Neapolitan Pizza

[DonRocks]

Why is my pizza wet in the middle?

Fresh, high-quality mozzarella cheese used in our pizzas has higher water content then “brick” mozzarella used by majority of American pizzerias. Our mozzarella comes from a farm shaped in balls and packed in water, rather than in dry “bricks”. Therefore higher water content makes for wetter pizza. Elsewhere, if you are eating a pizza from a wood-fired oven and your pizza is not slightly wet, they are not using fresh mozzarella.

There are about twenty people here who need to read this about twenty times. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in the world who doesn't mind (call it what you want: soupy, soggy, liquidy, wet, watery) Neapolitan pizza in the middle. Assuming it's cut, you just flip the point of the triangle backwards, doubling up the front part of the slice, and enjoy. Or at least I do.

[Flavortown]

There are about twenty people here who need to read this about twenty times.

Seriously. This sogginess is an intrinsic part of real Neapolitan pizza. Enjoy it.

Why is my pizza wet in the middle?

Fresh, high-quality mozzarella cheese used in our pizzas has higher water content then “brick” mozzarella used by majority of American pizzerias. Our mozzarella comes from a farm shaped in balls and packed in water, rather than in dry “bricks”. Therefore higher water content makes for wetter pizza. Elsewhere, if you are eating a pizza from a wood-fired oven and your pizza is not slightly wet, they are not using fresh mozzarella.

Also, the uncooked (i.e. not thickened) tomato sauce that makes Neapolitan pizza taste so fresh and light brings additional water, helping to cause the wetness.

[DanCole42]

"Authentic" doesn't always mean "better."

I squeeze out my San Marzanos in cheese cloth. I dry my fresh mozarella slices with paper towels and a brief air-drying.

Not because I object to a little sogginess, but because without an "authentic" 900-degree oven the pizza gets TOO soggy without those treatments.

[pizza man]

an authentic Neapolitan pizza should not be, "soggy" or "soupy". I guess many are, but I would not describe the best pizze in Naples this way.

An authentic Neapolitan pizza should be "moist" and "soft". A good pizzaiolo knows the difference, and how to produce the proper consistency.

My 2 cents.

P.S. There are tricks, but I'm not sure they are exactly the same as described by DanCole42

[pizza man]

Seriously. This sogginess is an intrinsic part of real Neapolitan pizza. Enjoy it.

Also, the uncooked (i.e. not thickened) tomato sauce that makes Neapolitan pizza taste so fresh and light brings additional water, helping to cause the wetness.

Actually the D.O.A. document states that the high heat in the oven should evaporate the extra water from the tomato, and reduce the sauce..

*edited for punch drunk typing errors. I need to get some sleep..

[jparrott]

My pizza at Keste in NYC (recommended by pizza man) wasn't soggy, but the middle was like an awesome, yeasted-not-egged crepe. Methinks that is close to the ideal?

[monavano]

What is the official temperature to cook a Neopolitan pizza? I cook my pizza off in the gas grill when possible. Pizza stone heated for a bit as the grill gets up to 600-650. The pizza cooks fast.

Is char desired? I happen to love it, and see my blackened stone as a badge of honor

[Ericandblueboy]

FWIW, I don't mind a little sogginess and I definitely don't like a crunchy crust. My favorites are pizzas that aren't too soupy and not crispy.

[dcs]

What is the official temperature to cook a Neopolitan pizza? I cook my pizza off in the gas grill when possible. Pizza stone heated for a bit as the grill gets up to 600-650. The pizza cooks fast.

I believe the "rules" require 800 degrees fahrenheit and a wood burning oven.

[Lola007]

an authentic Neapolitan pizza should not be, "soggy" or "soupy". I guess many are, but I would not describe the best pizze in Naples this way.

An authentic Neapolitan pizza should be "moist" and "soft". A good pizzaiolo knows the difference, and how to produce the proper consistency.

My 2 cents.

I agree with you. I have had "moist" pizza (and there is a difference, at least to me, between "slightly wet" and "soggy"), but have never had soupy pizza when I was in Naples or anywhere else in Italy for that matter. It hasn't been my experience with pizza made at the homes of Italian friends either. And here in the States, the best authentic Neapolitan pizza I've had has been at Luzzo's in NYC. I find the consistency of the slightly charred crust to be light, airy with bubbles and a good cheese-to-sauce ratio. I've also been enjoying Il Canale's pizza here in DC and like 2 Amy's (but recently I've started to ask for my pie well done because the middle of the pie has been too liquidy for my taste).

[pizza man]

I agree with you. I have had "moist" pizza (and there is a difference, at least to me, between "slightly wet" and "soggy"), but have never had soupy pizza when I was in Naples or anywhere else in Italy for that matter. It hasn't been my experience with pizza made at the homes of Italian friends either. And here in the States, the best authentic Neapolitan pizza I've had has been at Luzzo's in NYC. I find the consistency of the slightly charred crust to be light, airy with bubbles and a good cheese-to-sauce ratio. I've also been enjoying Il Canale's pizza here in DC and like 2 Amy's (but recently I've started to ask for my pie well done because the middle of the pie has been too liquidy for my taste).

Ironically, Luzzo's is a coal fired pizzeria, and therefore NOT authentic Neapolitan. It's true. They do make great pizza though.

