These days, artisan pizza is quite trendy. However, while artisan wood-fired pizzas may appear to be new and trendy, this style of pizza has been around for hundreds of years. It is a throwback to the original methods of preparing pizza in Italy.
If you are wondering what is artisan pizza? Well artisan pizza definition is quite simple. When eateries and restaurants sell artisan pizza, the pizzas are freshly hand made. They ensure that their customers are receiving the highest quality pizza possible. If you want to learn more, here are some characteristics of artisan pizza.
History Of Artisan Pizza
Originally pizzas were 100% handmade. Making pizza was done entirely by hand and was considered an art form. Every aspect of the baking process, from making the dough to selecting the toppings, was completed without the assistance of automation.
Mechanized pizzas are the answer to meeting the consistent demand for this popular Italian dish. Without the assistance of machines, bakers cannot meet the massive demand.
Fortunately, the traditional method of making pizza is not extinct. Traditional pizzaiolos refer to their creations as artisan pizzas to distinguish the pizza-making art from the machine-made pizzas. Artisan pizza is completely handmade and is becoming popular because of its unique flavors. And it’s worth the hype because most of us prefer food that doesn’t contain any additives and is not that harmful for health.
How To Make An Artisan Pizza
Just like Neapolitan and Sicilian variants, do artisan pizzas have a unique characteristic of their own? The dough for an artisan crust pizza must be created with the specific texture preferred by the consumer. The following step is to identify and select the finest quality toppings and sauce ingredients for artisan style pizza. Fully automated machines are unable to satisfy each individual’s preferred crust type or the toppings and sauce. And since fully automated machines are designed to produce foods in abundance, they all contain preservatives. But that’s not the case for artisan pizza.
They are entirely handmade from the beginning to the end and with all fresh ingredients. Depending on the availability of the ingredients and demand, unique artisan pizzas can be made each time.
Traditionally, artisan style pizza is baked in a wood-fired oven. However, artisan chefs now use an electric pizza oven as an alternative. Artisan craftsmanship makes a balance between modern and traditional methods. It makes the pizza more flavorful and unique.
You can make your Artisan pizza in just a matter of time. All you need is the ingredients of your choice and the necessary tools for the whole baking process.
Things Required To Make The Best Artisan Pizza
Before making an artisan pizza, here are a few key ingredients to know for the most delectable pizza.
1. Flour for Dough
The type of flour used determines the quality of the pizza. The quality of flour determines the texture of artisan crust that plays a vital role in the overall quality of the pie. Professional pizzerias don’t make their high-quality dough with all-purpose flour or bread flour. They use Italian flour, Grade 00, which is white and roughly comparable to baby powder. It is the finest of finely ground flour and produces the best flavourful dough.
2. Food Processor
The food processor eliminates all of the labor associated with kneading the dough. The dough will have the perfect texture if it is properly kneaded. To get the proper consistency, you can add more flour and water if you need to. Although a commercial dough mixer kneads the best dough for a fresh batch of artisan pizza, a regular food processor with a kneading attachments works too.
While creating an artisan, this appliance can be extremely useful. Hand-mixing and kneading the dough, on the other hand, allows you to experience the relevance of true artisan artistry.
3. Pizza Stone
A pizza stone is a flat, concave piece of stone that is mainly designed to resemble the base of an old wood-fired oven. If you want to bake pizza in your regular oven, you’ll need a reliable pizza stone. The pizza stone produces heat while the oven warms up, resulting in a crispy underside to your artisan pizza crust. One of the secrets to making delicious artisan pizza is baking it on a pizza stone.
4. Pizza Toppings
Experimentation is the best way to find the perfect ingredients for any pizza. You can put just anything on your Artisan pizzas. They are topped with fresh tomatoes, unique herbs, and spices, peppers, onions, olives, etc. So long as the ingredients are fresh, they will complement your homemade Artisan pizzas. Since each pizza is handmade and made with fresh and different ingredients, you can be sure to get the best flavor combination possible.
5. Pizza Oven
Making artisan pizza in an oven is always a good idea since it requires extreme heat and is essential to making a delicious pizza. Although you can make artisan pizzas in good countertop toaster ovens as well, a wood-fired artisan pizza tastes the best. We put our trust around here, in the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven for all instances, we’ve to get an authentic Artisan-style pizza ready.
It is strongly suggested that you should use high temperature, as extreme heat is the key to a great tasting pizza. A regular household oven can reach temperatures of up to 550 degrees Fahrenheit. In contrast, a wood-fired oven can reach up to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Pizza Peel
A pizza peel is nearly identical to a shovel in that it is used to slide a pizza into and out of the oven. It helps move the pizza from the counter to the oven while keeping it hot enough to cook in its juices. This tool is designed to keep the dough from sticking to the surface, allowing for quick and easy transfer. When selecting a wooden handle for a pizza peel, ensure it is big enough to hold the entire pizza in one stroke but not too large. For your reference, we’ve already compiled a list of some handy pizza peels (both wooden and metallic) in an article before.
Artisan Pizza FAQs
1. Why Is Artisan Pizza So Popular?
Artisan pizza is well-known for its distinct flavor. This trend is being driven by consumer demand for higher-quality ingredients and more handcrafted items. People crave something better because of so many packaged foods on the market.
The appeal of artisan pizza is relatively straightforward. It has flavors like caramelized onions and fine cheese, and the savory flavor relies on the natural properties of these and other ingredients for diversity.
The delectable toppings to the unusual and diverse flavors used in these delectable artisanal crusts make it more popular and make customers yearn for more.
2. What Are the Flavors Of Artisan Pizza?
Wood-fired pizza has a burnt flavor and is cooked in a large oven with a lot of wood. It also has a lot more wood-fired pizza flavor. The pizzas are crunchier and more flavorful since the wood-fired oven cooks the dough faster than the traditional method.
Aside from pizza cheese, many artisan pizzas will include other types of toppings and these toppings. Grilled chicken, veggies, and even fried fish may be included. Fish and shrimp will become preferred side dishes with this pizza. Herbs, tomato sauce, and even pesto are used as additional ingredients. All of these ingredients, each with its distinct flavor, contribute to the uniqueness of artisan pizza.
3. Are There Any Health Benefits Of Eating An Artisan Pizza?
Artisan pizza tastes unique and can be healthier for you too. Healthy vegetables such as tomatoes, spinach, olives, mushrooms, and others are frequently used as toppings. And since wood-fired oven to bake artisan pizza, your pizza cooks much quicker. It preserves more of the healthy nutrients and antioxidants of the toppings. Longer cooking times in other ovens can decrease these vital nutrients, lowering the pizza’s overall health benefits.
Furthermore, higher-quality ingredients and a wider selection of healthy toppings mean that your pizza will be loaded with nutrients. It will contain far fewer of the unhealthy preservatives found in other varieties of pizzas.
Conclusion
Selecting artisan pizza ensures that you will get the best pizza possible, made with the freshest ingredients.. This cooking method is not only simple, but it also makes your food healthier and allows you to enjoy the authentic and flavorful wood smoky flavor. You can try new flavors every time, and you can also add your favorite toppings. I hope this article will help you know about artisan pizza and get some idea of the ingredients and methods of making it.