Best One-On-One Pizza Training with Giulio Adriani, pizza chef/owner of Forcella di Napoli

Outside of Naples, I can't think of a better place to learn about Neapolitan pizza than in NYC, the birthplace of pizza in America.


The same week I signed up for Scott's Pizza Tour in NYC in January 2013, I also contacted Giulio Adriani, recommended by a member of the Pizza Making Forum (PMF), as another great resource in making Neapolitan pizzas. Giulio is the chief pizzaiolo and owner of Forcella, who happens to be one of the Senior Pizza Makers in the AVPN.  AVPN is an organization created to protect the professionalism of the pizza makers in Italy and worldwide that choose to make the True Neapolitan Pizza according to the tradition and to ensure the quality of the production process and products used.

I really didn't know much about Giulio as an instructor, other than the fact that he has taught classes as far places as Brazil and that members of the PMF raved about the incredible pizzas at Forcella. Amazing what you can find in the Internet. I contacted Giulio though his Forcella website and got an immediate response. Evidently, he is open to sharing his knowledge so I set up a one-on-one training with him.

It turned out that Giulio was stuck in Naples on the day we were suppose to meet. But we were able to reschedule our meeting at the Brooklyn restaurant on a Saturday morning well before the pizzeria doors opened to the public. Our lesson began with an inquiry of my current experience. I explained my success with Ken Forkish's pizza recipes, one with a poolish overnight dough with a 75% hydration, and an overnight dough with 70% and my latest experimentation with a 68% hydration recipe that I found on the PMF.

Forcella in Brooklyn

May I digress for a moment? I'm all about learning hands on. I consider myself a visual learner, and most especially with dough. I attempted baking bread twice on my own with little success, and found trial and error to be quite costly with good ingredients. I felt as though bread books were written in Greek. I could not translate the words as to how the dough was suppose to look or feel.  I had early success in baking bread, not by reading more cook books but by attending a hands-on workshop, Artisan Bread School with Carl Shavitz. I find watching a master baker knead the dough at my side and then doing so myself certainly accelerated my learning. After a week with Carl, I was easily able to translate the recipe instructions and bake breads from my favorite bakers with success! Taking his course gave me a fuller understanding of bread dough and fermentation. By the same token, I knew that meeting another master baker would do wonders for my grasp of learning the art and science of Neapolitan pizza making. In the interest of the cooks and bakers new to pizza making or "noobs", as my 10-year old would say, I hope that this post will offer insightful information for those interested in this culinary tradition and delight of Naples.

Giulio Adriani

Giulio is very much an open book with his pizza making and a great ambassador to the craft. Giulio showed up at the Brooklyn pizzeria a few minutes after I did, looking more like a stylish model with a scarf around his neck, than a pizza maker.  As a good instructor should do, Giulio was interested to find out the baseline with what he had to work with. I explained to him that I had been experimenting with pizza recipes since October up until the previous week, and ready to learn a new kind of pizza.

After changing into an oversized Caputo (flour brand) shirt and apron and feeling official, we headed to the downstairs kitchen where dough is made daily. Starting with the basics, I would learn to make dough, by hand. There were several stainless steel benches in the middle of the room, next to the walk-in refrigerator, a mammoth mixer, and heavy stacks of Caputo 50 pound bags of flour on the floor. The recipe for making Neapolitan pizza is no secret. The recipe is clearly explained in the AVPN documentation.  Giulio explained the percentages of ingredients and what worked for him, with strong consideration of the ambient temperature and humidity in the room, and how it affects fermentation, which in turn will result in the outcome: the flavor and texture that is found in a Neapolitan pizza.

Giulio began to weigh each ingredient using a digital scale. Unlike cooking, baking breads and cakes including pizza requires exactness of measurement. This is probably one aspect I love about making pizza, measuring for accuracy. However,  depending on the ambient temperature and humidity, the pizza maker can make minor adjustments to the amount of yeast and/or salt. Next to Giulio, I did the same measurements and followed along. Giulio showed me his staging process technique (the order in which ingredients are mixed). We mixed everything in a stainless steel bowl, and when the dough looked "shaggy", we transferred the mass onto the countertop. Then came the hard part. Kneading the dough, punching the dough, alternating side to side, until the dough mass became soft and supple. Instructions were easy to follow; the idea of simulating the fork mixer with both hands, punching the sides of the dough from opposite direction was a challenge. I realized it would be a matter of time to building Popoye forearm muscles to make this an easier step.

