PROCEDURE
This story begins at 22 of the previous dayIt is evening and on the table sits a large hermetically sealed jar containing a soft, whitish mass. It is the sourdough that Merlini has cultivated and cherished with passion for a long, long time
The sourdough starter we will use, in fact, is alive thanks to a series of tre daily refreshments - at 10 a.m., at 2 p.m. and one last time at 6 p.m. - and will serve to preparing a biga - made of 1 kg type 2 flour Shoo Molino Naldoni, 470 g water at 20° and 100 g yeast - which we then leave to mature for 10 to 12 hours at 20°.
- 8 o'clock: it is morning and time to knead.
The recipe calls for a dough with barley grains and broken wheat. The spent grain - i.e. the residue of the malted cereal after brewing - is added to:
- 650 g water at 20°
- 850 g type 2 flour 'sciòre'
- 300 g well-drained barley grains
- 300 g of mature biga
- 23 g fine salt
In the kneader pour flour combining it with the trebbins, so we will work for about 3′. We will then add much of the water and as soon as the mass takes body and texturewe will also include the chunky biga and let it knead for another 3′ adding a little more water and salt. We then let the mixer knead for a few minutes adding water until we obtain a medium-bodied consistency.
We then allow the dough to set well, then place the dough in a leavening case and we will crush so that it does not dry out.
After 20′ we will fold handkerchief, then leave it covered for another 20′ and then unfold a second round of folds and after another 20′ a third turn; we will then wait another 20′ and switch to portion the mass into 260/270g pieces which we will reduce to balls, taking care to press and turn them around in a boule by broken wheat so as to cover the part that will form the cornice.
We will then put them back in the crate and leave to rise for 3 hours at 20°. bearing in mind that water and ripening temperatures may vary depending on the climate: higher temperatures are required in winter and cooler in summer; in any case the temperature of the dough output to the mixer shall not exceed 24°.
- 1 pm: processing.
Crushing the balls gently on plenty of flour and place them in 21 cm aluminium baking tins sprinkled with a drizzle of e.v.o. oil. indoors for thelast rising cycle.
- Afternoon: prepare the ingredients for the topping
We rinse under a trickle of cold water some Apulian burrata (preferably in the 300 g format where the inner part prevails), the cut with a knife into squares 1-3 cm on a side and place them in the refrigerator.
We will then open a latta peeled tomatoes which we pour into a colander over a boule so as to retrieve in a tray the liquid part still seedless. We coarsely chop the peeled tomatoes and put them to drain in a second colander discarding any green parts, seeds and peels.
After about 30′, the tomato will be well drained: pour it into a tray, weigh it and finally, we will salt with 8 g/kg sea saltthen store it in the refrigerator.
We gather herbs on the cutting board - thyme, marjoram, a little chives and a few mint leaves -, we chop them up by adding a few spoonfuls of extra virgin olive oil to form a kind of semi-liquid pesto which we will keep in the fridge while waiting for the service.
- Evening: cooking and sealing
We heat at bain-marie the peeled pulp and slice the Black Shallot of Romagnathen delicately sprinkle the pizza slab with a thin layer of liquid tomatoes recovered from the first straining of the peeled tomatoes and the i290° (50% below and 60% above) for about 10′.
When it is cooked, remove the pizza from the pan and place it on a wooden cutting board, with a bread knife We will cut (without pressing!) eight wedges which we will arrange on the hot serving plate.
On each slice pose a small spoonful of hot peeled pulpas much burrata at room temperaturea generous drip of aromatic pesto and finally the Black Shallot of Romagna.
We will then serve without delay wishing a sincere good appetite to those who accompanied us in this delightful journey!
