Agent Double Zero

11/16/21 • 37 min

🍕🍕🍕 What’s the secret behind a perfectly charred Neapolitan pizza? Answer: the cornicione—that famed leopard-spotting that blisters around the edges. But is this a sign of superior pie, or just burnt dough? Whether you like a soft crust with a chew, or a nice crisp bite, it’s merely a matter of the dough’s four main ingredients: flour, water, salt, yeast . . . or is it something else? We’ll find out more about the foundations of a perfect pizza — from Italy’s prized 00 flour, to farms that grow ancient wheats specifically for pizza. But is flour as different as the homophones: palate and palette?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

History of the Pizza World, Part II

🍕🍕 In Episode 1, we gave pizza a home. Now that we’ve let it into all of ours, let’s see how pizza plays a role in personal histories — from that of pizza champions to those championing pizza for change. What we’ve learned so far is that pizza is indeed of Italian descent, but how did that change with the Italian-American hyphenate? Who are these nonnas behind grandma slices? And do you remember a time when pizza parlors were where we gathered, making them central to who we were as a people. There have always been different slices for different folks, and that’s really the story here — that pizza can be the personification of who we are.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Know When to Hold Them, Know When to Fold Them

🍕🍕🍕🍕 Dough is a living, breathing thing. It rises, it reacts to its environment: temperature, time ... it’s an extensible object that shapes the way we interact with pizza. But how malleable is it? People are pushing the boundaries of what constitutes crusts throughout the country, giving new parameters to how we think about grain builds, proofing, shaping, baking, and handling the process of pizza making in general. While there are unlimited options for pizza toppings, Nathan posits that what may set it apart the most, is its base.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.