but also to those who want to understand what’s behind the pizzas they eat.
LS |
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Rovetta, a promise near Bergamo  «I’m hungry for knowledge» says Alessio Rovetta recalling the journey that led him to open his own place at 20, after studying electronics in high school and earning his economic independence since he was a kid by working in a “traditional” pizzeria. Today he’s 32 and a couple of years ago he discovered Molino Quaglia’s Università della Pizza attending courses that changed if not his life, surely his profession: «I had been looking for something different for a long time, I loved experimenting, I had many ideas but I was self trained, I didn’t have the foundations to put my ideas into practice. I went online and found who could give me some answers». Università della Pizza, that is: «I didn’t have a cent but decided to make a little sacrifice and enrolled. It was a good choice».
Today he runs Pizzeria dei Sette Ponti, a welcoming family place in Carobbio degli Angeli, Bergamo, close to his Chiuduno; creativity and a competence on dough mixtures that make him proud are the protagonists: «I can do almost everything: pizzas with different hydrations, I learnt to bake with a shovel, I understood Beniamino Bilali’s starch hydrolysis, Rolando Morandin taught me how to prepare Easter colombe…». His most innovative types of dough, for which he uses Petra flour, are baked for 6-7 minutes in a wood oven at 65°C, «managing the flames is not easy». The resulting disks have a big edge, seemingly in a Neapolitan style, «yet the edge is crispy while the central part is thicker than in traditional pizzas.
His toppings are varied, from the most banal (burrata and prosciutto) to innovative ones (stracchino from Valle Orobiche and pancetta, or toma from Valle d’Aosta and red onion from Tropea). His gourmand DNA, shared with all the family, is of help: «My parents were not in the business yet they’ve always been food lovers. We would give up on holidays in order to eat good food».
(In the photo, Rovetta with Gualtiero Marchesi)
CP |
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Three brand new pizzerias in Naples  There’s lots of activity in the pizza world in Naples: there were a few new openings in the spring of 2015, with famous names and young talents, enriching the map of Neapolitan pizzerias.
Spicchi d'Autore opened on 22nd May, in Via Gino Doria 81, in Vomero. It focuses on the high quality typical produce of Campania, and not just in terms of pizza. Among the strong points of this place, there are delicious “fritti aristocratici” inspired by monzù cooking – the noble Neapolitan cuisine of the 18th century, born from the meeting of Neapolitan cooks and monsieur French habits – and fine tuned with the recipes of monzù master Gerardo Modugno who spent over forty years working in the noble palaces and prestigious society of Naples: from the uova alla monachina eggs to the crostatina di tagliolini alla Finanziera pasta pie, everything is worth tasting. As for pizzas, they are presented in the original “slice” version (so you can choose the elements of your pizza among many classic and gourmet options) and young Mimmo Esposito is in charge, with many years of experience including that at N.C.O. – Nuova Cucina Organizzata (a project connected with using fields that were confiscated to racketeering).
Gennaro Salvo’s Pizza a Portafoglio (in the photo by Luciano Pignataro) opened in Via Toledo 246, in the historic heart of Naples. The pizza chef is back in town after successfully launching Gino Sorbillo’s pizzeria in Milan, presenting classic Neapolitan pizzas in their most truthful and popular (also in terms of prices) form, that of street pizza: 'a libbretta, margherita, marinara, bianca (ham steak, cream, burrata and corn) and margherita with salami folded “a portafoglio”, following an ancient art bestowed through the generations, to be enjoyed while walking in the streets of the centre. As an alternative, stuffed calzoni and delicious fried delicacies.
The arrival is expected in early June in Pozzuoli (on the northern outskirts of Naples) for Ammaccàmm – from the verb “ammaccare”, the gesture of rolling out Neapolitan pizza with your hands. This new pizzeria is a desire of lawyer and entrepreneur Nicola Taglialatela (who previously created different “Neapolitan” pizzerias around Italy) with two stars, “pizzaioli veraci” Salvatore Santucci and Giovanni Improta.
LS |
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Kosta, the technologist from Villa Giovanna “Pizza technologists” are not that easy to find, in fact one could say we invented it the term ourselves. It would be otherwise difficult to contextualise Salvatore Kosta and his work at Villa Giovanna, on the slopes of Vesuvius where Gianfranco Iervolino previously worked for some time, bringing his concept of gourmet pizza.
A food technologist, Kosta became passionate about yeast and dough out of a personal curiosity, but with a professional approach: he began by creating his own mother yeast with a lactic ferment he got from the Faculty of Agricultural Studies in Portici, and ended up putting a wood oven in his home garden to test the cooking. When Francesco Formisano, owner at Villa Giovanna, asked him to collaborate, he divided doses and proportions and joined the other collaborators in the restaurant’s team: Kosta studies and prepares the dough – different kinds, from those with mother yeast to poolish to the classic direct dough from the Neapolitan tradition – which is then rolled out by Salvatore Balzano, topped by Francesco Sorrentino and baked by Antonio De Martino.
A perfect teamwork that returns to the starting point as Kosta moves around the tables, during the service, telling clients what they are eating and why they shouldn’t be afraid of a sleepless night: his dough variations (presented in rotation, though some nights you can find both) are based on a long maturation at controlled temperature: «Whatever the dough, it is essential for it to stay at least 48 hours in the fridge to be digestible: I prefer strong flour, of the 1 variety, that can “stand” the long maturation, yet when studying the strength tables I can have good results with the 00 variety too».
