For over 20 years we’ve been making meals that bring smiles to faces, nourish our souls, and bring Italy into each of our homes. But Ditalia would be nothing without the family we’ve built in the process. The foundation of this business has been built around amazing people with a spark for life and a taste for inspiring meals!
Meet Vince, Head of DITALIA and Expert Taster! Growing up Italian, Vince was able to experience firsthand the joys of the Italian cooking. He watched his father, Vincenzo, craft incredible meals from his childhood. He also watched him build the foundation of Ditalia, a flourishing business that prides itself on creating genuine relationships, working with high quality products, and crafting awesome memories.
Vince’s favorite Ditalia recipe is pizza, naturally.
Why I love Pizza….it is always a perfect canvas for exploration, flavors and creativity. There doesn’t have to be any rules. however, using high quality ingredients is always the best way to approach it.
There aren’t strict rules for this recipe, but the Di Piazza way is about simplicity and letting great ingredients shine. On Vince’s pizza, you’ll usually only find 2 – 4 toppings including the cheese. Sprinkle in some fig jam if you’re feeling adventurous.
Great pizza starts with great dough, and Vince counted on Brian, our wholesale manager, for his dough-making expertise here. Brian’s spent countless hours developing his special dough recipe, lending a hand with this pizza lunch.
Recipe Numbers
Prep Time: 2 hrs. plus 24 hrs. for resting
Cook Time: 20 – 25 min.
Makes two pizzas: 10″ – 12″ in diameter
Ingredients
250 grams Caputo 00 Chef Flour (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cool water
1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 tsp Fine Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Granulated Sugar
Preparation
Dissolve the yeast in warm water with the sugar. In a standing mixer bowl, add the cool water and dissolved yeast.
With the mixer on slow speed, using the paddle blade, add about 1/3 or so of the flour and mix (increasing the speed) for a minute or two, until a smooth “batter” forms. This helps to develop the gluten in the dough.
Add remaining flour and salt. Once the dough comes together, switch to a dough hook and use a slow/med speed to kneed the dough for 8-10 minutes.
First Proofing:
Form dough into a ball and transfer to a bowl lightly oiled with evoo and cover with plastic wrap until rested and has slightly grown in size. (approx 1.5 hours) *Since very little yeast is used, the dough shouldn’t double in size (as is common for bread recipes).
Second Proofing:
Remove dough from bowl and portion into two dough balls. Place on floured sheet pan, cover well with plastic wrap and a towel to make a tight seal, and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Remove dough balls from fridge 1.5 hours prior to making pizza to allow the dough to be more workable.
Toppings and Combos
- Tomato, Bottega Ditalia Salsiccia, Sliced Green Olives, Caciocavera
- Tomato, Bottega Ditalia Salsiccia, Sauteed Onions (carmelized), Caciocavera
- Tomato, Sliced Prosciutto di Parma, Sauteed Onions (carmelized)
- Tomato, Bottega Ditalia Salsiccia, Volpi Pepperoni, Caciocavera
- Tomato, Semi dried Cherry Tomatoes, Radici of Tuscany Artichokes, Caciocavera
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sliced Prosciutto di Parma, Sauteed Onions (carmelized), sliced green olives, Caciocavera
- Fig Jam, Sliced Prosciutto di Parma, Goat Cheese
- Anchovies, Garlic, Tomato, Pecorino Romano, Seasoned Breadcrumbs, olive oil for Finishing
Helpful Tips!
*An alternative / quicker method is to forgo the 2nd long proof in the fridge and instead proof the dough the 2nd time at room temp (approximately 4 hours) Care must be taken so that the dough balls do not over proof (ie more than double in size). If it appears the dough would be ready too soon, it can simply be put in fridge to slow down the growing dough a bit. The goal is to have the dough “rise” in the oven – and making sure the dough doesn’t “over proof” is key!
*The longer (refrigerated) second proofing yields a more favorable crust that tastes less “yeasty” & is definitely worth the extra preparation day.
*The sugar simply helps with the browning of the crust in a conventional oven that tops out at about 500 degrees.
*Use a baking stone or baking steel. Preheat oven for an hour at max temp prior making pizzas.
