I am on the cape for vacation (Cape Cod), and we took a trip into Hyannis for the afternoon. Walking down the main street with all the touristy restaurants and shops, I saw a familiar shape out of the corner of my eye: a gleaming, glass-tiled Stefano Ferrara mobile oven. So we stopped in. I was able to talk to Jason, the owner and pizzaiolo, about his whole process, the dough, the oven - he even gave me a tour of the kitchen.
Jason has a beautiful oven and dough to match. He uses IDY, and the dough is cold fermented over 3 days. Caputo 00. He pulled out plastic covered print outs from the pizzamaking.com dough calculator: 60% percent hydration, .4 percent IDY. He said that when he started using the SF, the dough he used in his mobile operation that was 63% came out too wet, and he needed to lower it.
I had a margherita, and I timed the bake at 80 seconds. What a pleasant surprise to be in Hyannis on vacation, and happen on this place. The dough was light, complex in flavor with a slight tang, and beautifully balanced. The salt level of the ingredients was more than I am used to in my backyard, but it was in line with a restaurant presentation. There was no soupiness at all, and the cheese had a really nice milky taste. The tomatoes were San Marzano, and slightly acidic. Overall it was an outstanding pizza. Jason is a true gentleman and very knowledgable. I can't wait to come back and try out some other pizzas and stay longer for a dinner. He was telling me about a special he had that day that was a play on a hawaiian: pineapple and prosciutto.
John
