Originating as far back as the 6th century BC, everyone from the Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Persians have played a hand in the evolution of pizza as we know it today. It is fair to say the modern-day pizza can be credited to Naples, where this 16th century street food proved popular, but it wasn’t until the invention of Pizza Margherita in 1889, created in honour of the Queen consort, that the humble flatbread became one of the most famous dishes in the world.
Growing up in Alzano Lombardo near Bergamo, a small town in northern Italy, our Head Chef Nik Scarpellini shares some of his earliest memories of pizza making at home, to sticking to his Italian roots when making dough the traditional way. Who better to guide us through the do’s and don’ts of making the perfect pizza.
The first memory I have of making pizza is with my mom when I was really young. She would pull up a chair next to the working kitchen table so I could stand on it and pretend to knead the dough alongside her.
My go to pizza is always anchovy, black olives and capers.
Absolutely not!! Capital sin!
It really depends; my go to is a Neapolitan style base, it has a soft dough which absorbs more air while being kneaded, making a thicker and fluffier crust. But, having said that, I’m also partial to a Roman style base, which is thin and loaded with cooked ham and burrata.
Being gentle with the dough is the key to a perfect base. The aim is to stretch the dough as thin as you need, without knocking any air out of it, starting from the middle and pushing the air towards the outside edge.
My fiancée Lottie.
Ichnusa, an unfiltered Sardinian lager, or a Campari spritz.
“Eh, cumpari!” by Julius La Rosa.
My top three tips:
Join us this summer in our Garden, for wood fired pizza, summer slushies and cocktails, draught beer, award-winning rosé and garden games for all the family.
Provenance and the welfare of the produce we work with is as important to us as its flavour, and when seafood isn’t sourced responsibly, the impact is far-reaching: overfishing and harmful practices threaten delicate marine life, damage ocean habitats and…...
From the roots of traditional farming to why chicken has become a staple on so many tables, here we speak with our farm’s Marketing Director, Matt Gorman, to delve into the journey of organic chicken at Daylesford. Discover what makes…...
Daylesford was founded with a small herd of dairy cows and today the British Friesian and rare-breed Gloucester herds and the organic milk they each provide are still at the heart of the farm, and celebrated in our pubs....