Once we kneaded the dough to the right consistency, he showed me how to portion the dough balls.  The guideline to make dough balls is measuring approximately 250 grams. After weighing several dough balls, he showed me how to form round balls. Using one hand, rotating the ball clockwise rounds the dough into a sphere. Using both hands, two balls can be formed at the same time which is common for pizza makers to handle. In fact, the pizza makers who make dough all day can eye-ball the dough without even using a scale.

Giulio showed me a trick of cutting the dough into log shape and pinching an amount approximating  the correct portion and molding a sphere with both hands, very similar to how mozzarella is shaped into balls. It's folding the dough out and bringing it to the edges and pinching the ends so that it stays closed and round. Capische?

Like a mozzerella ball

I look over to Pequeno, one of  Giulio's hard-working staff, glancing my way, smiling and probably thinking why this crazy lady is spending a beautiful January morning cooped up in the kitchen making dough balls. Needless to say, kneading dough is one of my favorite aspects of pizza making. I actually find it very relaxing and a pleasant way to decompress. The nerdy part of me enjoys the exactness of measuring ingredients with a digital scale. The creative side of me loves the tactile experience of squeezing dough between my fingers.

We repeated the entire process: measuring ingredients, mixing ingredients, kneading dough and portioning into dough balls prior to the second fermentation process. We returned upstairs to the front of the restaurant where the pizza oven is. A nice break for my sore forearms! One of my favorite aspects of pizza making, is being close to the fire.  I love the heat that comes from the pizza oven!  Working in my day job (the operating room) where the temperature is around 63 degrees, I welcome being near the hot dome.

Loving the warmth

Giulio explains oven management and offered expert advice which I absorbed like a sponge. The pizza books I have on hand give instructions on  how to bake using a home oven, but not a wood-fire oven. A piece of advice he gave me was a eureka moment for me, yet it just made perfect sense. After cooking a pizza on one side, you turn it 180 degrees to the other side, and in doing so, you want to return the pizza back to the same place on the hearth you removed it from. Returning the pizza to the same "cool" spot will finish cooking the bottom of the pie. But if you put the in a new spot, the half-cooked pie will burn on the bottom before the top is cooked. Capische?

Giulio explained his methodical ways of removing dough balls from the tray.  It is through this meticulous care of lifting dough balls out of the tray that there are minimal-to-no changes to the shape of the fermented dough.

Lift dough

Most folks are familiar with pizza makers using their knuckles to stretch out the dough, or both arms to toss the pizza into midair. However, with Neapolitan pizza, the key technique, while maintaining the round shape of the fermented dough, is to push the air away from the center of the base, towards the edge. This method provides the billowy texture and the "cornicione" (rim), the hallmark appearance of the Neapolitan pizza.

Gently "push" air towards the rim

The other key technique, known as the "Neapolitan Slap", helps stretch the dough to an appropriate thickness.  The slap is really a misnomer.  It's a rhythmic motion between both hands, moving the dough between hands while gently stretching and turning the dough base ninety degrees. I found this to be the most challenging part for me.  Eventually I would get the hang of it and did well until I started thinking about what I was doing!

Gently pull dough with left hand...

Fold dough over the right wrist...

An important aspect of pizza making is the transfer of dough to the peel and from the peel to the oven floor (hearth).  The dough is stretched about eighty percent on the counter, dressed with toppings, and then gently pulled onto the peel. While on the peel, the dough is stretched some more, pulling from the base and keeping away from the rim.

Final stretch on the peel

I continued to practice stretching the dough and then dressing it with "mock mozzerella", which is cut-up pizza crusts. Doing so simulates the weight of the cheese, thereby preventing the expansion of the Neapolitan crust (namely, a naan).

In the last forty-five minutes of my training, I had several exercises to accomplish. An exercise of stretching and dressing two pizza doughs at once and then cooking them at the same time. That was definitely easier than three pizzas at once. Needless to say, it was quite fun!  I also got to make a Pizza Montanara which Giulio first introduced to the city. It is a pizze fritte, where the dough is lightly flash fried, dressed and then quickly finished in the wood-fire oven. 

