Pizzas of all kinds | The Press

Pasta, tomato (or not!), cheese: this essential triad may seem simple, but, over the centuries, it has presented itself in the most diverse forms possible. In recent years, we have found a growing variety of pizza styles in Montreal, whether from Rome, Detroit or New Haven. In your notebooks: here is a guide to the different families of pizzas that you can devour in the metropolis.

Purism is no longer fashionable in the world of pizza, even among some of Italy’s iconoclasts. You only have to look at what Gabriele Bonci is doing in Rome, with his eccentric al taglio pizzas, and Franco Pepe, an hour from Naples, with his inverted margherita, the sbagliata.

In Montreal, pizza makers are increasingly doing their own thing, combining different styles. “As long as it’s good!” ”, they would say. Besides, this is how the majority of pizzas were born, by passing from one culture to another and slowly hybridizing along the way.

This file is limited to pizzerias in Montreal. Certainly, there are excellent ones in Laval (Gigi’s, Bottega, etc.), in Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard (Lupi), in Quebec (Nina), in Notre-Dame-du-Portage (Pizzeria des Battures ), in Austin (Parcelles), in Piedmont (Merci la vie) and elsewhere in Quebec.

There are also some very good chain pizzas. We only have to think of No. 900, which has branches as far away as Lyon and whose chef, Mirko D’Agata, has won numerous awards – most recently third place in the category pizza is due during the World Pizza Championship which took place in mid-April in Parma.

But I had to limit myself, already by sticking to the world of Montreal pizza, I put my finger on a gear of a complexity that I did not suspect, with its mixtures of flours, its rates dough hydration, fermentation times, cooking temperatures, types of cheese, etc.

Phew! Pizza unleashes passions. But in truth, the only truth today – with the exception of certified “real” Neapolitan pizza – is that of taste. When it’s good, it’s good!

Neapolitan

Let’s start with the most famous and codified of all, the one that comes from Naples. Before the arrival of tomatoes at the end of the 18th century^e century, mastunicola was already made, commonly garnished with bacon, oregano and basil (topped flatbread had already existed for millennia, of course).

Then the famous margherita was born and for many people it remains THE reference in terms of pizza. A “real” Neapolitan cooks in 90 seconds in an oven (wood, gas, electricity) heated to 900 degrees Fahrenheit. It has a diameter of 35 cm (13.8 inches) and a raised, inflated edge: the famous cornicione. It contains few toppings: San Marzano or Roma tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil, fior di latte or buffala cheeses and basil. Moreover, only the marinara, margherita and mastunicola pizzas (which is making a comeback) are entitled to the seal of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, born in 1984. “Our” dear Mirko D’Agata, of Pizzeria No. 900, is moreover head of the Canadian delegation.

Afterwards, there is also the neo-Napolitan, a more modern version which doesn’t care about certifications and which allows expanded creative license. It can be cooked in the oven of your choice, heated at a lower temperature for longer, have a less soft center. One thing is certain: Neapolitan pizza is best eaten straight from the oven and does not reheat very well.

Al taglio (or in teglia)

It has long lived in the shadow of the sacrosanct Neapolitan, but Roman-cut pizza has made up for it, at least in Montreal, where it is now omnipresent. She even has her little channel, Morso, also piloted by Mirko D’Agata in the oven. Pizza al taglio is cooked in a rectangular metal sheet made of steel or cast iron.

In Rome, there are also those that are cooked directly on the stone, like al metro. The pizzeria that made it in Montreal, FCO di Fiumicino, closed and was replaced by a branch of Morso. The alla pala is another, which you can order at the Elena restaurant. The Eternal City also has other types of pizzas, such as scrocchiarella, with a very crunchy crust, and tonda, a round also very crispy.

Tonda

Giuseppe Sacchetti would like to make “pure” tonda romana, with a very thin, crunchy and rimless dough (cornicione), as you find at the popular 180g pizzeria in Rome or at the excellent Clementina, where I had the great pleasure of eating last fall, in Fiumicino. But the chef is not sure that his customers are yet ready to follow him. Also his tonda – “the simple name confused customers, so I just renamed it “round pizza”! » – it is a little thicker, with a more or less puffy crust, and the sauce which reaches almost to the edge. But one thing is certain, it crisps, unlike the Neapolitan, and it is the only one of its kind in Montreal.

New York, Brooklyn, New Jersey, New Haven

It is these American styles of pizza that have seen the strongest growth in Montreal in recent years. The New York has a thin crust, but crunchy, so not as soft and soft as the Neapolitan. Its dough cooks at a temperature around 500-550ºF. It is often very large (16-18 inches) and served on the tip. Its origins date back to the beginning of the 20th century.^e century.

Is there a difference between pizza in Manhattan, Brooklyn and neighboring state New Jersey? Absolutely, but they almost all stem from Gennaro Lombardi’s Neapolitan-American pizza, which began selling its “ magpies » for five cents in his Spring Street grocery store in 1905. New York pizzas and their descendants are typically made with dry, fattier mozzarella rather than fresh cheese. But that won’t stop the smart guys at L’Industrie (Brooklyn and Manhattan) from putting a big ball of burrata on their signature product.

The New Haven is probably the one that stands out the most, with its rustic look, its very thin and very toasted crust. For the moment, in Montreal, it can only be found at Frankies, which doesn’t even have a storefront.

Sicilian

The real Sicilian pizza is called sfincione. Its name is said to be derived from the word “sponge”. Crossing the Atlantic to New York (it seems Spring Street Pizza in Nolita is the go-to today), there have been a few variations on this spongy delight. At Welldun, the Sicilian is more inspired by the American. Its texture is more airy and its bottom is nicely grilled to make it “crunch”! Its cheese is not caciocavallo as for sfincione, but mozzarella with parmesan.

Detroit

Particularly delicious, the pizza born in the Motor City is rectangular. Its dough is thick and soft and its edges are very crispy with gratinated “brick” type cheese. The filling is generous. The “Detroit” is a descendant of the Sicilian, as the dough recipe is said to come from Anna’s (Sicilian) mother, wife of Gus Guerra, owner of the neighborhood bar Buddy’s Rendezvous who first put it on the menu. According to legend, the first molds were provided by a friend of Gus who worked in the automobile industry, where these steel containers were used to hold parts. Today, corners well garnished with cheese lace are still popular!

Pizza pan

In principle, any pizza cooked in a pan is a pan pizza. But what comes to mind when we think of this category is above all the round and thick pie from Pizza Hut, a well-known chain born in Kansas. To simplify, we can say that the pan pizza is a creation of the Midwest of the United States. At least that’s the inspiration of Danny St-Pierre at Pan Américan Pizza, who also cites the legendary Pequod’s in Chicago, a tall, round marvel of decadence, surrounded by a caramelized cheese crust.

Grandmother

I didn’t know about this pizza before Welldun, in Verdun, put it on its menu. The birthplace of the “Grandma”, baked in a large cookie sheet, is Umberto’s Restaurant in Hyde Park, Long Island. It would be inspired by Italian grandmothers who, due to a lack of a suitable oven at home, prepared their pizzas like this. The result is thinner than a Sicilian and the dough contains much more olive oil. “It’s almost fried,” reveals Danny Perez, another of those Montreal pizza scholars who are expanding our knowledge of the thing. As for toppings, you can keep it simple or go wild as you wish.