Mozzarella di bufala

[Steve]

Yesterday, I had some fresh imported Italian mozzarella di bufala cheese. The cheese was oh-so creamy, and oh-so delicious! It had a very slight "tartness" which was very pleasant.

I'm going to buy some more of this cheese tomorrow and try my hand at a Pizza Margherita. I'll be using King Arthur Italian "00" flour, the best tomatoes that I can find, mozzarella di bufala cheese, fresh basil leaves, and my best extra virgin olive oil.  

I can hardly wait!!

(For those who do not know, mozzarella di bufala is mozzarella cheese made from the milk of a water buffalo and is considered essential for making an authentic Pizza Margherita).

[LMU Pizza Man]

I have a question about '00' flour. I bought some from an italian market locally called Claros. I saw it on a tv show where an italian lady was making pizza. She said they only use '00' over there. It makes my dough extra silky smooth but it lacks the sturdyness to toss. The packaging says 2,5 g protein per 35 grams, so this would be 7%. is this normal for '00' or do you cut it with another flour?

[Steve]

I have a question about '00' flour. I bought some from an italian market locally called Claros. I saw it on a tv show where an italian lady was making pizza. She said they only use '00' over there. It makes my dough extra silky smooth but it lacks the sturdyness to toss. The packaging says 2,5 g protein per 35 grams, so this would be 7%. is this normal for '00' or do you cut it with another flour?

Italian "00" flour has a slightly lower protein content than our all-purpose flour. You can mimic this type of flour by using 1 cup of pastry flour to 3 cups all-purpose. But, King Arthur Flour Company sells "00" flour on their website, so I bought a bag.

Pizza Margherita is not stretched paper-thin like a traditional NY style pizza. The center of the dough is stretched so that it's about 1/4" thick, with the outside edge slightly thicker. For NY style pizza, you want lots of gluten to keep the dough from tearing during the stretching and tossing phase.

Steve

[DKM]

I've really been working on my Pizza Margherita and I am getting a lot better at it.  I also top with other standard  toppings from time to time.  

Because the pizzas are smaller, I finding it a good dough to make and portion up in to individual zip lock bags and keep in the fridge.

I've tried it on both screen and stone, and tend to prefer my stone for it.

They have a very short cook time and are my answer to frozen 'pizza' for something simple and quick.

DKM