Ep. 027 — Pizza (plus recipe)

From the Kulture Dads Podcast Archive: Episode 027 — Pizza (plus recipe)

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Episode Description:

Mike and Dave tuck into the world's favourite comfort food—and a lot more than that. The first half of the episode is devoted to the history and cultural significance of pizza, and the second half to the wider implications of culinary traditions, love of the familiar, and oikophilia. Mike also shares tips on making bomb ass homemade pizza. Recipe below:

Recipe Notes:

- You will need a pizza stone and a pizza paddle
- If you have a gas stove, a heat diffuser/simmer mat is recommended for step 4 of the sauce
- Dough measurements must be exact, down to the gram
- Listening to traditional Italian folk music is essential throughout this whole process

Dough ingredients:

Flour: 518g
Water: 327g
Instant Dry Yeast: 3g
Salt: 8g
Olive Oil: 10g
Sugar: 8g

Dough method:

1) In a SMALL bowl, combine 518g flour and 8g salt; in a LARGE bowl, combine 327g water, 8g sugar, 10g oil, and 3g instant dry yeast
2) Proof yeast for 5-10 minutes
3) Add dry to wet ingredients in one shot and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon
4) When combined into a rough ball, let stand for 45 minutes
5) Knead ball for 2 minutes (turning inside out)
6) Let stand for 20 minutes
7) Repeat steps 5-6 until dough ball is elastic and smooth
8) Separate into two balls, place each into an oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap
9) Place in the fridge for 24 hours minimum, up to 5 days for better flavour
10) Take out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking
11) Preheat oven to max temperature (min. 250 C) and allow pizza stone to heat up until it has reached max temperature
12) Form each individual pizza crust on a well-floured pizza paddle; allow to rest for 10 minutes
13) Dress each pizza; baste crust in olive oil (optional) and cook for 7 minutes

Sauce ingredients:

1x 28 oz. can (or 2x 400g cans) whole peeled plum tomatoes (San Marzano ideal)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp dried oregano
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
2x (6-inch) sprigs fresh basil with leaves attached
1x medium yellow onion, peeled and split in half
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Sauce method:

1) Process tomatoes and their juice through food mill, pulse in food processor until pureed, or puree with hand blender. Puree should not be chunky, but nor completely smooth. Set tomatoes aside.
2) Combine butter and oil in medium saucepan and heat over low heat until butter is melted. Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and large pinch salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes.
3) Add tomatoes, basil sprigs, onion halves, and sugar. Bring to a simmer.
4) Reduce heat to lowest setting (bubbles should barely be breaking the surface), and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 mins (20 for double batch). Discard onions and basil stems. Add salt and allow to cool.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
03:12 – Pizza Around the World & Regional Styles
07:17 – Pizza as Comfort Food & Cultural Identity
09:30 – Ancient Roman Roots of Pizza
28:24 – Italian Unification & Queen Margherita’s Pizza
44:14 – Pizza in America: Lombardi’s & New York Tradition
46:27 – Chain Restaurants vs Authentic Pizza
47:01 – Homemade Pizza & Food Traditions
55:22 – Secrets to Great Pizza Dough
59:01 – Perfect Pizza Sauce & Ingredients
01:20:00 – Closing Thoughts & Food Memories

Tags:
#pizzahistory #margheritapizza #pizzarecipe #PizzaCulture #homemadepizza #AncientRomeFood #italiancuisine #newyorkpizza #pizzalovers #foodpodcast #kulturedads