Pizza on the shovel: 1 of Italy’s Beautiful Iconic Dishes

A soft and light version of one of Italy’s iconic dishes, loved around the world: Andrea’s pizza alla pala (Pizza on the shovel) is a pleasure for the eyes and the palate, a perfect recipe to enjoy at any time of the day.

Pizza is synonymous with conviviality and sharing, a recognized symbol of Italy throughout the world. A dish with a thousand-year history that has never stopped evolving, while remaining faithful to tradition, defended with drawn sword (and heated ovens) by Neapolitan pizza chefs.

From the most famous Margherita pizza, which took its name from Queen Margherita of Savoy, to whom it was dedicated by the famous pizza chef Raffaele Esposito way back in 1889, to the countless variations that have multiplied over time, in 2017 UNESCO included pizza in the list of the World Heritage Sites.

The pizza alla pala or pizza in pala proposed by Andrea is an ideal version to be shared, as well as easily preserved: resting on a long wooden shovel, it can be served as an aperitif or as a single dish, broken into pieces with the hands and savored until last bite. Once the base has been cooked, which in the oven develops the intense honeycombing and crunchiness that characterize it, it can also be stored in the freezer: a simple and convenient way to always have a soft pizza ready to be filled.

Simply placing the pizza in the center of the table immediately creates a moment of conviviality, often preceded by the phase in which the toppings and fillings are chosen all together.

Ingredients for the dough

Preferment

Strong flour* 400 g
Water 240 g
Brewer’s yeast 4 g
Salt 8 g

Dough

Medium flour (W260 /W280)* 100 g
Warm water 160 g
Oil 10 g
Salt 2 g
Malt 5 g

Ingredients for the Filling

Tomato, mozzarella, basil
Tomato, mussels, clams, scampi, prawns, cuttlefish, octopus, Genoese pesto
Asparagus, mozzarella, brie cheese
Broad beans, peas, green beans, radishes, buffalo mozzarella
Sausage, sweet and sour red onions, spicy salami
Grilled vegetables

Method

Preference

The preferment must rest for 12 to 16 hours, so we recommend kneading it in the evening and keeping it in the fridge all night closed with a lid. The next day, leave it to dissolve for at least an hour outside the fridge and knead it by combining the flour, 50% of the water and the malt. Add the remaining water little by little: always wait for the dough to absorb it before adding more. When little water remains, add the salt and, continuing to knead, let it incorporate. As the last ingredient add the oil.

Let the dough rest for another 5 minutes and knead it (even several times) until it is smooth, forming a loaf. It would be ideal to close the dough at a temperature between 20 and 24 degrees. Place it in an oiled container covered with a wet cloth (it must not catch air and form a crust) and wait until the mass almost doubles.

Forming

Once ready, turn the dough out onto the work table and divide it into three parts.
For shaping, he prepares a bowl with the same quantity of “00” flour and semolina and places the dough on it. Take the outer edges, extending them and joining them in the center, move the dough onto the workbench and repeat the operation a couple of times. To finish, roll the dough on itself, closing all the edges well and leave it in a loose container with a lid or covered with a damp cloth, until it has more than doubled in size. Remove the dough from the container, tip it onto the table full of semolina and roll it out by applying pressure with your fingertips. Transfer the dough to the shovel, placing it first on the back of your hand to remove excess flour and then on the shovel.

Cooking

Preheat the oven to maximum temperature and use the heating elements from the bottom and top. If you have an ILVE oven or cooking block, preheat the oven to 300 degrees in static mode with the refractory stone positioned on the first shelf or choose the Pizza function: making the best use of the three heating elements, it is ideal for this type of cooking.

Sprinkle with olive oil (if you want to fill later) or with tomato, slide the pizza from the peel to the refractory stone and keep it in the oven for 5/7 minutes, until your pizza begins to brown on the surface (make sure it is cooked on the bottom). Once out of the oven, place it on a rack so it doesn’t get moist at the bottom. If you want to store it, wait for it to cool before placing it in the freezer. Add tomato pulp, diced mozzarella and seasoning to taste, cooking it for another 10 minutes in a fan oven at 220 degrees.