The next evening, I took my family to the Forcella pizzeria in Bowery. I got to stretch the dough, dress, and cook the pizzas!! I had  nervous energy and excitement to have the opportunity to cook dinner for the family. Thank you, Giulio, for the great idea! I passed the test - the kids loved the pizzas!

"Remember to be gentle, Sharlene"

Kids are hungry tonight!

All in all, I had the best learning experience with Giulio. He is very patient and skilled as an instructor. He is very talented at explaining the methods and techniques in words that I understand. Also, he clearly explains the rationale for a technique or method that he is doing. Just what the adult learner like myself needs. 

Pizza Night at Forcella

In the slow, cold months of January, you can go to Forcella for dinner and "make your own pizza". With Giulio's help, he will help you open the dough, and you get to choose your toppings. He was available one evening in the Park Avenue pizzeria, and another night in Brooklyn. Talk about a private lesson! I suppose depending on how serious you are with pizza, it is an opportunity to meet with Giulio and pick his brain about pizza making. 

"Check the bottom of the pizza..."

NOTE:  My one-on-one training with Guilio took place in January 2013. Due to a hectic travel schedule and late winter weather conditions, I wasn't able to try my newly learned techniques and recipe until April when firing up the wood-fire oven outside was tolerable. Needless to say, I was very happy with the results!

Pizza making at home

Charlottesville, VA is ready for this!

New adventures are underway in Forcella!  In collaboration with the Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani President Sergio Miccu, and the sponsor of Caputo Flour, the new Pizza Academy will open to pizza professionals as well as home baker chefs. All types of authentic pizza will be taught including the pizza al metro, according to Giulio.

Pizza al Metro

I met up with Giulio in March at the Pizza Expo and then again in May, and he generously gave his time to help me with the video portion of my Kickstart Campaign.  More details on another blog post about my new project! It wasn't until after I took the training class that I realized how passionate he is with the craft.  He's been in the pizza business for thirty years, making pizzas in Naples well before he came to NYC.  After successfully opening three pizzerias in New York as he continues to teach and consult, he is continuing to conquer his dream of introducing authentic Neapolitan pizza to the palates of uncharted places.

Me and Giulio

Pizza Margherita at Forcella (Bowery)

Learning to Use my Wood Fire Oven!

The Artisan Bread School 2010

My culinary adventure with dough started in October 2010 when I took my first lesson (since nurse anesthesia school), a course in artisan breads at the Artisan Bread School.  Carl Shavitz, a self-taught baker and brilliant instructor, bakes for restaurants in the UK and holds week-long classes in England, Italy and the US. With both my husband's and Carl's encouragement, I had my sights set on the Le Panyol since he thought it was the best bread oven on the market.  Kevin agreed that I would get a lot of enjoyment from the wood-fire oven since baking, cooking, as well as entertaining guests are activities I thoroughly enjoy.

 My new flame:  Le Panyol 83

Fast forward two years, and I ordered my oven in June 2012. It took me four months to find a qualified masonry person who was willing to do a task as small as mine. Since its arrival in October, I'd been scouring the Internet, reading as much as I could about how to use my new toy. Needless to say, it didn't come with instructions. Along with the 2,400 pound crate, it arrived with a manila envelope that included the state requirements proclaiming the materials made were "safe for human use", and a 15-minute video of how to start a fire in the oven. Instructions on how to actually use the wood-fire oven must have gotten lost in the mail!

 Overnight Dough with 70% Hydration 

There are not that many wood-fire oven books on the market. Some of the ones that are out there have have well written oven-management instructions, but the recipes included just do not sound appetizing. The books written by chefs have recipes that sounds more appealing; while I have not tried every recipe in the book, I have cooked many meals and eaten great meals in restaurants to know if the recipe reads flavorful!

With much experimentation and night time reading, I roasted, baked, sautéed, and braised meals for three months. Since June 2012, I've added five wood-fire oven books to my culinary library collection. I've baked pizza, roasted meats (whole chicken, pork chops, sausages) roasted  vegetables (fennel, parsnips, red potatoes), and baked artisan breads (sourdoughs).  Somehow, I end up overcooking either the vegetables or the meat.  I found myself cooking the last batch of bread using a flashlight. Rather than waste time and money in overcooking meals and wondering if I'm using heat optimally, I decided to enroll in a wood-fire oven class.

