Recipe for VPN Pizza Margherita

Recipe

We receive a lot of requests from people who would like to make VPN style pizza at home. They often request the recipe. We decided, therefore, to create this page with the basic recipe for a pizza Margherita.

The Dough

00 Flour (W 220-380 ) 4 lb. or 1.8 kg
(We recommend Caputo flour if you can get it)
Water .88 quarts or 1 Liters
Salt 1.75-1.95 oz. or 50-55 grams
Brewer's Yeast 1/10 oz. or 3 grams

Mix by hand or in low speed mixer.
Form into 9 oz. or 250 gram dough balls.

Stretch dough on marble worktop to about 11"

The Sauce

Ground plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
2 fresh basil leaves hand shredded into large pieces.

The Cheese

Fresh Fior-di-Latte or Bufala Mozzarella cheese
only partly covering the surface..

Before cooking, apply a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on the surface of the pizza

Cooking

Cook the pizza in a wood oven, if possible, for 2 minutes at 850° F- 905° F,
turning the pie every 30 seconds or so.

A translation of the official A.V.P.N. manual on the recipe.

1) Preparation of the Dough: The ingredients are flour, water, salt, and yeast. Pour one liter of water into a mixer bowl. Dissolve 50-55 grams of sea salt. Now successively add 10% of the flour and 3g yeast. Turn on the mixer, gradually adding the rest of 1,800 grams of flour W 220-380 until the desired consistency is reached, that is until it is a dough. This operation should last about ten minutes. The dough should then be worked in the mixer for about 20 minutes at low speed until it is a compact mass The dough should not be sticky, but soft and elastic. The dough must not be heated during the above operations.

2) Rising: First phase: The dough, once extracted from the mixer, is placed on a work table where it is allowed to rest for 2 hours covered by a damp cloth so that the surface of the dough will not harden and form a crust. After 2 hours, the dough is formed into balls. This must be performed by the pizzamaker exclusively by hand. Portions of the mass of dough are cut to form the balls. For Pizza Napoletana, the dough balls should have a mass of between 180-250 grams.

In the second phase of leavening, the balls rise after being placed in a wooden or plastic box for between 4-6 hours. The dough balls are now ready to be used within the next 6 hours.

3) Forming the pizza: After rising, the pizza balls are extracted with the help of a spatula, dough scraper or other kitchen tool and placed on the pizza work bench on a light layer of flour to avoid the dough sticking to the work bench. With a movement from the center to the edge using manual pressure of the fingers of both hands the dough is worked being turned various times until it forms a disc shaped mass. The center of the disc should not exceed.3cm and the crust edge should not exceed 1-2 cm. For Neapolitan pizza only hand working the dough at this stage is permitted. Rolling pins or other mechanical methods are not permitted.

4): Topping: The toppings differ according to the type of pizza.

a) marinara: With a spoon, deposit in the center of the disc 80 g of peeled, broken up tomatoes. With a spiral movement, the tomatoes are spread over the surface. With a spiral movement add salt to the surface of the tomato. In the same way, spread a pinch of oregano. A clove of garlic is cut and placed over the surface. With an oliera (oil dispenser), distribute 4-5 grams of extra virgin olive oil over the pizza in a spiral motion.

b): Pizza Napoletana Margherita: With a spoon, deposit in the center of the disc 60-80 g of peeled, broken up tomatoes. With a spiral motion, spread the tomatoes on the surface of the disc. With a similar spiral movement, add the salt. 80-100 g of mozzarella di bufala STG or fior-di-latte cut in cubes or coarsely shredded are added to the surface of the pizza. A few leaves of basil are deposited on the surface of the pizza. With an oliera, distribute 4-5 grams of extra virgin olive oil on the surface starting from the center

5) Cooking the pizza: The pizza maker transfers the topped, dressed pizza onto a wooden pala (pizza peel) with the help of a tiny amount of flour and with a rotating movement. The pizza is then slid onto the floor of the oven by means of the pala in a rapid movement of the wrist to prevent the sliding off of the toppings, The cooking of Pizza Napoletana must occur exclusively in a wood burning oven in which the temperature reaches 485 °C (905 °F). This temperature is essential to obtain Pizza Napoletana. The pizza maker must regulate the cooking of the pizza lifting a corner with the help of a metal pala and rotating the pizza towards the fire always using the same part of the oven floor to avoid burning the pizza, because of possible different temperatures within the oven. It is important that the pizza be cooked in a uniform manner on every side of its circumference. Still using the metal pala, at the end of the cooking, the pizza maker will remove the pizza from the oven and deposit it on a plate. The cooking time should not exceed 60-90 seconds. After the cooking, the pizza will exhibit the following characteristics: The tomato having lost excess water should be dense and consistent. The mozzarella will be fused over part of the surface of the pizza. The basil as well as the garlic and oregano (depending on the type of pizza) will develop an intense aroma. The pizza should not appear burnt.