SILVIO CICCHI:Male Age:54 A restaurant-trained Executive Pizza Chef, he is the author of upcoming book of pizza recepy: “PIZZA e FANTASIA“, you can download it for free registering on this site. He currently resides in Spinetoli (ITALY) with his cats and dogs. Specialized in Business start up – Pizza dove – Pizza courses – Art of pizza.
2000 years ago there were fast food restaurants. A Pompei a fast food restaurant of 2000 years ago called "Thermopolium" precisely that served hot food.
It was discovered during excavations a short time ago. The picture shows the counter with round containers where hot food was served
2000 years ago there were fast food restaurants
2000 years ago there were fast food restaurants
You can see the magnificent paintings of the time. Remains of dishes that were served were found: Geese, goats and pigs.
Pompeii was destroyed 2000 years ago from the eruption of the Vesuvius volcano. Much of the city is still buried under lava and pumice stone.
It is undoubtedly one of the Italian tourist attractions. If you haven't been there yet, do it asap.
Conclusion
I end this short piece of news by reminding you of some of the useful links that you can find here on my site:
How Not To Sprout Potatoes. Today we see together to solve a problem known to many people, who buys potatoes in retinas, he often faces a problem, after a few days our potatoes begin to sprout.
The specialists who work in the countryside during the harvest of this tuber take very precise measures to keep them perfect. Let's find out what they are:
How Not To Sprout Potatoes
The first step will be to understand what we absolutely must not do. Never wash them. Humidity is the biggest enemy of potatoes, therefore, for correct storage, clean them with a dry cloth. Never store them in the refrigerator, water and humidity cause them to rot.
How to store them. Store them in a dark box in a dry but not hot place, the perfect temperature would be 12 – 15 degrees.
How Not To Sprout Potatoes
What Happens To Potatoes
They belong to the Solanaceae family with peppers and tomatoes, if they turn green or sprout they can develop a poison called "solanine”If the tuber is green it means that it is rich in solanine, so it must be thrown away. In the case of the sprouts, we can remove them with a pointed knife, taking care to remove the root. Once peeled it can be consumed.
The second reason why it is better not to let them sprout, is that solanine causes the potato to become bitter.
A tip to avoid sprouting
Just arrange the potatoes on a plane, close together but not in contact. Insert a few apples between one and the other and you will see as if by magic that the potatoes will not sprout. Apples produce a gas called ethylene which prevents potatoes from sprouting. By following this trick we will always have sweet potatoes available and delicious and without solanine.
Always keep following our valuable suggestions. If you are a pizza lover, I remind you that in our pizza school professional practical courses are available weekly to become professional pizza chefs. If you want more information on our practical pizza chef courses, click here.
Conclusions
For all those who do not have the time to attend a practical course, I remember that here on our site there is an excellent "Online Pizza Maker Course" that you can download on your PC or phone and follow from the comfort of your home during your free time. Clicca who.
It is already possible to download my latest book which is called: NOT ONLY PIZZA, to make sure follow this link.
Marjoram in the Kitchen. Famous for being an anti-stress plant, marjoram is widely used in our homes.
Originally from the Middle East, it belongs to the Labiate family, it grows spontaneously in the Mediterranean area and belongs to the same family as oregano.
Marjoram in the Kitchen
Marjoram in the Kitchen
You have digestive problems? Put a pinch of marjoram on your plates. In the kitchen it can be used both fresh and dried, it is very sensitive to heat, then add it when cooked raw on your dishes or on your pizzas.
Always keep the bread soft and fragrant. Reading here and there in the newspapers, I found that each of us in theory throws in the garbage can about 35 kilos of food every year.
That's a lot and we need to pay attention. Among the much food we throw away there is also bread. Let's see how not to waste this food.
Always keep the bread soft and fragrant
Many years ago, families made bread once a week, and the product remained edible for many days. Today things have changed, or rather the products have changed.
The refined flours, unfortunately they are beautiful to look at, but they have this ugly flaw: the next day the bread becomes hard as a stone. We should all buy wholemeal bread, but alas it is brown and looks ugly.
Always keep the bread soft and fragrant
So let's see how to store bread
Today we see how to store bread to have it always fresh and fragrant.
