pizza napoletana @ home

No way, right?  There's no way that you could replicate the intense heat of the wood-burning ovens of Naples, Italy, right?  I mean, Jeffery Steingarten tried:

Not long afterward, I slid a raw pizza into a friend's electric oven, switched on the self-cleaning cycle, locked the door, and watched with satisfaction as the temperature soared to 800°. Then, at the crucial moment, to defeat the safety latch and retrieve my perfectly baked pizza, I pulled out the plug and, protecting my arm with a wet bath towel, tugged on the door. Somehow, this stratagem failed, and by the time we had got the door open again half an hour later, the pizza had completely disappeared, and the oven was unaccountably lined with a thick layer of ash. I feel that I am on to something here, though, as with the controlled use of hydrogen fusion, the solution may remain elusive for many years.

That was just one of his attempts and his concluding advice really doesn't give a good, replicable method that anyone could achieve at home.

I had tried for a while to recreate the pizza I had in Naples.  Pizza stones, quarry tiles, broilers, grills, grilling then broiling, par-cooking the crust, you name it -- but nothing came close.  My oven gets to around 550F, which makes a nice pizza flavored casserole (I have actually turned out very, very good Chicago-style "pizza"), but it doesn't give you that charred and blistered bottom, bubbled and puffy crust, and puddles of melted mozzarella sitting atop a few dollops of very plain but transcendent tomato sauce.  You can't do it without the heat.

And then Comcast gave me about 30 new HD channels.

Green HD -- who even knew about this channel?  But as I was flipping through the channels, I noticed a program called "In Search of Perfection."  It features England's biggest name in cookery (sorry Gordon Ramsay), Heston Blumenthal.  This particular episode had him in search of the perfect Pizza Napoletana.  He investigated cheese, dough, tomatoes, basil, and, most interestingly, method.  He tried the old Weber kettle grill (with the addition of his wife's oscillating fan blowing fresh air in through the bottom), but that left him with a burned bottom and undercooked top.

Finally, he hit upon genius.  A 12" cast-iron skillet, heated over a full blast flame for 20 minutes, then inverted and placed under your broiler (maybe 3 inches from broiler to bottom of the pan).  You slide the pizza onto the pan bottom, close the oven, and 90 seconds later -- yes 90 seconds! -- your pizza is done.  Folks, I tried it and it works.  Charred bottom.  Bubbling cheese.  Crisp crust.  You couldn't want for a better pizza from your home oven.

I only made one pizza tonight, as my wife went for a "Mom's Night Out."  I wonder how well the second pizza would turn out had I continued?  My guess is that I would have had to refresh the skillet on the stove for a few minutes, but probably not 20.  Cast iron is an inefficient conductor and thus retains heat very well.

You probably have a recipe for pizza dough but here is mine just in case you need one (makes enough for one 10"-12" pie - double, triple, or quadruple as you need):

100 g bread flour
2 g instant yeast
1 g table salt
5 g honey
3 g olive oil
55 g water (room temp, about 72F)
1 TB olive oil for the rise

Mix everything but the last tablespoon of olive oil together in a bowl until the dough comes together and is no longer a shaggy mess.  Briefly knead on a counter (no flour necessary) -- maybe 10 turns.  Coat with the olive oil and place in a bowl, covered in plastic wrap.  Allow to rise for about 2 hours at room temperature.  It probably won't double, but that's fine.

About twenty minutes before you're ready to eat, place your empty 12-15 inch cast-iron skillet over a high flame and turn on your broiler (as high as it goes -- about 550F if you have a choice).

Just before you're ready, flip the skillet and place under the broiler.  The bottom should now be facing your broiler.  Quickly stretch your dough into a rough round shape, leaving about a half inch border that's thicker than the rest.  Add your toppings*, then slide on top of the skillet.  Close the door and set a timer for 90 seconds.  If you can see inside your oven, you should watch, because it's an awesome sight.

Timer goes off, slide the pizza onto a cutting board, wait a minute so you don't burn the roof of your mouth, cut into 4 pieces, and inhale.

*Toppings? Buy some good tinned tomatoes (I actually prefer Pomi in a tetra-pak), smear it on lightly and sprinkle with sea salt and olive oil.  Buy a hunk of buffalo mozzarella and tear into large shards.  A few leaves of basil.  But stray from perfection if you dare...fig/prosciutto/manchego cheese maybe? Yumm...