Regular Pizza Course

The course is recommended to people who want to learn how to make pizzas for professional purposes and want to work as Pizzaiolo in a Neapolitan pizzeria.

The program is divided in 4 periods:

1 - Theoretical period: Knowledge of the Product and Preparation Process

The course's theoretical hours aim to furnish the student with an essential knowledge of the physiological, morphological and genetic components of the products composing the Neapolitan pizza. The theory section will take place in the workshop following a well–defined schedule in which the instructors will teach these essential concepts:

• Introduction to the VPN Association: rules and organization.
• VPN Americas activity and market presence.
• History of the pizza and its ingredients.
• Pizza in USA
• Properties of the products for making a dough (flour, yeast, water, salt).
• Characteristics of the ingredients for making a Neapolitan pizza (San Marzano style plum tomato, extra virgin olive oil, buffalo's and cow's milk mozzarella, basil, oregano, garlic).
• Technical aspects of the main equipment and tools
• Nutrition facts of the Neapolitan pizza

2 – Workshop Period

The course is focused on practice. You will also acquire many secrets and skills. You will have a space on the bench for practice, supervised by a VPN Certified Master pizzaiolo and you will spend the majority of the time preparing the dough, forming the balls, slapping the dough, cooking pizza and preparing all the ingredients you need.

1. Turning on the oven, learning how to bring it to proper temperature and how to maintain it during baking.
2. Preparing the dough by hand following the recipe.
3. Preparing the dough using a fork mixer.
4. Learning how to prepare fresh mozzarella (fior di latte), ricotta, smoked mozzarella and burrata cheese.
5. Making bread with leftover dough.
6. Leavening of the dough.
7. Cutting, shaping and forming of the balls.
8. Stretching and opening the dough with the proper technique to form the disc.
9. Organizing the working bench.
10. Preparing the ingredients (mozzarella, how it should be cut, how the tomatoes must be grind, etc.)
11. Putting the toppings on the pizza.
12. Cooking and managing the pizza in the oven (choosing the proper timing and temperature and the right tools)
13. Preparing the Classical Neapolitan Pizzas (Marinara and Margherita) and other pizzas with typical Neapolitan traditional topping.
14. Learning how to manage more than one pizza in the same time
15. Preparing and cooking of the Pizza Fritta with its variations (Pizza Montanara and Calzone Fritto).

3 – Cheese making factory

If available, you can spend 30 minutes at a cheese factory watching the process of producing mozzarella and tasting different fresh cheeses

4 – Training Examinations: Written & Practical

A panel composed of members of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana supervised by the President Peppe Miele, will examine the trainees at the end of the course. The student will undergo two tests and a verbal interview:

• A written test with 30 multiple–choice questions.
• A practical test requiring the preparation of the dough and the preparation of the two classical Neapolitan pizzas: Margherita and Marinara.

At the end of the test, the trainee will receive a score out of 100 possible points. The written portion will be worth 30 points and the practical skill portion will be worth 70 points. 

Uniform:

• 2 T–shirts
• 2 Aprons
• 1 hat