Neapolitan doughs bake in Steve's WFO..Thanks Steve and Sue!!

Steve invited me to his home today. I am always excited to watch how WFO’s bake pizzas and also to taste the pies that are baked in a WFO.


I asked Steve if he minded if I made a couple of doughs to try in his oven and he said he didn’t mind. I started yesterday morning to mix two different doughs. I am rusty on making Neapolitan doughs because I don’t make them that often. The one dough for two dough balls was made with cake yeast, bulk fermented, then balled and room temperature fermented. This dough was made in the lines of John’s (dellavecchia) Keste’s clone. The other dough for two dough balls also was bulk fermented, then balled and put into my proofing box (usually for low hydration cracker style doughs), but I put a bottle of ice into the proofing box, instead of using it to heat. The proofing box did keep the temperature right around 60 degrees F. The second dough was made with Ischia starter and used about the same formulation as Craig’s.

I purchased a different cheese yesterday to try on the pizzas today. I had thought my Green Store would have fresh mozzarella, but they were out of it. The man that owns the store told me about Greek Halloumi cheese and said it should taste like fresh mozzarella when baked on a pizza. He also told me the Greek Halloumi cheese can withstand high heat and also is a cheese that can be grilled with olive oil and will withstand the heat of grilling on the stove or on a grill. I decided to purchased it. I also purchased some Sopressata.

These are two of the pies that were baked in Steve’s and Sue's WFO. One was the with the cake yeast and one was with the Ischia starter.

I got to try some of Steve’s great homebrew again and also some of his Limoncello. It was the end of a perfect evening when we saw deer in the field behind his home and also Steve and his wife serenaded me with his wife singing and playing the guitar and Steve playing the mandolin. What could get much better in life than Neapolitan pizza, beer, Limoncello, wildlife and being serenaded.

I have the other pictures of how my dough balls looked and fermented and also the other two pies that I made, but just thought I would post these pictures.

Thanks Steve and Sue for giving me the chance to bake in your WFO. It sure was fun!

Norma