Is there room for another Neapolitan pizza maker in Atlanta? Ribalta thinks so. The new pizza joint in Midtown comes from Italians Pasquale Cozzolino, formerly of Dellaroccos in Brooklyn, and Rosario Procino, founder of Keste pizzeria in New York City. Their Neapolitan cuisine stretches beyond pies, and includes handmade pastas and main entrees.
This is the second location, the other Ribalta is in New York City. Chef Cozzolino spends his time in New York, but we can be assured that the Italians at the helm of Atlanta’s kitchen, Stefano Lepre and Gabriele Besozzi, are just as hospitable, giving a warm Italian welcome.
So what makes Ribalta's Neapolitan pizza different? An 80 year-old yeast "mother" for the dough and a 72-hour maturation process. They follow the strict rules set in place for Neapolitan pizza: they involve every step of the pizza-making process from selection of ingredients, dough preparation, dough stretching and the cooking method. These rules are now acknowledged by the European Community as standard for making Neapolitan pizza.
Here chef Cozzolino shares more about their standout dough.
Describe the process for making the dough.
Water + flour + salt + natural yeast (mother dough) = Ribalta’s dough
No oil, no egg, no sugar, just simple and natural ingredients. After the mixing phase, the dough is left to rest for at least eight hours, then is cut into individual balls and left to raise at controlled temperature for at least 72 hours. Compared to many other pizzerias, we use a very low amount of salt and natural yeast instead of fresh yeast, for an healthier and more digestible pizza.
Why is it important to leaven the dough for 72 hours? How does that affect the dough?
Long yeast maturation is a must for obtaining an extremely light and digestible dough. If the dough does not rise long enough, most of the yeast’s micro-processes necessary for proper maturation continue to happen in your stomach after you eat the pizza. This is why so many people may feel bloated and thirsty for hours after pizza.
Credit: Alexa Lampasona
Credit: Alexa Lampasona
You’ve taken a piece of dough from an Italian bakery and incorporated it into each new batch of dough to make a mother dough. Explain this process.
This bakery has been regenerating the mass every other day for the last 80-100 years. We began the same process in our New York location three years ago. Every time we need to prepare a batch of dough, we use part of our mother dough as a starter in the new batch (instead of fresh yeast as many other pizzeria do.) The remaining portion of mother dough is then mixed with fresh water and flour and preserved to be used again.
Le 5 Stagioni Flour is the leading flour producer in Italy and the only flour you use for your pizza dough. What makes it special from other flour brands?
Our relationship with Le 5 Stagioni Flour goes back to Italy where I had been using it for years. The flour is made from a selected special quality of wheat, which is mixed only after milling. Many other flours are made with cheaper wheat and designed for short and quick maturation processes, but this flour works with our long maturation process.
Credit: Alexa Lampasona
Credit: Alexa Lampasona
About the Author
