It would be otherwise difficult to contextualise Salvatore Kosta and his work at Villa Giovanna, on the slopes of Vesuvius where Gianfranco Iervolino previously worked for some time, bringing his concept of gourmet pizza.

A food technologist, Kosta became passionate about yeast and dough out of a personal curiosity, but with a professional approach: he began by creating his own mother yeast with a lactic ferment he got from the Faculty of Agricultural Studies in Portici, and ended up putting a wood oven in his home garden to test the cooking.

When Francesco Formisano, owner at Villa Giovanna, asked him to collaborate, he divided doses and proportions and joined the other collaborators in the restaurant’s team: Kosta studies and prepares the dough – different kinds, from those with mother yeast to poolish to the classic direct dough from the Neapolitan tradition – which is then rolled out by Salvatore Balzano, topped by Francesco Sorrentino and baked by Antonio De Martino.

A perfect teamwork that returns to the starting point as Kosta moves around the tables, during the service, telling clients what they are eating and why they shouldn’t be afraid of a sleepless night: his dough variations (presented in rotation, though some nights you can find both) are based on a long maturation at controlled temperature:

«Whatever the dough, it is essential for it to stay at least 48 hours in the fridge to be digestible: I prefer strong flour, of the 1 variety, that can “stand” the long maturation, yet when studying the strength tables I can have good results with the 00 variety too».

How does each type of dough vary?

«With mother yeast you have that extra oomph both in terms of taste, given the light acidity, and digestibility, thanks to the higher activation of the protease in the flour. Yet with poolish you have more intense aromas, which we can find in the edge of the pizza. In any case, these are always classic Neapolitan pizzas, both with regards to their appearance and taste, with a smooth and elastic dough». 

As for pizzas, many toppings have remained from those what were already in the menu yet the team at Villa Giovanna is fine tuning some new recipes such as Pizza Slow with San Marzano tomatoes Miracolo di San Gennaro, anchovies from Menaica, capers from Salina, fiordilatte from Agerola and organic extra virgin olive oil.

Luciana Squadrilli
source: http://newsletter.identitagolose.it/email.php?id=518

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