friendly over the nearly two hours we were
there. My sister swapped cheese-making
tips with a couple from Brooklyn, while the
couple from Astoria asked Idriss about his
dough recipe.
“Pizza’s the ultimate icebreaker,” said Corey
Boudreau, who came with his girlfriend,
Patricia Holliday. Holliday said the two live
near Macoletta and she had enjoyed a meal
there before with friends. They already
make pizza at home, and came to learn
more and enjoy a fun date experience, Holliday
said, adding that she was surprised
how simple the ingredients were.
Macoletta makes the dough with only
Caputo flour, yeast, water, salt and olive
oil, Idriss said. The fermentation process
takes three days, which includes mixing
22 FEBRUARY 2 0 1 9
the ingredients, letting it rest for and
hour, refrigerating it for 24 hours, kneading
it on the second day and stretching
it on the third day. This process accounts
for its light texture.
Idriss is selective about everything else
the restaurant serves. The cappuccino
machine is specialized; he uses local Zibetto
coffee; gelato is exclusively from
nearby Gelato & Co.; beer and wine offerings
are either local, like from Big aLICe
Brewing, or imported from Italy. He
serves Italian craft beer, La Birra Di Meni,
which only produces 50,000 bottles each
year.
We started pizza-making by stretching
the dough on a small pile of flour and
pushing the bubbles out to the crust. We
topped it lightly with homemade tomato
sauce, basil and a few pieces of thick
mozzarella. If left to my own devices, I
would have drenched the dough in sauce
and covered every spot with cheese, but
the key ingredient in this class was simplicity.
Staff also advised me to place the
cheese on top of the greens to keep them
from burning.
As Idriss guided us through the process,
he answered our questions about how to
make pizza at home. He suggested using
fresh ingredients without preservatives.
In Astoria, he recommended products
from Rosario’s on 31st Street. Although
he doesn’t use sugar in his dough, he said
it’s acceptable for home cooks who don’t
have a specialized oven.
FOOD + DRINK