How does each type of dough vary? «With mother yeast you have that extra oomph both in terms of taste, given the light acidity, and digestibility, thanks to the higher activation of the protease in the flour. Yet with poolish you have more intense aromas, which we can find in the edge of the pizza. In any case, these are always classic Neapolitan pizzas, both with regards to their appearance and taste, with a smooth and elastic dough». As for pizzas, many toppings have remained from those what were already in the menu yet the team at Villa Giovanna is fine tuning some new recipes such as Pizza Slow with San Marzano tomatoes Miracolo di San Gennaro, anchovies from Menaica, capers from Salina, fiordilatte from Agerola and organic extra virgin olive oil.
LS |
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Guglielmo Vuolo and marine pizza  Those born and raised in the South perhaps still have a memory of “freselle” (dry, doughnut-shaped bread) soaked in sea water and seasoned with tomatoes, oil and basil – an old times’ summer snack. Today due to safety reasons this habit is not recommended but there’s someone who thought about using seawater – suitably depurated – to knead Neapolitan pizza, namely Guglielmo Vuolo, an excellent Neapolitan pizza chef with a long experience, who today mostly works at Eccellenze Campane (while the family pizzeria in Casalnuovo is in the expert hands of sons Enrico e Valerio).
Some time ago, Vuolo – who was collaborating in Apulia with vascular surgeon Vincenzo Di Donna, the president of the Università Popolare di Scienze degli Stili di Vita – met Steralmar, a firm specialised in the production of depurated seawater, suitable for human consumption. Hence the idea of using it in the pizza dough and – after five months of experiments – it was officially presented on 8th June at Eccellenze Campane with a conference dedicated to Acqua d’a-mare, after the “preview” at Cooking for Art.
So what does the use of seawater imply? «The end result is totally similar to my “classic” pizza – says Vuolo – in fact, the dough is slightly lighter and tastier, even though I don’t add any salt: seawater is rich in minerals yet only has 36% of sodium chloride, which is an advantage, for instance, for those suffering from hypertension». And from a technical perspective? «Since there’s no salt, which makes the gluten structure stronger, the maturation cannot last more than 12-14 hours; I use brewer’s yeast or criscito [the mother yeast dough typical of Neapolitan tradition] and they are enough to make the dough perfectly digestible. Even the baking – another essential element of a good pizza – requires a little extra attention, as seawater makes the edge get “darker” sooner». How about the cost? «I don’t think I’ll increase the price and in any case I will alternate the two types of dough; Steralmar water is not extremely expensive and this means I will save on the salt, I usually use the one from Nubia».
It needs to be said that Vuolo is not the first to test seawater in pizza: two years ago Massimo Giovannini of Apogeo in Pietrasanta presented a pizza made with type 1 and whole-wheat flour at Le Strade della Mozzarella, using Steralmar seawater while Giovanni Mandara makes it at Piccola Piedigrotta in Reggio Emilia, though using Spanish Agua de Mar. Still, this is a first for Neapolitan pizza and Vuolo’s pizza is delicious.
LS |
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Casa del Pane, Verdesca’s job in Molfetta Today he’s forty and he’s got another crush, «yet I’m single», hence the mystery must be solved by going to Molfetta, where the victim of Cupid works hard («It’s fine, I love striving to improve. In fact I’m having fun»), in his Casa del Pane, the place where he gives way to his passion for high quality, presenting all sorts of leavened products to clients that gradually understand his art better and better: «At first [he started to use Petra flour only a few months ago] it was a little hard, especially with bread, because it was slightly darker than those sold nearby, people were sceptical. Today many have understood and only buy it from me». Verdesca likes the idea of a product that is “alive”, artisanal, not standardised and somewhat different every day because it is totally natural, «I don’t use improvers, preservatives or coadjutants: just flour, water and mother yeast».
Salvatore started at 12, working in a bakery in Molfetta (he’s originally from Lecce but was born and raised here, 25 km from Bari). At 20 he opened a pizzeria with his brother Giuseppe, who is now a chef elsewhere; 10 ears ago Casa del Pane was born when he took over an old bakery and relaunched it, focusing on constant research. One step was indeed the meeting with Petra. From that moment on, things changed and he presented, together with traditional recipes with durum wheat semolina, a bread range characterised by whole-wheat flour made with common wheat: «My products now have that extra oomph».
His pizzas should not be missed, both the al metro and the round take-away ones. Perhaps the toppings are classic but the dough is «nice, soft, crispy», and when he says so, his heart beats fast. C'est l'amour…
CP |
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Berberè, a large parmigiana at Expo In the photo, the pizza with aubergines, tomato and Grana Padano that you can taste throughout the month of June at Pizza and Cereals a Expo, a temporary spinoff of Berberé, the famous pizzeria with branches in Castel Maggiore, Firenze and Bologna. The space in Rho, set in partnership with Alce Nero is inside the Organic Pavilion, behind the Oman Pavilion. It is certainly one of the best pizzas in Milan and the other good news is that soon Matteo Aloe, patron at Berberé, will open in town too, probably in the Isola neighbourhood. |
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Capperi che pizza, an idea from Lievità in Milan Capperi che pizza, a pizza from Lievità, a gourmet pizzeria in via Ravizza 11, Milan, tel. +39.02.91328251. No cheese, it has plenty of Gragnano tomatoes from Monti Lattari, Salina bio capers, black olives from Caiazzo, Nubia red garlic, Matese oregano and fresh basil. A great pizza. |
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