“I don’t do grilled pizza, I do wood-fired pizza!”
Gregg O’Neill spends as much time explaining his creations as he does making them. He is the owner and self-titled “Pizzaiolo” of Bravo Wood Fired Pizza in North Kingstown, which brings pizza made in a wood-fired oven on a trailer to just about any mobile location, dough, sauce and all. A foodie who has immersed himself in the nuances of Neapolitan pizza making, O’Neill has found a new way to do the farm-to-table approach that is currently popular in fine-dining circles.
“The Italians have a saying that good pizza is ‘all about the bread,’ ” said O’Neill. “This means [to me] that great pizza can only be so with the best dough baked in the best oven.”
He comes by his title – Pizzaiolo – not by accident. The term, according to
the Pizza Making Glossary found on
pizzamaking.com, is used to describe a trained, Italian pizza maker, especially one with skills in making and baking Neapolitan pizzas in a high-temperature, wood-fired oven and with exceptional skills in managing and mastering the use of the oven.
Bravo’s wood-fired pizza is as different from grilled pizza as a hamburger is from a meatball. Grilled pizza – which as we all know was introduced in the United States by Johanne Kilheen and George Germon at Al Forno in Providence in 1980 – has a thin, almost tortilla-like crust that does not rise in order to stand up to the direct flame of the grill.
Toppings are sliced thin to enable them to be heated quickly during the grilling process, which even though it is a direct flame does not reach the high temperatures of the wood-fired oven. There are as many variations of the formula of crust, sauce, cheese and toppings as there are pizza cooks. Entire books have been written about the vagaries of which flour works best, how much stretching of the dough is necessary and whether or not the pie should be perfectly round-shaped.
In Naples, Italy, pizza making is even regulated by Italian law. The Verace Pizza Napoletana Association is a nonprofit that safeguards and promotes the culture of real Neapolitan pizza worldwide. Certification from the association is extremely difficult to achieve and even tougher to hold onto. There are 57 pizza makers in the U.S. who are currently members of association. They complete a 50-hour, intensive training course; the heart of which is practice.
From the group’s website, “The training is focused on practice: so you are going to spend a lot of time working and preparing the dough, forming the balls, slapping the dough, cooking pizza and preparing all the ingredients you need. From the morning till the evening you are going to practice, because it is the most important thing to do in true Neapolitan pizza training.”
While O’Neill is not a member, he spent over a year studying the society’s methodology as he made the transition from a career in the mortgage industry to making his foodie avocation his vocation.
The association’s doctrine starts with the flour. O’Neill uses only powdery soft “OO” pizza flour, which he imports from Italy for his pizza. He makes all of his dough by hand, along with his bright, red sauce, which is made from ground San Marzano tomatoes.
After toppings are added, including local cheeses, the pie goes into his Italian oven built by noted pizza-oven manufacturer Peter De jong, himself a James Beard award-winning chef. The wood fire heats the brick oven to the desired temperature – hotter than 800 degrees – in just over a half-hour. The high heat turns the crust crisp, yet light and airy. The pizzas bake in about 2 minutes. On-site, guests can choose their own toppings and watch their own pizza bake. At events such as local farmers’ markets and festivals such as the Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival, which was held in September, O’Neill prepares popular combinations while answering questions about oven temperatures (they can reach 1,000 degrees) and the differences between his pies and the grilled variety.
So how authentic is his Neapolitan-style pizza? At the Newport festival, celebrity chef and restaurateur Lidia Bastianich was signing copies of her book near Bravo’s oven setup. O’Neill brought her a slice of a freshly baked dessert pizza that he tops with sweet Marscapone cheese and pear halves. She took a bite in the Italian style from the crust end of the slice. She said, “Your cornicione is excellent,” using the Italian term for the “lip” of the pizza. It was a compliment that would make any pizzaiolo proud. •
Bruce Newbury’s “Dining Out” food and wine talk radio show can be heard Saturdays and Sundays on WPRV-AM 790 and stations throughout New England. He can be reached by email at
bruce@brucenewbury.com.
