But recently, that pre-eminence has been challenged by pizzerias seeking to transform the humble native dish into a gourmet product made with top-notch ingredients.

At 50 Kalò, a pizzeria that opened in February in the prosperous Mergellina district, the celebrated third-generation pizzaiolo Ciro Salvo, who got his start in his family’s pizzeria nearly three decades ago, claims improving the city’s pizza supply demands greater attention to the dough.

50 Kalò translates roughly to “good dough” in Neapolitan dialect (the literal translation has to do with a lucky number and a slang term for “good”).

Mr. Salvo’s recipe is the product of years of research, and the result is some of the best pizza in Italy. Mr. Salvo’s pies score high marks for their flavor, but their lightness is what inspires nightly crowds.

When discussing what sets his dough apart from his competitors, Mr. Salvo sounds more like a chemist than a pizzaiolo.

“By achieving high hydration and by using low-protein flours,” he said, “we make a dough that is more digestible than the traditional pizzerias.”

Though Naples has a reputation for flawless pizza, Maurizio Cortese, a consultant at 50 Kalò who has been documenting the city’s pizza scene in the press for a decade, disagrees.

“It’s only recently that truly high-quality pizza is being made here again,” he said. “Naples’s historic pizzerias were using mediocre ingredients and low-quality vegetable oils.”


Katie Parla
source: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/17/travel/restaurant-report-50-kalo-in-naples-italy.html

Leggi il testo integrale nel link FONTE (qui sopra)