a few weeks ago i was invited along to a pizza masterclass at ping – a hip new ping pong club in earl’s court (who knew ping pong – sorry boris, wiff waff – was having a moment right now?!)

with an emphasis on the master in masterclass, we were guided through the dough making process by ping’s head chef bruno (who is bit of a mad scientist type!), who emphasised the high levels of consideration placed upon the complex variables in the process; from the individual components of the flour, hardness of the local water source, stability of the yeast, sweetness of the salt and smoking point of the evo (extra virgin olive oil to amateurs like me).

DOUGH INGREDIENTS

flour, water, yeast, salt, extra virgin olive oil

(at ping they only use honest ingredients. and a lot of science. fact)

we were taught how to create “biologically and technically correct dough” that is easily digested and doesn’t cause bloating after eating. it’s all in the fermentation process, and the cooking temperature; the pizza dough at ping is proofed for 48-72 hours and cooked at a temperature of 340° for 3 ½ minutes.

after our science lessons we were set free to roll out and top our own creations with freshly strained tomato, slivers of silky mozzarella and fresh basil leaves, to be fired in the pizza oven. then we set about taste testing ping’s own signature dishes – may i recommend the truffled mozzarella pizza with asparagus and soft egg along with caponata & peperonata chunky dip – both are delish! make sure you order a few cocktails to wash them down too; the cucumber mint martini is divine, or go old-skool retro and opt for the famous alcholic ping slushie, a frozen blend of either daiquiri or margarita (it changes daily).

bruno was even nice enough to send me and my housemate home with our very own dough baby balls, so we could attempt to recreate the pizza delights of ping at home. i can’t say they turned out quite as well as bruno’s master creations, but we certainly had a whole lot of fun making them!

what do you think, mine turned out ok, right?

ping: kitchen, bar & ping pong rooms, 180-184 earl’s court road, sw5 9qg