Pizza alla Napoletana and Torta Caprese

Want to know how to make this?

Pizza alla Napoletana

Yep. This was today's lunch.

We learned about the region of Campania today. It's the region in Southern Italy where Naples is. They're famous for pizza!

What makes Naples' pizza the best is a combination of awesome things:

1. The dough is made with lievito madre, natural yeast, not chemical yeast. It's very hard to do and the process takes a long time. They also use "farina 0," a certain kind of flour used for pizza and focaccia. (There's also farina di grano duro for pasta and bread, and farina 00 for desserts. I don't really know what the American equivalent is, though; does anyone else know?)

2. The cheese used on the pizza is fior di latte mozzarella. Mozzarella is produced in Campania, and the conditions are perfect for raising the cows. The grass is different there because of the warm climate and the mineral-rich soil from the volcanoes in the area.

3. Tomatoes are the best in the South because the weather is warmer.

So, here's how we made our pizza.

First, get 2 bowls. In the first one, put 500(ish) grams (about a pound, I think) of flour, an Italian (big) pinch of salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. In the next bowl, put some warm water, a pinch of sugar, and a cube (Yes, a cube. I have no idea how you'll find this in the US.) of fresh yeast. Mix the yeast around with your fingers to dissolve it. Then dump the yeast/water/sugar into the flour/salt/oil. It'll look like this.

About to Become Dough

Mix it up with your hands. (Add more warm water if you need to.) Start punching it a lot until it turns into the right consistency. It should be very soft and almost sticky. Then cover it with a warm, damp towel and let it rest an hour to double.

Meanwhile, work on the sauce. (The best part of the pizza, à mon avis) Take some tomato sauce. Chop finely a garlic clove. Add a big ol' pinch of salt, a drizzle of oil, a pinch of oregano and some hot pepper (a ground up spice; not an actual pepper). Let it chill out for a while on the counter. Tear up some fresh, clean basil leaves.

Basil, Rising Dough, Yummy Sauce

When the dough has risen, roll it out on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Put the dough on it. Then cover the dough (not the edges; duh; you need a crust) with the sauce.

Ready for the Oven!

Put it in a hot oven. (We used 250 Celsius; I converted it and it's 482 Fahrenheit.) About 15 minutes (maybe; I don't really know how long it was in) later, the crust will be nice and golden. Take it out, and put some sliced fresh mozzarella on top. (I can't decide if my favorite cheese is mozzarella or pecorino. It's totally a toss-up. I also feel the need to decide soon which is my favorite. It's adding a lot of unnecessary stress in my life. . .)

Cheese!

Sprinkle some oregano on top of the cheese. Then put it in the oven again till the cheese is all melty. Take it out. Put the basil on top. Drizzle with a little more olive oil. Mmm. . .

Ready. To. Eat!

What's for dessert? Torta Caprese.

Melt 100 grams of bitter chocolate in a double boiler. Let it cool; add half a small glass of coffee liquor and half a cup of Italian coffee. (Italian coffee is strong. 1 cup is, like, the size of a shot. So half a shot of coffee.)

In another bowl, mix 100 grams of butter with 100 grams of sugar (minus a tablespoon of sugar which you put in a food processor with 150 grams of almonds). Separate 3 eggs. One at a time, add the yolks to the butter and sugar. Add the chopped almonds and half a tablespoon each of flour and baking powder. Add the melted chocolate. Whip the egg whites. Gently fold them into the mixture.

Butter and flour a springform pan. Place the mixture inside and bake 40 minutes at 180 Celsius. Then take it out of the pan and onto a serving plate. Take your decorative snowflake shaped stencil-y paper thing and put it on top of the cake. Then sift some powdered sugar on it.

Pretty!

Decorate it with almonds and chocolate shavings.

Enjoy!