Pizza Coast to Coast at BigA
“Contemporary pizza with an Italian heart and an American mind”
When it comes to eating pizza in New York City, the options for urbanites are overwhelmingly endless. But few may realise how the gastronomic experience of pizza is changing into one which considers both palate and nutritional value.
Pizza Coast to Coast demonstrated, at BigA pizzeria in the Lower East Side, the concept of ‘dynamic pizza.’ This is a ground-breaking new way of crafting pizza in which the flour miller and chef work in tandem to produce true contemporary pizza that values quality, nutrition, and taste. Chef Crystian Dangelo from Terún in California and Chef Giovanni Barberi from BigA in NYC converged their expertise, gained from training at Italy’s elite teaching facility Università della Pizza, to craft two fundamental traditional pizza models using flour from Petra’s Molino Quaglia. The ability to form dough of varied textures and the distinguishability of each ingredient in the pizzas was due to Petra’s different combinations of grains and the use of type 0 flour. Additionally, her flour is produced through a unique process known as augmented stone milling that combines stone grinding with cylinder grinding to produce flour that is both flavorful and nutritious. The final products of this collaboration between innovative chef and miller were distinct yet equally delectable pizzas.
Conducted by the rules of the ‘Manifesto of Italian Contemporary Pizza’ Chefs Dangelo and Barberi proudly prepared a series of pizzas for tasting, in a kitchen open to observation from the guests of the restaurant. Barberi prepared pizza Napoletana with a round base style dough that was thin, soft and elastic. Dangelo’s pizzas were en palla alla romana, textured thick and crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside due to the blend of whole wheat and type 0 flour. All pizzas were topped with carefully combined fresh and seasonal ingredients.
To complement the lightness of the pizzas, platters were paired with refreshing Italian beer from Birra del Borgo.
To include your taste in the evolving gastronomy of pizza be sure to visit BigA pizzeria at 1 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002.
