Pizzaioli in Training
Last Tuesday, fifteen students gathered at Pizza e Musica, a local pizzeria, for Umbra’s famous “How to Make a Pizza” workshop. Julie Falk, Umbra’s Community Engagement Coordinator, began the workshop with this question: “How many of you think that the ingredients in pizza have Italian origins?” Students then listened to some pizza lore and tales before donning aprons to try their hands at pizza-making with Pizza e Musica’s pizzaiolo.
It’s harder than it looks. One must knead the dough carefully (without putting a hole in the middle) and then choose appropriate toppings (zucchini, eggplant, multiple cheeses, and peppers to name a few.) Our pizzaiolo helped the students put the pizza in the wood-fired oven with a special pala (shovel) – a difficult feat. The students were quite talented for their first attempts!
Pizza tastes better when you make it, and the students were rewarded for their efforts with a delicious meal (and tiramisu for dessert.) Buon appetito!