The perfect Napoli-style dinner consists of a thin and crispy pizza and a bottle of red wine. It’s a ritual that we encourage at Italian Street Kitchen.
Contrary to what you might assume, you don’t need a wood fired oven to make an authentic tasting Italian pizza.
Don’t leave it to the professionals – if you want to know how to make wood fired pizza at home, all you’ll need is your electric oven and the right technique. It’s time to get excited about pizza night!
For pizza perfection, follow these 4 easy tips:
- Use the right flour for the dough
Flour has the power to make all the difference in a pizza. The best pizza recipe calls for stone-ground, unbleached flour.
- Massage the dough for longer than you think
You can make the dough yourself by mixing together flour, yeast and sugar, or you can get store-bought dough. Whatever you choose to do, you should make sure to knead the dough with your hands for at least 10 minutes so that the gluten is tight and your pizza base is light.
- Get your oven hot as hot as possible
Getting the oven hot enough when cooking Italian-style pizza at home is half the battle. Wood fired pizza ovens can reach approximately 430 degrees Celsius, which can cook a pizza to perfection in about 90 seconds.
A standard electric oven, on the other hand, can only climb to around 210 degrees Celsius. Therefore, you should preheat your oven for at least 30 minutes before placing the pizza in there to cook. You should also place the pizza on the oven floor for maximum heat.
- Don’t go overboard with toppings
If you want to create authentic wood fired pizza, keep it simple on top – tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil. As well as this being the traditional Napoli way, too many ingredients will be too heavy and cause the base to become soggy. Lighter toppings will mean your base remains thin and crispy, especially when cooking in your oven at home.
If making wood fired pizza at home isn’t working out for you, remember you can taste the flavours of Italy at home by ordering delicious pizza from Italian Street Kitchen.