Freeze the bread. We consume it all day, breakfast lunch and dinner. It would be handy to be able to buy it once every week, cut it into single portion slices and put it in the freezer.
How to defrost bread
It would be enough to take it out of the freezer early and we would have solved the problem by now, but my suggestion to give fragrance and perfume to our bread again, is to put it in the toaster for a minute. Then, frozen slices in the toaster and product ready in one minute.
Absolutely avoid the microwave which is not good for bread or for the beloved pizza, seeing is believing.
Conclusion
The toaster trick will allow us not to waste food further.
I also end today with a brief summary of the most visited links that you will find here on my site.
As you all know by now, my latest recipe book called. is already available for download: NOT ONLY PIZZA - What should have all the pizzerias in your menu. You can download it at this link.
How To Store Garlic and Onion Perfectly. When we buy garlic and onion, often if stored for a long time and in the wrong place they tend to get damaged. You know which is their biggest enemy? L’humidity.
So you already know that if you are among those who spoil these ingredients, you have to store them in a dry and cool place. Never ever close them in plastic bags, because their release of moisture would accelerate the mold process.
How To Store Garlic and Onion Perfectly
So where to keep them? Never ever in the refrigerator. They would get soggy in no time.
This advice I am about to give you applies to both garlic and onion. If you have a lot available, before it spoils I suggest you finely chop it into cubes, put it in a food bag and place it in the freezer.
How To Store Garlic and Onion Perfectly
If it is little, where to store it?
If you plan to reuse garlic or onion in the following ones 2 the 3 days it will be sufficient to place it in a container with an airtight lid in the refrigerator, in the fruit drawer.
In our country, the sauté is the basis of many preparations, therefore you can also treat celery and carrot in the same way to prevent them from wilting completely.
Conclusions
Garlic and onion are widely used in pizzerias, therefore these topics are dealt with during the course of our professional pizza chef practical courses that we carry out weekly in our pizza chef school. If you want more information about our workshops, click here.
For those who love pizza and would like to know it better, but they don't have time to come to our school and take a practical course, I remember that here on our site there is a Fantastic Online Pizza Maker Course, simple, well done and you can follow it from the comfort of your home by simply downloading it to your phone or PC. You will find all the information about the online course at this link.
You Can Freeze Brewer's Yeast. But it's true that brewer's yeast can freeze? This is one of the questions I get asked most often. So let's try to resolve this doubt.
Our brewer's yeast can be purchased in all supermarkets, it is available in two versions: Fresh in cubes from 25 grams and in the dry version (dehydrated) in sachets of 12 grams.
You Can Freeze Brewer's Yeast
Once the fresh yeast cube is opened, we use what little is needed and put it in the refrigerator. You are well aware of the end of this leaven, a week passes and systematically blackens and ends up in the wet bucket.
Did you know that it is possible to freeze it? Let's see how to do it: First, before placing it in the freezer we will have to cut it into small portions, a couple of grams each. Wrap it well with the foil or with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer
You Can Freeze Brewer's Yeast
How to use it
When we need our fresh yeast later, it will be sufficient to take it out a few minutes in advance and place it in a glass of warm water a 25 degrees around. It is important that the water temperature does not exceed 30 degrees, because it would irreparably kill our fresh yeast. In a couple of minutes in warm water, the yeast will have dissolved and will be ready for use.
Then, the solution we suggest is to never buy too much, unfortunately it has a very short deadline.
Dry or dehydrated yeast
It is exactly the same type of yeast, perfectly the same as the fresh one. This, has a much longer maturity, it should be stored in any dry place in our kitchen.
Unlike the fresh one, ready for use, the dehydrated yeast must be dissolved in half a glass of warm water a few hours in advance before using it. A sachet of 12,5 grams is equivalent to a stick of 25 grams of fresh yeast, so if you use the dehydrated, halve the doses.
Conclusion.
Unlike the sourdough or sourdough you want to call, the success of our pizza, be it sweet or bread, is always insured.
In our practical pizza chef courses that we hold weekly in our pizza school in Italy, brewer's yeast and mother yeast are fundamental topics, they are an integral part of the course. If you would like more information about our workshops, follow this link.
