The Cotto journal
Italian food, pizza & pasta
Notes from our kitchen in Kirkstall, how Neapolitan pizza is really made, why long fermentation matters, the pasta shapes worth knowing and the Italian ingredients we swear by. A new piece every Saturday morning.
pizza · 24 October 2026
The 72-Hour Window: Why Great Pizza Dough Needs Time
True pizza dough is not simply raised, it is matured over days until the flour unlocks its deepest flavours. Understanding that quiet transformation changes how you handle yeast, hydration, and heat forever.
antipasto · 17 October 2026
Beyond Parmigiano: Four Regional Italian Pantry Staples
Italian cooking is rarely about complex technique; it is an obsession with origin, geography, and patience. Here are four regional pantry ingredients from across the peninsula that bring remarkable depth to ordinary home cooking.
antipasto · 10 October 2026
The Italian Antipasto Board: Tradition Beyond Cured Meat
A proper Italian antipasto is never just a heap of cold cured meat dropped on a board. It is a calibrated prelude to the meal, balancing sharp pickles, good olive oil, and bitter greens to awaken the appetite.
pizza · 3 October 2026
Cold Proving Pizza Dough: Enzymes, Yeast, and Digestibility
Most home bakers use far too much yeast and rush their dough out of habit. Giving your flour several days at cold temperatures changes everything, from blistered crust colour to how light you feel after eating.
pizza · 1 October 2026
Fior di Latte: Handling Fresh Cheese for Neapolitan Pizza
A soggy Neapolitan pizza is rarely the fault of undercooked dough: more often, it is excess water trapped inside fresh curd. Understanding how to cut, drain, and temper fior di latte is what separates a wet centre from a blistered, tender masterpiece.
pizza · 29 September 2026
Pizza in Teglia: Roman Pan Pizza in a Domestic Oven
Neapolitan round pies demand scorching wood-fired heat that domestic ovens simply cannot replicate. Roman pan pizza, or pizza in teglia, is engineered for standard home kitchens, yielding a cloud-light crumb and a shattered-glass crust.
dolce · 27 September 2026
Real Italian Tiramisù: Eggs, Coffee, and Cold Rest
A proper tiramisù is a study in texture, balance, and quiet discipline rather than heavy cream. When you respect the emulsion of yolk and mascarpone, humble kitchen staples become something unforgettable.
antipasto · 25 September 2026
Cooking Sicilian Caponata: Aubergine, Vinegar, and Balance
Caponata is the undisputed jewel of the Sicilian table, defined by deep caramelised aubergines and a piercing sweet-sour bite. Here is how to achieve proper agrodolce balance in your home kitchen without muddying the flavours.
pizza · 23 September 2026
The Sixty-Second Bake: Moisture, Fire, and the Cornicione
True Neapolitan pizza is an exercise in extreme heat and delicate moisture control. Understanding how fire, stone, and dough collide in sixty seconds reveals why this ancient style remains unmatched.
pasta · 21 September 2026
The Anatomy of a True Tomato Sugo: Sweetness, Fat, and Time
A great tomato sauce is rarely about complicated technique, but it demands an understanding of how fat, acid, and time interact in a pan. Once you learn how to coax out sweetness without reaching for a sugar bowl, your home cooking changes forever.
pizza · 19 September 2026
Opening the Dough: Hands, Heat, and the Neapolitan Slap
A true Neapolitan pizza is won or lost long before it touches the peel. It is decided on the bench, where gentle hands and a fast rhythm protect the air inside the dough.
risotto · 17 September 2026
Mastering Risotto at Home: Rice, Stock, and Mantecatura
Great risotto is not complicated, but it refuses to be hurried or treated like boiled rice. Here is the kitchen discipline behind northern Italy's finest comfort dish, and how to master it on your own stove.
antipasto · 15 September 2026
Aperitivo and Cicchetti: Italy's Great Evening Ritual
In Italy, the hours between late afternoon and dinner belong to aperitivo, an unhurried pause marked by bitter drinks and savoury morsels. It is less about appetite and more about carving out time to speak, unwind, and graze.
pizza · 11 September 2026
Dough Fermentation: What Happens to Flour Over Three Days
Good pizza is never rushed. Giving your dough several days in the cold transforms raw grain into something crisp, fragrant, and remarkably light on the stomach.
pasta · 10 September 2026
How to Master Pasta at Home: Emulsion, Salt, and Starch
Most home cooks treat pasta water as waste and sauce as a topping poured over noodles at the table. In truth, the magic of genuine Italian pasta happens in the final two minutes inside a hot pan, where starch, fat, and heat marry.
pizza · 10 September 2026
The Anatomy of Neapolitan Pizza: Heat, Water, and Flame
Neapolitan pizza is not meant to crunch; it is pillowy, fragrant, and cooked in a ferocious flash of heat. Here is the quiet engineering behind Naples' most celebrated craft, and how it differs from other Italian styles.
pizza · 10 September 2026
The Science of 72-Hour Dough: Why Time Beats Yeast
Good dough cannot be rushed; it is a living ecosystem that trades haste for character and lightness. Here is why giving flour, water, and yeast seventy-two hours in the cold changes everything.