The toppings, cheese, and sauce get the majority of the attention when appreciating a pizza. While the most important component is certainly subjective, it can be argued that a good crust is key. The crust is the foundation of the pizza, supporting all the other ingredients, and it’s an element that defines different styles of pizza. Gjelina, a restaurant based in Venice, California, understands this — their wood-fired pizzas take days to make, thanks to a 27-hour dedication to the crust.
While it might seem outlandish that a restaurant has the luxury of taking even over a few hours to develop dough for pizza crust, Gjelina is not an average pizzeria. It’s a full-service restaurant that is a cornerstone of Venice’s dining scene, known for its seasonal, produce-driven menu. Since opening in 2008, the restaurant has earned a reputation for, yes, its wood-fired pizzas, dishes with California flair, and the way it makes vegetables the star of its cuisine.
Now, back to the dough — the reason the famous, thin pizza dough takes 27 hours to make is because of its slow fermentation process. After mixing the ingredients together, the dough rests (a key step for restaurant-level pizza dough) and ferments slowly in various controlled temperatures, allowing the yeast to work gradually. This long fermentation develops complex flavors and creates an open, airy texture inside the edges of the crust with crisp, blistered patches. The slow rise gives the dough its signature chew, and it’s said to improve digestibility.
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What Else Goes Into Gjelina’s Pizza
Pulling a slice from Gjelina’s pizza – Gjelina / Facebook
Pizza dough is a relatively simple recipe, but Gjelina is laser-focused on the ingredients it uses. A mix of high-protein bread flour and low-gluten, Italian flour is the base of the recipe, combined with warm water, sea salt, olive oil, and fresh yeast, which some people believe helps develop a sweeter, more complex flavor in baking. The dough is coated in olive oil and left to rise in a warm room — according to the Gjelina cookbook, a hot room of 80 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal — where it is turned every half hour. After three hours rising in the heat, the dough gets a thorough punching, and then most of the proofing takes place in the fridge for 24 hours.
Once ready, the dough is separated and shaped by hand, and finally baked in a wood-fired oven until the crust bubbles and chars. The result? The crust is super crisp and has had time to develop a richer flavor, good enough to almost eat on its own. It’s beautifully golden with the appropriate amount of char.
While you don’t necessarily need 27 hours to make an incredible pizza crust, there are a few steps you can take to improve the final result. If you’re attempting to make Gjelina’s pizza crust at home, or any recipe for homemade pizza crust, avoid pulling out the rolling pin and stick with hand shaping. For a crisp crust, take Paul Hollywood’s suggestion to use a super-hot oven and a pizza stone.
Read the original article on Chowhound.