I've known about The Stone Turtle Baking and Cooking School for several years now, and decided to pay them a visit!


NOTE:  The rest of the blog talks about my experience at a wood-fire oven course. This blog post goes out to those who are interested in having a wood fire oven in their back yard, are in the process of building one, or enthusiast owners like myself who are in a similar predicament as I am, wondering if what you're doing is the best practice!

School Mascot

The Stone Turtle Baking and Cooking School offers the wood-fire intensive class twice a year. It is a two-day course that focuses on oven management.  The school is located in Lyman, ME, about 30 minutes south of Portland, ME. Michael Jubinsky is the master baker and course instructor who has 45 years experience in the baking industry. With lots of baking experience, and instructional hours, he is very enthusiastic about his love for baking and sharing his knowledge.

In Remembrance

He shares his love for baking with his wife, Sandy, who is a talented artist in her own right. She painted the turtles on both sides of the oven foundation as well as a portrait of Babchi, Michael's grandmother. Thanks to Babchi, she is the reason we met here; she's the woman responsible for introducing Michael to cooking, and fueling his passion for baking and cooking so that he can teach others.

Hall and Shelly learning the basics

Day 1:
Introductions/background
Class experiences varied from folks who already own an oven (built or purchased), who wanted to learn oven management, are in the process of buying one to have a wood-fire oven business, or wanting to expand their cooking and baking abilities with the wood-fire oven. Ultimately, everyone wanted to learn oven-management techniques

Anesthetist, Principal, Store Owner, Bakers, Doc

Building a Fire 
Step by step, Michael walked us through the steps of starting a fire. From stacking wood properly to managing a burning stack of wood until it died to ruby red embers, he explained the importance of the techniques that work for him.

"The Sandy Technique"

Cooking & Baking

Separate the colors, who knew?!

Cooked mussels in a rich garlic broth in a stainless steel pan wok and roasted chicken meat in a pair of preheated skillets. One portion was flavored with Morrocan spices (cumin, cinnamon, coriander) and the other with Italian herbs. He prefers to use dark meat, boneless thighs which are marinated overnight.  The chicken would later be used for pizza toppings. Not only did the class learn to properly stack wood to effectively start a fire, we learned to roast peppers properly. The peppers need to be moderately charred, more than what I'm used to doing in the past. I learned to separate the green peppers from the yellow and red which have more sugars, and therefore, cooks (and burns) quicker. I love to roast peppers and drizzle them with a balsamic vinegar glaze!

Piping Hot Pita Breads

Next, we shaped dough for pita bread, which must be shaped with a slight thickness in order to get the puffy rise in the end.  If spread too thin, it will not puff up and will look like a pizza dough. If too thin, it will be a different name, a naan! Shaping dough for pizza was a lot of fun. I got to practice the techniques I learned from Giulio Adriani in January. Michael demonstrated making granola.  An endless combination of fruits and nuts can be mixed, but the trick I learned is to add the dried fruit immediately after the nut mixture is out of the hot oven. With teamwork, we made enough poolish for the next day's exercise making French batards. He explained the difference between poolish, biga and a starter. After his demonstration, we all had the opportunity to shape dough for cinnamon rolls.

One advantage of taking lessons from a master baker like Michael is that he gave us knowledge that took him six years to learn, (i.e., what types of skillet pans work best, which oven gloves keeps your hands the safest.) I really appreciated his openness in sharing with us his words of wisdom!

Day 2:
Breakfast:
Enjoyed a bounty of breakfast treats from the oven: yogurt with granola and fresh fruit, cinnamon rolls, and piping hot coffee!

Our Turn to Play:
Today, it was our turn to start the fire! It was teamwork. David assembled the wood around the edge of the oven, like a jigsaw puzzle. Each wood overlapped one another, ensuring that there was enough of a gap for air flow. Hall and I started the wood lattice in front of the oven opening, starting with large pieces of wood to medium-to-small pieces of wood, and added kindling which was lit and pushed between the large pieces of wood. After about 5 minutes, once the lattice woodwork caught on fire, Teagan pushed the entire pile of wood towards the far back. The building of fire is no big secret. It is quite similar to starting a fire in your fire place.  Although after today, everyone will develop their own technique.

