STEP ONE: HOW TO MAKE THE PIZZA NAPOLETANA DOUGH FOR MONTANARA PIZZA

Montanara Pizza starts is made with an authentic Neapolitan pizza dough.

Pour 600ml water into your mixing bowl and dissolve the sea salt by mixing it in with your hands.

Add 100g/3.53oz of flour to the water and mix using your hands.

Once the flour has dissolved, add the fresh yeast, breaking it down into the water again, until it disappears!

At this stage, add the flour gradually, mixing as you go and once your dough is thicker and starts to form, transfer it on to your bench (don’t forget to line the bench with flour first!)

Rub the excess sticky dough from your hands, letting it drop into the mix and knead it through the dough.

To knead, press forward and fold back, repeating this process and working the dough until you get a soft and elastic consistency.

Once you are happy with the dough, cover it and leave it to rest for 18hr at room temperature.

After this time, create pizza balls that weigh 270g/9.05o. Put them into a tray then cover them too and leave to prove for another 4-6hr.

STEP TWO: STRETCHING THE MONTANARA PIZZA

Spread some flour over the top of your board.

Get one of the balls out from the tray using a small amount of flour on the sides to prevent it from sticking – to your hands and the tray – and place it on the bench.

This dough is very elastic so will stretch easily. Start to create the round base by working your fingertips from the bottom all the way up, gently flattening the whole base and leaving no edge around it at all.

Make sure the middle section is left thicker than the rest.

STEP THREE: HOW TO COOK THE MONTANARA PIZZA

To cook the montanara pizza, using a fork, make several pricks in the base, all over, this will help to make sure the pizza doesn’t blow up when it’s cooking.

Heat up the oil in either a deep fryer or saucepan until it reaches 180°C/356°F.

Once the correct temperature is reached, place the pizza base into the hot oil and gently move it around until it starts to become golden brown.

Try to cook it until it is crispy on the outside and then turn it once only before cooking the other side.

Once the fried pizza dough is ready, place it onto kitchen paper to strain out any excess oil.

E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate….Enjoy!