Italy, home of pizza, spaghetti, gelato and lots of things that end with “o” or “i.” Our friend and “tour guide,” Dan, (learn more about why he was our tour guide on the Florence post) booked a pizza- and gelato-making class on the beautiful hills overlooking Florence, the Renaissance capital of art, sculpture, and architecture. Before our pizza and gelato class we tasted gelato and pizza at restaurants and gelato parlors and were happy with the quality. We were going to see how our cooking skills compared to the professionals’. We started by walking to a private coach that took us to an estate outside of Florence where the class was held. The bus was only a 15-minute ride, and then we had to walk to the house where the class took place. We first ventured down to the vegetable and flower garden, where we picked plants to put in the gelato and pizza in order make them flavorful. We then headed inside to the kitchen where our gelato instructor lectured us on the recipes for different flavors of gelato. Dan and I chose chocolate, a recipe that does not use milk or cream because of the fat already in the chocolate. Let’s just say we did a lot of taste testing in the process. Because we chose chocolate, we could not put the mix in the fridge because it would turn hard.
We then went outside to learn about pizza- and dough-making. Our instructor compared our dough to a baby and everybody got a kick out of that, considering we were “making babies.” He told us that the flour and yeast were key to making pizza. I learned that yeast is living and if you expose yeast to salt, the salt kills the yeast. We then learned how to knead the dough, by folding the sides into the center and then stretching it. We finally were told to “punish the baby,” by throwing it on the table to make the dough smooth, and also to activate the yeast. Back to the gelato room and on to the last step of the process. We had our batter on the table waiting for us alongside an ice cream maker that had been in the freezer for eight hours. All we had to do was pour the mix into the ice cream maker and then we were done. Once we were finished, we watched a really cool demonstration on gelato making with liquid nitrogen where they poured the nitrogen into a bowl with mix already inside, and voila! gelato!
We headed back outside to finish making our pizzas. We used risen-dough that the school provided because the dough must rise, and we did not have time to wait for ours. The school then bakes the classes’ dough into bread to give to churches. It was time to “massage the baby” by making it flat for the oven. They even let us throw the dough in the air like the big shots. It was then time to send the baby “to school” (the oven). When my pizza came out, I was astonished. It literally looked like it was made by a professional if I do say so myself. I was happy when I discovered that it tasted as good as it looked. My dad said, “My compliments to the chef” obviously referring to himself. When everyone was finished with their pizza, they brought out the gelato. It was sooooo good. My favorites were chocolate and strawberry, together. After I had thirds of the frozen heaven, they handed out pizza- and gelato-making certificates and bid us farewell. We walked up the dark steps and to the bus for the trip home. Our little cooking class was my favorite part of the stay in Florence, Italy.
This class and the people that taught it were awesome so if you, or any of your friends are traveling to Florence, be sure to check it out: Walkabout Florence
To hear more on our stay in Florence, check out my mom’s post. Until the next entry, Mick