Preheating the skillets

Using the poolish made the previous day, we made French batards from start to finish. Not having baked bread for almost a year, it was nice to be playing with dough once again. Hoping this class will be an impetus to get back to baking breads and pizza!  I understand the temperatures back home was in the 70s, while it ranged from 36-49 degrees here in Portland ME. Needless to say, it was a lot easier staying indoor most of the day with the cold weather.

Foolishness with Poolish

Michael demonstrated making the puff pastry which would be used to make apple tartine. Having made laminated dough for croissants, I appreciated his patience in rolling all that butter into the dough. I was exhausted just watching him but I truly appreciated his efforts once I got a bite into the delicious pastry he made for dessert!

Making breakfast 

Ultimately, the class was meant for us to learn and understand oven management.  In doing so, we got to cook wonderful breads, pizza, and vegetables along the way in order to use the oven in various temperatures.  During the higher temperatures (700-800 degrees), the vegetables were roasted (asparagus and red potatoes) and we cooked pizza.  In the 600-700 range, chicken and mussels were sautéed. In the 400-500 degree range, we baked 22 French batards. Taking advantage of the cooking temperatures, a citrus herbed and Greek herb infused lamb roast was prepared, and for dessert, a beautifully caramelized apple tartine.

Simple Pleasures in Life

Lessons Learned:
The class was a success for everyone!  We all came away with more knowledge about the oven, great recipes, and tools. For me, I have learned to be more patient with my oven and with myself!  I need to spread out my cooking and baking over several days and not try to do it all in one day!

I think this intensive course is geared for the beginner who is thinking about getting a wood fire oven or someone who is going to get one and would need instructions on how to use it.  After this class, I definitely feel more confident as a wood-fire oven owner and with organization, patience, and more practice, my family and friends will be great benefactors of wonderful foods from my hearth.

Ready to Peel

Personally, Michael gave me the answers I needed that the oven distributor did not provide. I feel as though Michael truly is an ambassador to the Le Panyol product as well as to all other wood-fire ovens in general.  His 45 years of experience in the baking industry, many years as an instructor, and most recently, as a wood-fire oven owner since 2006, show his passion in the craft of baking.

Thanks to his artistic and talented wife, Sandy and their illustrious helping staff of four, Michael was able to spend time answering our questions, offering bread-baking, pastry-making, and hearth-cooking advice throughout both days without missing a beat. And if he did miss a beat or two, Sandy was close by to lovingly remind him.

Books I Recommend:

Wood Fired Oven Cookbook (Holly and Davis Jones)  The book is thorough. Section on Lighting and Controlling a Fire (with photographs); Menu Ideas and Timing Guides,  Both from the UK, Holly is a chef and Davis, a trained baker...classic dishes, and all types of recipes (flavors of Greece, Britain, Morroco,etc..)  that are easy to cook-all geared for the WFO. Recipes for Pizzas and Many Toppings, Fish and Seafood, Veggies Meat, Breads, Puddings and Cakes.

Wood-Fired Cooking: Techniques and Recipes for the Grill, Backyard Oven, Fire Place and Campfire (Mary Karlin) A good overview of cooking options for the home cook. She has a section on Wood Fire Basics, Developing a Cooking Plan and a chart of Hardwood and Fruitwoods (flavor profile, heat level, and coaling quality). Mary Karlin is also a chef - having taught at the Culinary Institute of America in Greystone, and other culinary schools.The recipes in the book are amazing. Chapters include Baking Flatbreads and Rustic Artisan Breads, Wood Fire Grilling, Campfire Cooking, Wood Fire Roasting, Claypot and Cast Iron oven cooking, savory tarts and galettes baked on the Hearth, Low and Slow: Braising to barbecue. The recipes are rustic, wholesome, and easy. She chooses to include recipes that takes advantage of the flavors that you'll only get from a WFO.

Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way (Francis Mallman) He is a famous chef in South America - illustrating all the techniques of how food is cooked using fire. From a parrilla -cooking on a grill- similar to a Tuscan grill....to a clay oven, using embers and ashes, using an iron cross, to a cauldron.  He explains how to build a fire in your back yard and cook elaborate meals - his recipes are South American-influenced (empanadas, ribeye with chimichurri,etc,) His meals are gourmet and elaborate, compared to the others, but the preparations are worthwhile.