Learning Neapolitan Pizza! HELP!

[thezaman]

matt, how close is the english to the italian as far as interpretation. i have that video and the English doesn't explain the whole dough methods or his sauce making procedure . is the italian any more exacting?

[Matthew]

matt, how close is the english to the italian as far as interpretation. i have that video and the English doesn't explain the whole dough methods or his sauce making procedure . is the italian any more exacting?

What specifically are you referring to with regards to the dough method?  His sauce is SM tomatoes seasoned with basil & oil.

Matt

[thezaman]

when he gives the dough recipe  what amount of water does he start at, the yeast amount and salt amount. he blends the flour to feel a little at a time . what is his reasoning ? is it to get a certain texture ? what i hear is the standard vpn formula but i am not sure . i just wondered if he is more exacting than the english interpretation .

[Matthew]

when he gives the dough recipe  what amount of water does he start at, the yeast amount and salt amount. he blends the flour to feel a little at a time . what is his reasoning ? is it to get a certain texture ? what i hear is the standard vpn formula but i am not sure . i just wondered if he is more exacting than the english interpretation .

He uses 1L water, approx 1700g flour, very few grams of yeast, & 50g salt.  He kneads with the spiral for 10 minutes, adding the flour little by little to avoid lumps.  He says that you have to be extra careful with this when making small batches.  The dough should be nice & compact.  Little bubbles on top of the skin of the finished dough depicts a textbook perfect dough.  Cover with a damp cloth & let rest for 1/2 hour before making the panetti.

Matt

[thezaman]

thanks, you filled in the missing parts. this comes at a realy good time,my pizza tonight was really bad . my dough was not good  i rushed the mix and it was lumpy .

[Matthew]

thanks, you filled in the missing parts. this comes at a realy good time,my pizza tonight was really bad . my dough was not good  i rushed the mix and it was lumpy .

I have found that this method of gradually adding flour makes a really big difference in the finished dough texture.  I'll post some photos when I mix up a batch with my spiral mixer. (If it ever arrives)

Matt

[thezaman]

matt, i have santos and am not enjoying it. i use it for my whole wheat dough and it works fine. i think my batches are to small at 2000 grams of caputo the mix is poor very lumpy .

[Matthew]

matt, i have santos and am not enjoying it. i use it for my whole wheat dough and it works fine. i think my batches are to small at 2000 grams of caputo the mix is poor very lumpy .

Larry,
I too had some difficulty with the Santos because of smaller dough batches & was having such great success with the DLX that I eventually sold the Santos because I never used it.  I am looking forward to the arrival of my spiral & can't wait to test it out.

Matt

[thezaman]

matt, how big is the spiral mixer,cost, and where did you purchase it. i haven't seen any smaller spirals that are available in the us.

[Matthew]

matt, how big is the spiral mixer,cost, and where did you purchase it. i haven't seen any smaller spirals that are available in the us.

I don't want to hijack the thread, I'll send you a PM.

Matt

[Pizza Rustica]

Matt,

I would be interested in your spiral mixer spec's as well. Sorry no hijack intended just interested. Thanks.

[BrickStoneOven]

I was watching the Antonino Esposito dvd today, thanks to thezaman and found it very informative.

Side note have you guys noticed that Antonino Esposito looks like Artie Bucco from the Sopranos. http://www.tlntv.com/sopranos/cast/castimgs/ARTIEBUCCO.jpg