One would think that pizza would be a food that is fairly simple to make. Get some crust, put some sauce and cheese on it and pop it in the oven. We did this on our first pizzas we made over 25 years ago. Since then, our recipe has changed dramatically, and yes, we have become completely obsessive about the attention that goes into one of our pies.
We came up with a list of at least 36 things we consider and scrutinize on the most basic pizza we have — the Lucia (also called the Margherita) …Others that have more ingredients, more scrutinization required.
Our goal is not to boast about the length of our process, but to dedicate our time and energy in making a product that will stand out from the rest. Stop by one of our events sometime and try us out!
Cheers,
J
Factors that contribute to a successful Lucia pizza in a somewhat logical order
1. Fermentation and acidity of starter
2. Water / flour content of starter
3. Recipe ratio of dough of Flour & Salt
4. Quality of Flour
5. Hydration ratio of dough
6. Quality of water
7. Water Temperature
8. Temperature and humidity when making dough
9. Time additions of flour to mixer
10. Length of time of dough mixed
11. Fermentation schedule (between 2-5 days)
12. Proofing time (humidity, time and temp)
13. Oven pre-heat
14. Oven temp (3 types of heat involved – floor, dome, air)
15. Type of wood used (hardwood, type of hardwood)
16. Type of cut to wood (length & thickness)
17. How dough is stretched and shaped
18. Amount and type of flour used to stretch
19. Type of tomatoes used and where they are grown
20. What type of can are tomatoes are packed in
21. Quality of tomato by type
22. How are tomatoes processed
23. Seasoning to sauce (salt)
24. Quantity of sauce on pie
25. Type of cheese used and the way it is made
26. Quality of Cow’s milk or Buffalo milk
27. How fresh cheese is
28. How cheese is cut up and placed on pie
29. Ratio of Cheese (too much will dwarf other flavors)
30. Addition of additional aged cheese (pecorino or grana padano)
31. Quality of aged cheese
32. Addition of olive oil and the quality of olives used for oil
33. Quantity of oil used before baking
34. Addition of basil and the quality of basil used
35. Addition of Sea salt and quality of salt produced
36. How pizza is cooked in oven and for how long (a bit of char is good!)