Hi everyone,

On our first full day in Naples we went up into the hills and had a pizza making class.  Most of you know that I am a very avid pizza maker and pizza eater.  I have a pizza oven that can get very hot, up to 900F. But for one reason or another I have never really gotten into Neapolitan pizza, which is a very special type of pizza that originates in Naples.  Pizza was originally considered to be food for peasants who couldn't afford to eat anything else.  As usual the Neapolitans applied their special food sorcery to transform this humble dish of flour, water, salt and yeast into one of the most delicious and best-loved foods in the world.  They love their version of pizza so much that they created an organization which is called the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, (the True Neapolitan Pizza Association) and they have created a strict code which specifies the acceptable ingredients and methods which are used to create the true Pizza Napoletana.  They actually offer a certification program for people who want to learn to make pizza according to the principles set forth by the Association.  Pizza makers from all over the world come to Naples to take a week-long certification class where they are taught every aspect of the process, from selection of materials, to making the dough, to constructing and baking the pizza.  They earn the right to display the trademarked sign of the Association We didn't have a week free to learn everything but luckily they have a one day class where they go over the essentials.  So we traveled high up into the upper city to take the class and learn from the experts how to make the Neapolitan pizza.  Our expert pizza chef was Monica Forgione, who is pretty well known on Instagram for her pizza making skills. She very patiently took us through the process of making the dough, especially the kneading technique and how to be sure that the pizza dough is kneaded enough. Monica doesn't speak a lot of English so we were provided with a very capable translator, Georgia, who is from the UK.

Cath and I both learned how to make the dough and knead it just so. Then the dough has to rest for a while before being shaped into round disks, which then rest and rise to the perfect consistency. The oven is heated up to a scorching temperature of about 800 F. Since we were a fairly small group of just two, we used a smaller oven rather than wasting lots of wood to heat up the full size pizza oven (which take several hours to heat.) Interestingly, the small oven they used is called an Ooni oven, which is the same type of oven that my nephew Ted has. So I will let Ted know that he can make "la vera pizza napoletana" in his oven. Keep at it Ted!  While the oven was heating we learned how to make the sauce (just whole San Marzano tomatoes and a little salt crushed by hand). We cut fresh Mozzarella into strips. Then we learned how to shape the pizzas using a special stretching technique that I never quite mastered. Then we made the pizzas by dressing the dough with just the right amount of sauce, cheese, olive oil and basil (for the Margherita pizza), or just sauce, olive oil, oregano and basil for the marinara pizza.  Then into the fiery hot oven for just over a minute.  Imagine a pizza being fully cooked in such a short time. But it was perfectly cooked and totally delicious.  Golden brown on the outside and very moist (but not wet) on the inside, with a nice "cornicione" (the puffy edge or rim crust that some people erroneously throw away, but they should not since it is the best part of the pizza); the characteristic "leopard spotting" that you look for on a well baked Neopolitan pizza.  I've eaten a lot of pizza in my time but I really doubt I will ever have a better tasting pizza than the one we made during our class.  Of course, I will keep trying!    

We were very appreciative of our pizza chef, Monica Forgione, and our translator Georgia for helping us to learn the art of "la vera pizza napoletana". Here we are with our diplomas:

More soon!