LONG POST ALERT - apologies in advance for typos
Ok, the car journey was faster than I expected so I didn’t get around to posting about the actual pizza class! The rest of the trip was with family so I didn’t really have time to sit down and write this post with the detail it deserved. Busy week back at work so sitting down now to give this post the time it needs!
A one on one session with Gianni Scotto of Artigiani Scotto in Sorrento. Gianni spent nearly 10+ years in London at Rosso Pomodoro so his English is great which was a significant perk for me!
A short-ish drive over from where we were staying in Salerno, about 90 mins. Most of the road is pretty good single and dual carriageway roads thankfully.
It was a hybrid of a ‘day in the life’ of a pizzaiolo and a pizza class. The first thing we did was use some left over dough to make bread – the oven was still hot enough from the night before to bake a couple of loafs.
We started with a chat about his background and overall approach to pizzamaking, what he would teach me about how HE does things, and that none of it is ‘rules’ but more ‘guidance’ and the key is to learn from others but figure out you’re your own style and preferences.
We then went to the market in the piazza across the road to pick up some fresh ingredients and talked about how its important to use only both local AND in season ingredients (wouldn’t that be nice!?). So walking around cracking lots of jokes with old Italian guys. Someone he knew was trying to flog him either courgette or aubergine but he was insistent that it was too late in the summer for it to be good 😂.
Hmm, then we went back and discussed fermentation, dough recipes, some more modern stuff like using different grains, even hemp powder for a vegan pizza to add some more protein to the flour dough. We also made a dough using the oil from sun-dried tomatoes for a special recipe for another day, but I wasn’t around to try it, sadly. Monitoring the dough at different stages in the mixer, the order to add ingredients, making eyeball adjustments adding more water/flour as required. Talked a bit about where to place the dough for room temp ferment, and how to modify your recipe based on the ambient temperature on the time of year. Even a big sack of flour holds its own internal temperature which is different from the room temp, water, etc. All these variables can affect your fermentation.
His fermentation technique is 12 hours bulk at room temp, 12 hours in balls at room temp, and 12 hours balled in the fridge at 5c IIRC. Then straight to opening and baking. So the balls in the tray look kinda flat but they were really nice to handle.
Next was a lesson on balling dough. Quite similar to what I've seen online, and read here, but with some direct tuition about what to focus on, and what I was doing wrong/could be done better. You're almost trying to capture more air inside the dough ball as you fold it in on itself, which I never thought of. Even tried cutting off a line of dough from the bulk on the bench and balling at the end of the ‘snake’ and ripping it off. Frustratingly difficult to get the right dough ball size, and hard to rip off a clean cut. The guys had a bit of a giggle at me struggling with that, but Gianni was impressed that I had the confidence to try (why the hell not?). What strikes me is everyone just eyeballs the dough balls, never see a pizzaiolo weighing every ball. Mine were all either huge or tiny but I checked a few of Gianni’s and they were within I think 5-10% of the 280 he said they should be.
We did a tomato tasting which was really interesting. I cant remember which is which but we discuss how some are more watery, some have tougher flesh, some are less acidic, some are softer, etc., and the benefits of each. My new favorite are the datterino giallo – either in sea water or in tomato juice. Makes a great topping or even base for a pizza.
We took a mozzarella delivery and did some tasting. I’ve realised I struggle with smoked mozzarella. The smokey flavour and the creamy/fatness just makes me feel like I'm eating smoked mackerel! Interesting to note that fresh mozzarella isn’t always in water. The stuff he got was wet, but just wrapped in paper. I think I’ve seen Italian pizza youtubers getting their cheese packaged in a similar way.
At some point we re-fueled the oven with a couple of logs and talked about the different type of heat, how they travel around the oven to cook a pizza, where you should put the wood (on one side) and where you should put the pizza (on the opposite side). Interestingly, he says in a full-sized oven you should cook maybe max 4 pizzas, and doesn’t agree with people who load up the whole thing.
It was suddenly lunch time and the family arrived to eat. The pizzeria was open for lunch for the first time since the summer season ended (now people are back at work, kids back to school, more people would go into a restaurant in the town for lunch than in summer when everyone is at the beach!).
They spoiled us with some Neapolitan antipasti (all fried! A Scotsman felt quite at home) and a bottle of prosecco. We then did a ‘pizza tasting’ so I made one pizza at a time with Gianni and then sat down with the family to have a slice each (there were 4 of us).
Started with my newfound favorite, the marinara. I realized when I open the dough with the slap technique I stretch it a little too far/heavily. It seems like the correct technique is one hand is on top of the dough and the other one just lifts it up and throws it onto the back of the hand. I was using the 2nd hand to pull and stretch the dough, which I did this first pizza and ended up with a thin spot, so the first pizza ended up a bit misshapen. It still tasted great.
The second pizza was pizza fritta, on Gianni’s insistence. The dough is opened and then lightly fried, before being topped and baked. It wasn’t as heavy as I thought it would be, the dough was soft with a little crunch and a little bit more moist than a non fried dough. Slight taste of oil like ... churros or something. It was a pizza fritta margherita.
Next we had one of my favorites – due pomodori. pomodoro giallo saltato in padella, datterino rosso, buffalo, e pestro di basilico – beautiful. I shaped this one with Gianni’s support, onto the peel, and one shot! Straight into the oven. To be honest I didn’t want to risk burning the pizza so I let him turn it in the oven. Can't quite get the knack of a quick spin and then placing down back in the exact spot so the bottom doesn’t burn. Definitely being more gentle with the dough and working slower is better. I always try and work fast because that's what the experts do! Keep it a little thicker too and use you hand to feel for thin spots as you work it.
Lastly was a pretty heavy one. Sautéed onions, crispy bacon, provolone cheese, walnuts, and buffalo mozzarella cream made from the water of the cheese. Interesting he warned me – keep the pizza small because the toppings are heavy. A margherita can be bigger but a heavier/wetter pizza needs a thicker base. As this was pizza number 4 it was a bit overwhelming, but very tasty. I’m not sure I could cope with a whole one my self but a perfect finish to a tasting session.
The offered us desert but we stuck to coffee! By this time we were stuffed and it was only 3pm. Gianni and his partner Valeria were very generous, highly recommend if you're in the area to at least try a pizza or consider contacting them for a class. PM for contact details.
Overall I'd say thanks to everyone here - he confirmed much of what I learned from you guys, and having the one on one tuition helped me realized some things wrong in my approach and how to improve my technique. I'd love to have made more pizzas but I couldn't have eaten another bite!
