PIZZA KILN

Ingredients

I use the finest foods, much of it fresh from local producers (like Vicars Game) and prepare them carefully to bring out their best qualities in the intense heat of the kiln.  Allergy information is available.

 

The Flour

I’ve tried lots of flour over the years and find that Wessex Mill at Wantage produce a consistently excellent strong flour just right for sourdough breads and pizza. It’s no surprise to me they’ve won Taste awards for their efforts.

 

The Sourdough base

Handmade using a slowly fermented sourdough, enriched with extra virgin olive oil and developed slowly to improve flavour and digestibility.  The sourdough is flour (see above), filtered water, Maldon sea salt and natural yeasts which derive from an original San Francisco strain of yeast that has been maintained for at least 15 years.  Ask me about it when you collect your order and I'll explain more.

 

The Sauces

Most of the pizzas use an home-made tomato sauce made with Italian tomatoes, basil, salt & black pepper and a smidgen of balsamic vinegar to give it a rich acidic balance to the toppings.   The Queen Mum pizza uses organic San Marzano tomatoes – widely praised to be the best for pizza sauces – and nothing else to give a fresh flavour typical of traditional pizzas found in Napoli. The Wild Wood pizza uses fresh and dried wild mushrooms to create a duxelle type sauce without tomatoes that harmonises its toppings.

 

The Cheeses

The home-made mozzarella is made with organic milk and vegetarian rennet to give a cheese that stands up well in the high heat of the kiln.  I’m a big fan of Laverstoke Park’s Buffalo Mozzarella from Hampshire and using british cheeses where possible.  But as yet, I haven’t found comparable British cheeses to match the many excellent qualities of Tallegio or Parmesan, which come from Italy.