How It Works - UK (2020-05)

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TECHNOLOGY

F

rom its humble beginning, sold onlybystreet

vendors in the Italian city of Naples,pizzahas

become much more than a delicioussourceof

cheap food. Each year, 5 billion pizzas aresold

around the world. You can find them inthefrozen

section of almost every supermarket, havethem

made fresh from the menu at a restaurantoryou

can travel to their roots and try an originalpizza

experience from a top chef in Italy.

Pizzas first came into existence as theidealfood

source for poverty-stricken people in 18th-century

Naples. It was cheap, easy to make andtastytoeat.

These characteristics are still important,butthe

beauty of today’s pizzas is that they canbewhat

you want them to be. Whether it’s toppedwiththe

smoky taste of bacon, the polarising sweetnessof

pineappleorthesimplecheese-and-tomato

Margherita,pizzacanhaveitall.

Wecanallimagineourownpersonalpieceof

perfectpizza,butwhatstepscanwetaketobake

ourpizzastobethebesttheycanbe,accordingto

What’s the ideal way to makethis tastyItaliandish?

Perfect pizza explained

Words by Ailsa Harvey

Wood-firedovenscanhelppizzatoppingsretain

nutrientsandmakethemtastedelicious

©Getty

How do these ovens provide

the true Italian taste?

Inside the

pizza oven

AR ZONE!

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by

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SCAN HERE

AR ZONE!

science? Outside of Italy, fast-food chains have

removed some of the authenticity from the process.

It’s both a winning blend of ingredients and

method that allows chefs to create a perfect pizza.

The physics of

pizza-making

Liquid limits

Adding water to the dough

base alters the properties

of gluten. It acts to hydrate

the gluten proteins, changing the

consistency. If not enough water is

added then the proteins gliadin and

glutenin won’t combine well and

the dough will easily tear. If you add

too much water the protein fibres

will be too loose and the base will

lose its shape.

Need to knead

To keep the gluten

bonds flexible, knead

the dough. This will unfold the

gluten chains into a stretchy dough

for trapping air. Adding a pinch of

salt in kneading can neutralise

electrically charged particles and

help them move across each other

more readily.

Handling the heat

For the most authentic

pizza, bake the dough in a

wood-fired pizza oven at 330

degrees Celsius. If baking at home

with an electric oven, preheat to

230 degrees Celsius.

Timing to perfection

At these temperatures,

keep the pizza in the

wood-fired oven for two minutes,

and the electric oven for just 170

seconds.

Getting a grilling

Once the base is cooked,

turning the temperature to

its maximum and

switching to the grill setting for a

matter of a few seconds will

achieve base crispness and gooey

cheese, without causing the pizza

to dry out.

Choosing

your cheese

Mozzarella is

considered the most desirable

cheese for pizza topping. As cheese

heats up, the water inside boils,

with steam creating a bubbling

effect. This cheese is more elastic

than other varieties such as

cheddar and edam and creates a

stretchy well-bubbling surface. It

also has the ideal oil content to

create the browning top associated

with a well-baked pizza.

Woodfire

Thefireburnsatthebackof

theoventoheatupthe

oven’sinnerdome.When

usingflames,yourpizzawill

bereadyin muchlesstime.

Heatdistribution

Largerovenswillrequiremore

timetobecomefullyheated.

Oncehotenoughit is

designedtoretainaneven

temperatureatbetween 300

and 400 degreesCelsius.

Convection

cooking

Asairtemperature

increases,it risesaround

thepizza.This

convectiondistributes

theheatevenlyinside

theovenandaroundthe

pizzatoensureaneven

bake.Asa useful

processin helping

reducecookingtime,the

hotsurfacealsoadds

thelight,browningcrust

welovetoseeona

freshlybakedpizza.

Smokeexit

Smokeneedstoexittheoven

beforeit buildsup.Toomuch

ofit cancausethepizzato

adoptanoverpoweringflavour.

Coldairenters

Tokeeptheaircirculating

aroundthepizzaandto

provideoxygenfortheflames,

freshairentersthrougha vent.

Reflectedheat

Heatfromtheflamescanbe

transferredtothefoodby

beingreflectedoffthewallsof

thedomeandontothepizza.

Cookingfromthefloor

Designedtogivethepizzathebest

all-roundfinish,wood-firedpizzaovens

storeheatin theovenfloor.Thisradiates

backuptothebottomofthepizzaand

helpstoestablishanevenheat.