RECAP: SCOOZI PIZZA MASTERCLASS
As one of the first few Australian pizzerias to earn themselves an Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana accreditation, followed by another one from the Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani, pizzaiolo Phillip Bruno and his team at Scoozi really know their pizzas.
It turns out there is quite a science behind putting together the ingredients that create pizza perfection and we were recently taken through this 300 year old process during a pizza masterclass with Phillip Bruno. Dough ingredients only go so far, with much of the final texture arising from the work that goes into bringing together and working the dough, followed by some solid resting of the dough for over 30 hours. The dough is then 'tossed' around to stretch it out (rolling pins; a no-no!) and loaded with ingredients before being cooked for a speedy 60 - 90 seconds in a super hot, 420C wood-fired pizza oven (custom built by Phillip Bruno himself).
As it turns out, I was probably not a master pizzaiolo in my past life (so much struggle with even shaping the dough into a ball) but that's okay... I'm more than happy to sit back, let the experts work their magic and eat the delicious fruits of their labour. Scoozi's margherita pizza is among the best I've tried in both Melbourne and Italy. The pizza dough sported a gorgeous ratio of chewiness to airy lightness. The sweetness of the tomato base complemented the smoky char imparted by the cooking process, and the occasional encounters with the oozy mozzarella and herbaceous basil brought a balanced and simple indulgence. Delizioso. It was not hard to see why Scoozi rates quite highly, and a return visit for some of their other pizza flavours is definitely in the cards.
Scoozi
136 Union Road,
Ascot Vale, Victoria, 3032.
(03) 9370 0100
Disclosure: I attended the pizza masterclass as a guest of Scoozi. All opinions expressed in this post are based entirely on my experience and observations made during the time of my visit.