[DPop]

I don't care why it's soggy, I just know I don't like it. Fresh or not, the middle of a pizza should not be wet and soupy. As pizza man said, the great pizzas I've had in Italy, France, Switzerland, and other Italian places in Europe serving Neapolitan pizza are very thin but not a liquid pool in the middle.

[Lola007]

I agree with you. I have had "moist" pizza (and there is a difference, at least to me, between "slightly wet" and "soggy"), but have never had soupy pizza when I was in Naples or anywhere else in Italy for that matter. It hasn't been my experience with pizza made at the homes of Italian friends either. And here in the States, the best authentic Neapolitan pizza I've had has been at Luzzo's in NYC. I find the consistency of the slightly charred crust to be light, airy with bubbles and a good cheese-to-sauce ratio. I've also been enjoying Il Canale's pizza here in DC and like 2 Amy's (but recently I've started to ask for my pie well done because the middle of the pie has been too liquidy for my taste).

Ironically, Luzzo's is a coal fired pizzeria, and therefore NOT authentic Neapolitan. It's true. They do make great pizza though.

You have a point in that Luzzo's oven is coal and wood fired and therefore not regulation wood fired only.The owner and pizza maker is himself from Naples, but is not necessarily a purist. Still Luzzo's pizza is considered by many to be excellent Neapolitan-style pizza. Here's a good description of Luzzo's pizza and oven:

http://nymag.com/res...893/index1.html

[Flavortown]

Actually the D.O.A. document states that the high heat in the oven should evaporate the extra water from the tomato, and reduce the sauce..

*edited for punch drunk typing errors. I need to get some sleep..

Of course the heat will evaporate some of the water, but it'll never do as thorough of a job as throwing the sauce on the stove for an hour or two could. The uncooked tomato sauce is going to stay looser than the thick, sweet stuff that many US pizza places use.

I agree with you. I have had "moist" pizza (and there is a difference, at least to me, between "slightly wet" and "soggy"), but have never had soupy pizza when I was in Naples or anywhere else in Italy for that matter.

Agreed with DPop, Lola007, and others, that super wet pizzas with middles that are like pools of liquid are simply unappetizing. I'm not advocating acceptance of a soupy mess, but rather trying to counteract what (I think ) is too many people looking for a Neapolitan pizza with crust that is crisp/stiff/dry enough to remain level when you lift a slice off the plate. If the pizza doesn't droop, and if it isn't at least somewhat wetter than your everyday American pizza, it's not Neapolitan. For example, the few experiences I've had with Matchbox's pizza : the crust is thin, but more cracker-like than the soft, pliable, chewy crust of a Neapolitan pie. Of course, their goal is not to make the same pizza as what you'd find in Naples, but I think too many people expect the Neapolitan style of pizza to have the attributes that mark Matchbox's style.

[pizza man]

not necessarily Napolitan, but interesting read.

[Joe H]

not necessarily Napolitan, but interesting read.

Osteria has several pizzas with a "three day rise." They are incredible.

[weinoo]

My one complaint is that they might want to hold off on the sauce a little so the pizza is less soggy. The flavors were delcious, the crust was chewy, sauce was sweet but not overly so and the garlic added a great bit.

I think if you want real Neapolitan pizza, you're going to have to get used to a little sogginess...it's just the way it is.

[deangold]

I think if you want real Neapolitan pizza, you're going to have to get used to a little sogginess...it's just the way it is.

I am not commenting on pizza in the DC area currently, because i don't eat much pizza due to diabetes. But when I ate pizza in Naples, soupy was never an issue.

[darkstar965]

I am not commenting on pizza in the DC area currently, because i don't eat much pizza due to diabetes. But when I ate pizza in Naples, soupy was never an issue.

Agree with Dean. I don't remember sogginess in pizzas I've had in Naples. But unlike Dean, I can comment a bit on local offerings. Also no sogginess...er, soupiness...at Two Amys. I don't get it. Two Amys (and I'm a bit off topic here so know this may get moved), has consistently been rated and thought to have the best neapolitan pizza in our area. Really super admirable given the years they've been operating and the consistency. Very tough to pull off. Anyway, if I was opening a Neapolitan pizza shop here I'd imagine I'd do whatever it took (i.e., research, training, hiring, retention) to hit and maintain a Two Amys level quality bar and then not locate the shop too close to them. But few if any seem to take that approach.* Perfect place for these two emoticons I've always liked but rarely get to use:

* Maybe Orso too until their pizza maestro left (and haven't yet been back there since Will Artley took over; though obviously not Italian, I am a fan of his so who knows?). Also the place on 14th that the ex Orso pizzaiolo (apologies if misspelled) opened or is opening? Oh, and maybe the new place with Roberto Donna? Doesn't sound like it from online but I haven't been so can't say.

[jparrott]

Sogginess can happen if the pie is sliced before it sets for a bit--the hot tomato juices seep into the slices. Don't slice your pies! (Looking at you, Pupatella, though the sog factor there is reasonably controlled).

[pizza man]

Napolitans eat soggy, soupy, pizza. Not always, but more often than not, (a Neapolitan friend described them in bad English as, "wet"). However, this is not THE defining characteristic of Napolitan pizze, and nice firm pies can be found in Napoli.

It's a matter of taste I guess..

[dcs]

The Literal Cost of Margherita Pizza in America, by Helena Gonzalez, September 5, 2018, on eater.com.