Submitted by Jessica Kolesar on the 2013 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics…
Last night, the group and I, accompanied by our Professor, spent the evening in Asolo for a remarkable pizza making experience. The owner of the pizzeria was an incredibly friendly Italian man and introduced himself upon our arrival. He spoke to us in Italian, but a translator was able to help us understand.
First, we were taught the ingredients that make a “good” pizza dough – two different types of flour, water, yeast, and salt. We learned that yeast and water are the two fundamental ingredients, and that the amount differs according to the weather outside. When the weather is cold, like it had been the night we made pizza, more yeast and warmer water is needed. We were able to observe the brick oven that is used to cook the pizza and learned that the temperature in the oven is over 800 degrees! The owner is definitely gifted at pizza making, stating that he could knead out dough in 3-4 seconds and make up to 50 pizzas in an hour! We were all astonished, for we had estimated that the time to knead dough took about 5 minutes! To determine whether a pizza is done cooking, we were told to observe the crust – a golden brown crust is ideal. After learning about the different aspects of pizza making, we were able to make our own pizza for dinner. We kneaded out the dough, spread tomato sauce, and added toppings of our choice. For my pizza, I added mozzarella cheese, eggplant, olives, salami, and sprinkled parmesan cheese on top. The final product was absolutely delicious!