If you don't have the time or resources to come to our school and sign up for one of our practical courses, I remind you that here on our site a Fantastic Online Pizza Chef Course is available for everyone that you can follow from the comfort of your PC or phone by downloading. You'll find all the information at this link.
I also finish today by reminding you that it is already possible to download my latest book which is called: NOT ONLY PIZZA - What should have all the pizzerias in your menu. And a collection of products that are monuments of Italian cuisine. It contains 177 beautiful color illustrations. All information at this link.
How to Dry and Reactivate Mother Yeast. I could start from 1960, when there were no refrigerators, or there were very few who owned one, mother yeast was an indispensable thing for all those who prepared bread, pizza, savory and sweet cakes, then came the cold chain and with it the brewer's yeast. Problem solved!
I'm going too fast? Ok, slow down. Brewer's yeast used today for bread making, the one in cubes to understand better, it is composed of mushrooms which, added to water and flour, produce gases that give rise to leavening.
How to Dry and Reactivate Mother Yeast
The mother yeast is composed of lactic microorganisms which during fermentation produce carbon dioxide giving rise to leavening. It is generally composed of flour, water and a sugar used as an activator, usually honey.
Yeast, or if you prefer to call it sourdough it can be produced from scratch, or it can be bequeathed by someone who already "cultivated" it previously.
Same result but obtained with two different products.
Honestly, it's a lot of work to keep him at home, twice a week it should be washed, refreshed and we have to feed him otherwise he dies.
All is well until we have to leave home for a few days, for holidays or other commitments. So what happens? Our mother yeast dies, or as I suggest in this article we can dry it.
How to Dry and Reactivate Mother Yeast
How to dry it
Just spread it over the parchment paper in a thin layer at room temperature until it is possible to crumble it into flakes or powder. You can store the flakes in an airtight glass jar and done.
This operation can take more or less time, depending on the season. Once crumbled and stored, our mother yeast will not need any maintenance or refreshments. It can be stored for many months.
And now how do you use it again?
By doing this in a couple of days it should be ready to use again for your next dough:
Rehydrate the yeast and then refresh it, as soon as you notice the classic fermentation bubbles it is ready to be used again. If you notice that the reboot is long and difficult, add a little honey and the problem will be solved.
Conclusion
All these leavening processes, which flours to use and how they should be used are the basis of our professional pizza chef courses that we carry out weekly at our pizza school. If you want more information about our workshops, click here.
If you have a busy life, full of commitments and you don't have time to come to our pizza school to personally attend a course, we recommend the fantastic "Corso Di Pizzaiolo Online" available here on our website. Just download it on your phone or PC and you can follow it from your home comfortably seated on the sofa. Find out more, click here.
How To Store Flour Correctly. It has certainly happened to everyone to find the harmless butterflies in some old bag of flour (Wheat calenders), do not worry, it is a sign that the flour you are using is good and of quality.
Flour butterflies cannot reproduce in chemically treated flours. It can happen simply because you put the flour back in the wrong place, perhaps near a heat source, or in a place where there is light.
How To Store Flour Correctly
How To Store Flour Correctly
The deterioration of the flour, or the presence of small insects is more likely to occur in organic products, or that they simply contain wheat germ, or because you have purchased a product that has not been chemically treated.
So what to do to preserve it correctly? All flours have an expiration date, respect it. A valid help can be to store it in airtight containers, this will protect the flour from drafts or humidity and prevent it from absorbing unpleasant odors, Another solution is to place it in food bags in the refrigerator. I've found people who even freeze it.
The best way to store flour
Use natural anti repellents, the best I know is laurel. Wash a few bay leaves well and leave them in your closet next to the flour.
But the most used method that always works is to buy a few at a time, only the one we're going to use, avoiding the leftovers of half bags in the cupboard.
But it's still good?
Eyes and nose are the only tools I know of to check if the previously stored flour has gone bad, so pay attention to color and perfume.
What do I do, I throw it?
Recycling imperfect flour can be a good opportunity to give space to your creativity. Here are some suggestions:
The salt dough, guaranteed fun for children and adults.
Glue: A part of flour mixed with 4 parts of water and you will get an excellent glue.
