Kitchen 2: "Motorino", Margherita Pizza

The Kitchen
Motorino
319 Graham Avenue 
Brooklyn, New York



Pizza...the word even feels good to type. This particular experiment is especially near and dear to my heart, mainly because cooking (and eating) pizza has been a small obsession of mine for many years. Living in New York has only added to that addiction.


That leads me to Motorino. Opened in 2008 by French Chef Mathieu Palombino, Motorino proves that you don't have to be Italian to be a mean pizzaioli. I had been there a couple of times before and fell in love with his Neapolitan-style pizzas. Every pie has a strikingly fresh taste, ranging from the fior di latte, to the homemade San Marzano tomato sauce, to the airy naturally leavened crust...cooked perfectly in the 800 degree wood-fired oven and gently kissed with the perfect amount of char. 

Diane and I decided to venture over to the kitchen in early March, during one of the first warm days of the year. After downing two of the light and bouncy pies, it dawned on me to add this into the 100 kitchens annals. I have been studying pizza making for a long time now, so I'd try to take specific cues from Motorino to learn more about the craft. 


The Process

I'll be honest...going into this one I knew I wouldn't achieve the angelic pizza that Motorino and other places have create. However, I did have some head-start in beginning this venture. Namely, I have notes on other pizza experiments I've cooked (helping me make adjustments along the way) and more importantly, a living sourdough starter in my fridge. It's a great secret weapon to get a flavorful, totally from-scratch pizza dough.

That said, I still was craving the heat of an 800 degree oven. The high temperature is needed to quickly cook the pizza and allow it to achieve a nice, airy spring without drying it out to a dense and chewy crust. I've been experimenting with how to get the most out of my home oven, though. My current set up is using an upside down cast-iron skillet in the broiler, which has works well for retaining the much needed high heat.

So I went to work. Without question the dough is the most challenging and important piece of the puzzle. I've been working with a very wet dough recipe that uses the starter, flour, water and salt. The kneading process is slow. I used my Kitchenaid mixer to mix the ingredients first, with a couple 30 minute periods of autolyse to help breakdown the proteins in the flour to develop a strong, structured gluten. After kneading the dough I balled them up and placed them in their own tupperware containers to do a cold-rise in the fridge for 3 days...yep, 3 days. The wait is worth it. That fermentation time and the natural starter will end up giving the dough a delicious flavor .

Additionally, I thought I try my hand at cheesemaking for the homemade fior di latte. I was gifted a cheesemaking set which contained some recipes, rennet, citric acid and cheese salt...the building blocks for yummy cheese. I wanted the actual milk in the cheese to be as fresh as possible, so I nabbed some thick and delicious dairy from the Brooklyn Kitchen, a great purveyor of local and sustainable groceries. Unfortunately I ended up botching the mozz! I think my temperature was off when heading the ingredients which lead to some poor separation of the curds n' whey. But like mama used to say...when life hands you wet curds, make ricotta! (Well, maybe she didn't say it, but she would agree :P ). I ended up making a rich ricotta-like cheese with the curds that ended up being awesome for later.

And let us not forget about the sauce, which uses whole-peeled San Marzano tomatoes broken apart by hand. Usually I want these guys to do most of the work for me so I don't add much. After breaking apart the rotund-reds I dropped in some sea salt, fresh crushed oregano, and a dash of pepper. It's a simple, bright, and refreshing pairing to the rich cheese.

With everything ready to go I began to make the pizza. The dough felt buttery and airy in my hands--a good sign. I'm still trying to improve my stretching technique, but the key seems to be to not overwork the dough. Afterward I slid the doughy disc onto the peel, ladled on some sauce and tore some hunks of fresh mozzarella on top (now store bought, ha). With the last additions of some olive oil, basil and grated Parmesan, it was ready to go in.

A quick back-and-forth motion of the peel left the pizza in the broiler and on top of the super-heated skillet, ready to bubble away for a nail-biting few minutes.

The Outcome

As I said before, I knew I wasn't going to achieve the same perfect pie of Motorino, but at least I can say this turned out to be one of my best pizzas to date. The pizzas improved through the night, too. All of the extra effort really seemed to pay off and make something special. 

This time I had a few friends help eat a fleet of pies, which was awesome. I love cooking and sharing pizza with good friends, which made this pizzamaking occasion all the better. After downing some Blue Moons and about 7 pizzas I think we were all too full to move...the sign of a good dinner. 

The sourdough starter. Believe it or not, the foamy and disgusting looking head means it's perfectly ready to use :)

Mixing the dough. Notice how wet it is before a short proof and a 3-day cold-rise.

Tomatoes for the sauce.

Simmering the sauce. Some pizza makers won't even cook the sauce at all.

Cheesemaking supplies. The kitchen is a laboratory.

The failed mozzarella. It turned out to be one heck of a ricotta-like cheese, though :)

Pie assembled and ready for the oven. It will go in the broiler on top of an upside down, pre-heated cast-iron skillet. Cook time is about 3 minutes.

The final pie. Not Motorino, but a tasty go-nonetheless!

Cross section showing some pretty good crags and oven-spring. It's getting there!