Pizza Today - February 2017 - 68

MARCH 27-30, 2017

the road to expo / COMPILED BY BRUCE ALLAR

Italy Meets San Francisco / Thursday, March 30 / 9 a.m.

Masters From Two Continents Compare Notes
TG: Typically there are several mistakes: not using the correct flour, dough recipe, oven, oven temperature, technique or
even ingredients. Operators don't do enough research before
they try to make authentic-style pizza.

When two star pizzaioli share the Demonstration Stage at Pizza
Expo on Thursday, March 30, at 9 a.m. they'll bake classic pies in the
Italian tradition. Audience members will see how techniques differ
between Italian master Graziano Bertuzzo and famous Californian
Tony Gemignani. Both have won pizza-making championships in
Italy and the U.S. and instruct at pizza schools. We asked them about
their upcoming appearance.
Pizza Expo: Will each of you make your own pizzas and
compare techniques and results, or will you work together on
the same pies?
Tony Gemignani: I feel we should both make a style of
pizza each and talk about the pizza, dough, style and technique.
I plan to use 5 Stagioni flour along with other grains in my
dough and make a pizza alla pala pizza.
Graziano Bertuzzo: It would be interesting to use the same
exact flours as Tony so the audience will be able to see and
compare two different working methods starting from the same
basis.
PE: What is the biggest error pizza makers commit when
baking a traditional pie?
GB: There are several mistakes, but the most common and
hardest to solve is the respect for time, temperature and the
hydration of the dough.

PE: Why should U.S. pizzerias add pizza alla palla to their
menus?
TG: It's a style that is getting more and more popular. It's a
style that is traditional in Rome and other parts of Italy. With
the use of multigrain in the dough it's very digestible, and it's
great for both to-go and dine-in and is especially great for slice
houses.
GB: U.S. pizzerias should add it to their menu because
according to this pizza recipe, if well prepared, it should have
. . . real high hydration levels; the result in this case would be a
highly digestible dough with more water and less flour, so less
starch to be digested. Also, this pizza style has a more appealing
look as compared to a classic pizza, can bear different toppings
and can be shared by a group of people.
PE: You both train pizzaoili at schools in your home countries. How do you know when you have a student who might
become a future champion?
GB: I've been training pizzaioli for over 40 years now. The
only thing that counts is education at any stage and curiosity for
the field of research you are involved in. Yes, surely you can see
right away if a person is more interested than another, but this
doesn't mean that the last will be the first. Things can change
very rapidly!
TG: It's like a sport: When you see someone playing soccer
at an early age, you realize that some have skill and others are
not there yet. It's all about research and practice. It's not overnight, but it is easier for some than others.
PE: When you open a pizzeria together some day in the
future will it be called Tony and Graziano's or Graziano and
Tony's?
TG: Ha ha! That's a tough one. Maybe age before beauty, so
it will have to be Graziano and Tony's.
GB: If we open a shop in Italy it will be Graziano and Tony.
If we open in the States it will be Tony and Graziano!

MARCH 27 - 30, 2017 / LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER
6 8 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / F E B R UA R Y 2 0 1 7

http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM

Pizza Today - February 2017

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