Biscuits for your pets
My grandparents used it as a fertilizer by mixing it with the soil.
Reuse bad flour
During our professional practical courses that we carry out in our Italian pizza school, we learn about many types of flours and prepare different doughs every day. You would like to participate in one of our professional practical courses? To know more follow this link.
For the less fortunate who don't have the time or resources, I remember that here on our site there is a Fantastic ONLINE PIZZAIOLO COURSE. You will find all the information here.
Rising Temperature Of The Pizza. In our previous article, we have explained everything about the various types of yeast. Today we spend a few words on the process of rising.
The leavening process is formed by the effect of gases produced within our dough from live products, the mushrooms of our yeast. The bread or pizza will form a honeycomb structure (the famous air bubbles) that will make our product easy to eat and very pleasant to taste.
Rising Temperature Of The Pizza
Brewer's yeast (saccharomyces cerevisiae) it feeds on carbohydrates and produces gas in the form of carbon dioxide and ethanol. Our carbon dioxide is responsible for the swelling of the dough (air bubbles) while ethanol which is a type of alcohol, evaporates during cooking.
The temperature is very important to obtain an excellent leavening.
At the temperature of 2/6 degrees the yeast metabolism is blocked, in fact at these temperatures we ripen in the refrigerator. The yeast stick can also be kept in the fridge 3 the 4 weeks, but beware, because old cells lose their leavening strength.
If stored at temperatures above 38 degrees its cells slowly die and its leavening strength will be drastically reduced.
Rising Temperature Of The Pizza
At what temperature the leavening?
Above the 7 /8 degrees the yeast begins its work, the production of carbon dioxide occurs, even if the optimal temperature is between 24 degrees and 30 degrees.
Professionals use leavening cells set to 28/30 degrees and suitably humidified. And, because humidity is very important, without it a crust would form on bread or pizza balls and prevent them from increasing in volume (rising).
Final Annotations
Don't be intimidated by this process, it is much more difficult to say than to make it happen. In any case, you can always enroll in one of our professional practical courses and become a perfect pizza chef. Find out all about our courses. Visit this link.
If you do not have free time or resources to come to our school, I remind you that here on our site there is a fantastic "Pizzaiolo Online Course" available for everyone that you can download on your PC or phone and follow from the comfort of your home during your free time. For all information on the online pizza chef course click here.
We got to the greetings, but before doing that I wanted to remind you to download my book which is called: NOT ONLY PIZZA and that you can find at this link.
How to Make Radicchio Pesto. The radicchio it is a vegetable with a thousand properties, it is slightly bitter, widely used in the kitchen and pizzeria. It is prepared in many different ways, creme, in salads, grilled, and don't miss the "pesto" version.
Let's not forget its beneficial properties, highly appreciated by those with liver problems or inflammation of the gastric system.
How to Make Radicchio Pesto
Its bitter aftertaste is due to the fact that it belongs to the chicory family. Fortunately, it can be found on supermarket counters all year round.
Radicchio pesto is a cream with which it is possible to dress pasta, vegetables, meat.
How to Make Radicchio Pesto
Here are the ingredients for the preparation of pesto:
Radicchio
1 onion
Extra virgin olive oil
100 grams of grated Parmigiano Reggiano
100 grams of fresh ricotta
Sale
Pepe
Oregano
Basil
Easy preparation
Wash the radicchio, chop and drain well. Brown it in a pan with a drizzle of oil together with the onion. When it is wilted put it in your blender with the ricotta, a pinch of salt and basil.
Add the Parmesan, the oil little by little and done. If you wish to keep it for a few days, put it in the refrigerator in a jar covered with extra virgin olive oil, or alternatively you can freeze it.
Taste it on bruschetta ... delicious.
I don't tell you how good it is on pizza, in our practical pizza chef courses that we carry out weekly in our pizza chef school, we use it often. If you want to learn more about our workshops, follow this link.
Here you will find the calendar of the next practical courses scheduled in the coming months. Clicca who.
If you don't have time to attend a practical course in our school, I remind you that an excellent one is available here on my site "Course Online Pizzaiolo" that you can follow directly from your home. Just download it on your PC or phone and you can follow it during your free time comfortably seated on the sofa of your home. Get it here.
