FOTO. {Smoked salmon and artichoke via Pasqualino Barbasso}
Sicily and Abruzzo Tours 2022
Buongiorno amici:
We are on our way to regaining some well-deserved outdoor dining, and a good pizza shared with family and friends is what we need just about now. Have you ever wondered why we get up in the middle of the night with a relentless thirst after having a pizza for dinner? You will probably attribute the sensation to a rich and elaborate topping or perhaps a cheese that does not like you. But that is not the primary reason, although it may expand the issue.
The problem is forming the dough, the base, the canvas, where great artisans assemble extraordinary and straightforward ingredients to please your palate. It is all related to the leavening aspect of the formula, a fundamental step that does not allow errors.
Pizza masters call it “the ripening phase” when the wheat encounter water and exchange enzymes that break down the starch and the gluten. It is nothing but simple science, the exact science we need to consider when cooking food in general.
The ripening phase takes approximately 24 to 48 hours, and frankly, no pizza shop would be able to wait that long, but many others do., and those are the pizza places we ought to visit.
A great pizza deserves all the leavening and maturation necessary. Unfortunately, the salt added to the dough during the mixing stage will not disperse evenly and remain forceful in every bite. The science of salt dispersion makes all the difference between a quick-rising dough and a mature one. An outstanding pizza will be easily digested within one hour, leaving a pleasurable sensation in your palate and abdomen.
Let’s not forget that there is already salt in the tomato, and the mozzarella, two of the classic Margherita’s components, along with the salt already in the dough. Of course, you will be safer with a vegetarian-style pizza because vegetables have natural minerals, but imagine what happens when ordering a pizza loaded with pepperoni, olives, cured meats, and various cheeses. By nighttime, the level of salt content is much too high for the body to be quiet and will respond with the warning signal that says “water is needed” to filter through the mess we made.
Lastly, be aware of the dough you purchase at the local bakery or supermarket. I refer to the one you see stacked up already in plastic bags and occasionally swollen due to the leavening, which occurs when the dough is a couple of days old.
Well, that dough has not gone through any ripening anything. Instead, it is a quick-rising formulation loaded with sugars and salts, the ingredients that will disturb your sleep and generate all kinds of restless dreams.
My advice is to ask the pizza shop you’ll like to visit if the dough they are using has gone through any ripening and maturation process, and please let me know the outcome. I will be waiting, but I think I know the answer. Ciao.
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