What is it? Stonebaked pizza bases by Da Piero The Artisan Pizza Company (€3.99, 280g, x 2 bases).
What’s good about it? I have been buying these ready-to-use pizza bases off and on ever since they were launched in 2007. But with a pizza oven in the back garden, and a renewed interest in making dough, usually following Bernadette O’Shea’s recipe from her book Pizza Defined (Estragon Press, 2000; if you see a copy in a second hand book shop, snap it up), it has been several years since I’ve bought them. And in that time, they’ve gotten even better, especially if you like your pizza base thin and crisp. Gianpiero De Vallier and his team make them in Rathcoole, Co Dublin, using only wheat and soya flours, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, yeast and water.
How do I use it? Top sparsely with the sauce and toppings of your choice and bake in an oven that has been preheated to its maximum temperature, for three to five minutes, The packet can be resealed and put back in the fridge for 24 hours if you’re only cooking one, and they can be frozen. Leftovers reheat brilliantly in an air fryer.
Where can I buy it? Widely available in supermarkets including Tesco, Dunnes, SuperValu and Ardkeen QFS, as well as independents.
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Anything else? There are some interesting recipes and toppings at pizzadapiero.ie, such black garlic and chorizo. But rather than follow the maker’s directions to assemble your pizza on an oven rack and transfer that to the oven. I suggest assembling on a sheet of greaseproof paper and lifting that on to a red-hot oven shelf or tray, or better still a pizza stone, to get really crisp base.
Send your suggestions to marieclaire.digby@irishtimes.com
