Chef Alessandro D’Ubaldo on his key ingredient – Truffle

Chef Alex

Chef Alessandro D’Ubaldo of 800 Pizza says of this prized ingredient: “I love truffles, both the black summer and white winter ones. They are always amazing and so appetising; the aroma can get you hungry at any time of the day. A great friend of mine, Massimo of Italtouch known as the ‘Truffle man’, brings ours from Umbria in Italy, which offers some of the best ingredients you can wish for – from truffles and lentils to olive oil. My father is from Citta’ della Pieve in Umbria, so it’s a second home for me.”

Truffle pizza

Truffle pizza

Ingredients

225ml room temperature water

0.5g dry yeast or 1.5g fresh yeast

500g flour

25ml extra virgin olive oil

120g fresh Italian buffalo mozzarella

40g summer black truffle shavings

2g white truffle oil

1g freshly ground black pepper

7g salt

Method

Prepare the dough early in the morning as the rising takes very long. Pour the water into a large bowl and add the yeast, flour, extra virgin olive oil and salt. Mix by hand for at least 20 minutes or until you get a smooth surface.

Portion individual balls and place in an air-tight container until the balls double in size. This could take 8 to 10 hours; but should you wish to quicken the process, add more yeast.

Stretch out the dough as required, and use a tiny bit of oil to avoid it from sticking to the oven tray.

Lay the buffalo mozzarella on the dough, ripped in small chunks by hand. Remember fresh mozzarella is milky, so drain any excess milk in a sink by squeezing the cheese tight in your hand. You can also use a paper towel to further absorb the moisture, or your pizza will turn out soggy.

Preheat the oven to 2500C, and use the grill option if you have it. Keep checking the top and bottom of the pizza every 10 minutes, and do it fast – don't keep the oven open for too long else the temperature will drop too much. Try to deliver an even cooking top and bottom by balancing the
heat elements.

After you get the pizza out of the oven, shave the black truffle on it, drizzle the white truffle oil, and then grind some black pepper and add a pinch of salt.  

_________________
Read more:

Royal wedding: Harry and Meghan select east London baker to create wedding cake

_________________