FEATURE // Pizza
Slice of life
Adhering to tradition reigns supreme when it comes to pizza. WORDS Annabelle Cloros
AUSTRALIA’S FIRST PIZZERIA opened
has been bubbling away for 23 years
Caputo blue flour from Naples, which is a
moniker Lucia’s Pizza Bar. The venue fast
which is connected to sister venue Italian
capacity and workability.
its doors in 1957 in Adelaide under the
developed a reputation for its Margherita, and it wasn’t long before pizza bars mushroomed around the country.
Pizza is deceptively simple (flour, water,
salt, toppings), but there’s no hiding when it comes to putting out a quality product. Cucina Porto Chef Martino Pulito and Bacaro Owner Pasquale Trimboli talk
to Hospitality about the importance of
sourcing high-quality ingredients, woodfired versus gas ovens and why going overboard is never the answer.
Bacaro make pizza using a dough recipe that’s been around for 25 years. An
essential component is the starter, which 30 | Hospitality
and counting. The Canberra pizza bar,
and Sons, is a family-run operation that
00 wheat product known for its hydration The dough undergoes a triple proving
sticks to tradition as much as possible.
process which sees the product proved
we’re putting though the kitchen is that
rested for six hours. The dough is then cut
“Our philosophy on pizza and anything it’s all about the ingredients and the
quality,” says Pasquale Trimboli. “Pizza
for 12 hours before it’s knocked back and
and shaped into balls and left to rise again. Thanks to the use of a starter, Bacaro’s
is just basic components; it’s how you
dough requires minimal yeast, resulting
difference is.”
“With a starter, you get oxidisation where
put them together and that’s where the Bacaro’s dough is made from flour,
water, yeast, salt and sometimes olive
oil — it sounds simple, but there’s more to it. “The flour needs to be 00 bread
flour with low gluten and very low yeast,” says Trimboli. “The flour itself changes
the whole product.” The team work with
in a lighter and more digestible product. it’s like a sourdough effectively,” says
Trimboli. “You’re using less yeast in the
dough itself, but you’re also developing
a wetter dough, which means it becomes harder to handle; but professionals are used to it.”
