Gourmet Pizza: history and secrets of an Italian must-have.

For a few years now, pizza has been experiencing a true Renaissance. It is indeed a golden period for what represents one of the most prestigious trademarks of Italian gastronomy. Pizzerias are springing up everywhere, each with its own specialty: from the classic round or Neapolitan pizza to the pala pizza, not to mention the tray pizza or high hydration varieties. From an extremely popular dish, pizza has become a trend.

Two things play a fundamental role in this evolution of the white art: doughs and ingredients. And this is what differentiates a regular pizza from what is increasingly referred to as gourmet pizza. Before delving into the topic, it is important to make one more premise: it is not enough to randomly add good ingredients to define gourmet pizza. Many pizzaiolos think that using great raw materials is an effective shortcut, but that is not the case. And let's clarify another detail: simply cutting the pizza into wedges does not make it gourmet.

The Birth and History of Gourmet Pizza

The inventor of gourmet pizza is a Veronese named Simone Padoan, owner of the pizzeria "I Tigli" in San Bonifacio. He deserves credit for creating a new way of interpreting pizza, elevating it to a dish of quality even prepared by starred chefs like Carlo Cracco. New types of doughs, the use of sourdough, semi-refined flours, stone-ground, and high-quality products such as Cantabrian anchovies, truffle, prestigious cheeses, alalunga tuna, aged prosciutto, fine oils, and much more have played a fundamental role in this renewal of so-called contemporary pizza.

The path traced by Padoan has been followed by numerous pizzaiolos, among whom it is worth mentioning two other Veronese: Renato Bosco with his crunch and Stefano Miozzo, world pizza champion thanks to a dough based on the Veronese wine par excellence, Amarone. Naturally, in Campania, the home of pizza, they have not been idle. Thus, alongside the legendary Neapolitan pizza, gourmet versions have been created. One of the standout examples? The 'wrong' Margherita from Caserta pizzaiolo Franco Pepe.

What You Need to Make Gourmet Pizza at Home

Even before the ingredients, to make pizza at home it is necessary to have the right tools. Without a suitable oven, a place to let the dough rest properly, and maybe a small planetary mixer for kneading, achieving a high-quality product is truly difficult, though not impossible. If you have managed to gather everything needed for this challenge as good amateur pizzaiolos, all you need to do now is find the recipe that suits your taste. There are hundreds available online, many offered for free by top master pizzaiolos.

Ingredients for Your Gourmet Pizza from Spaghetti e Mandolino

To create your gourmet pizza, you can naturally count on Spaghetti & Mandolino for assistance. Here you will find numerous products that suit your needs, order them online, and have them delivered straight to your home. For a super gourmet pizza, do you want a great prosciutto crudo with a distinctive sweet flavor? We recommend Il Poggio, crudo nero di Parma aged a minimum of 24 months from Salumificio Pedrazzoli.

To impress your friends with homemade pizza paired with deluxe products, you can also use Voghiera black garlic produced by Nero Fermento, which has a pungent flavor reminiscent of liquorice. Instead of traditional tuna, why not try alalunga fillets, or vary with the renowned Cantabrian anchovies? And what about onion? We recommend an unbeatable red onion mustard.

Let’s not forget tomato and mozzarella, the essence of pizza known as Margherita. Here too, we suggest using high-end products, such as Piennolo tomatoes from Vesuvius, while for mozzarella we firmly recommend fiordilatte mozzarella or bufala campana Dop. Finally, let’s not overlook the oil. Not everyone likes it, but for those who enjoy drizzling oil on pizza, a DOP extra virgin olive oil from the Trapanese Valleys or that from Garda is indispensable. And if you want to be bold, you can also treat yourself to some thyme-flavored oil instead of the truffle or rosemary. We wish you a good appetite!