Pizza has been a takeout staple for years but if you want to get creative, we’re going to show you how we make our homemade pizza dough so you can make it yourself! You just need a few basic ingredients to get the perfect slice in your own home. It just takes flour, salt, water and yeast to achieve this pizza perfection.
Mix! Mix! Mix!
Combine flour and water and mix for approximately 10 minutes. Then continue to mix while adding the yeast in for an additional 5 minutes. Finally, mix in the salt for a final 10 minutes.
Patience
The perfect pizza dough doesn’t exist without letting your dough set for at least a few hours so that the dough may rise and the yeast may develop.
Prep Your Work Station
Dough will stick to anything if you give it the chance. By prepping your work station with flour you will be making sure your pizza doesn’t destroy your counter. Be sure not to over flour your work station as it may make the dough tough.
Stretch it out!
In order to prevent more shrinking you must first press down in the center of your dough with your palm and work your way out while forming the crust. Lift up the dough and continue to stretch it with your hands.
Top it off!
Once you’re finished stretching your dough it’s time for toppings! Make sure to start with a strong sauce base and then continue to add some of your favorites.
Turn up the heat!
Not everyone can have a pizza oven in their kitchen. So be sure that your oven is hot enough to keep that crispy crust! And enjoy your homemade slice – Spuntino style!
Watch to see how we make our signature Breakfast Pizza from start to finish using hand-stretched dough and toppings such as cage-free sunny-side-up eggs, mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, speck, and cherry tomatoes!
If you’ve never dined tapas style, it can be a little daunting at first, but we assure you you’re in for quite the experience! We want to take a moment to help you dissect our menu so that you can order the perfect tapas meal!
What to expect
Tapas style dining isn’t like your traditional courses IE appetizer, entrée, etc. The food you order will be continuously coming out of the kitchen as it is ready so you will be able to enjoy each dish at optimal freshness!
Since you’re ordering multiple small plates, here’s our rule of thumb if you’re unsure how much to order:
If you’re just casually snacking, we recommend 3-4 plates per person
If you’re very hungry, we recommend upwards of 5 plates each
The format of the menu
When looking at the menu, you will see that there are multiple sections to consider. Here are a couple that we want to call out.
Salumi + Formaggi – One of our favorites for sure. Here you can select your meat & cheese board, and when you pair it with the perfect wine, it’s great for picking on until your other plates arrive.
House-Made Pasta – No seriously, it’s all made in house. We highly recommend you try one of these delicious and fresh selections.
Piattoni – Unlike the rest of the menu, which are all small plates, our Piattoni are large plates prepared to order. These are the perfect items to order for the table to share.
Choosing a wine
When choosing the perfect wine to pair with your meal, there are many factors to consider:
• Name of the wine
• Grape variety and type of wine
• Color
• Vintage
• Region of Italy
• Taste and nose
• Price range
• Availability by the glass or bottle only
• Food being eaten
Spuntino holds over 1,800 bottles of wine in temperature-controlled floor to ceiling wine cabinets. While that all may seem overwhelming, don’t worry, our staff is well versed on these factors and can help you make your decision so that you can pick the perfect wine to complement your meal!
Also known as “Diamonds of the gourmet world,” truffles are a type of mushroom. In Italy people value the enticing taste of truffles and take pride in the flavor it brings to famous Italian dishes. Truffles are considered desirable as they are said to smell like heaven.
Truffles are Hunted
Truffles are found in forest areas of North America, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, and truffle hunting season takes place between September and May. Truffles grow about one to four inches underground on tree roots; they are found on the roots of various kinds of oak and hazelnut trees. Specially trained animals are required to find them. In the past, pigs were favored for finding truffles, but since they continuously ate them as a snack, they trained different animals to hunt them. Today, truffle dogs are trained to locate truffles through operant conditioning. Because truffles are in high demand and they are so difficult to source, they are one of the most expensive delicacies in the world.
Black and White Truffles
The two most well-known truffles are the black Perigord of France and the white winter truffle of Italy. Black and white truffles have their differences. Black truffles tend to have an earthier flavor and are often served on pasta or pizza. White truffles have a more garlic nutty flavor, they are the most expensive type of truffle you can buy and they are typically served raw over risotto, pasta, or scrambled eggs. Both types of truffles are always best eaten as fresh as possible since after about 4 days they lose their beloved flavor.
View our Spring Truffle menu, featuring black truffles!
Mocktails are in this year (but we always thought mocktails were cool!)
Check out how Alexis makes 3 of our signature mocktails on our menu – they taste even better than they look!
Everyone’s favorite time of year is here, and along with the cool weather comes hearty autumn flavors! We picked our chefs’ minds & came up with a few fall trends to look out for this year as well as where you can find it on our menu!
Cinnamon
When it comes to the transition of the seasons and the changing of colors, cinnamon is a common ingredient especially when it comes to using it with apples and squash! Cinnamon adds quintessential fall flavor while providing high levels of antioxidants. You will also find cinnamon added to beverages like coffee, cocktails and even beer. All in all, we think cinnamon is a comforting fall ingredient!
Find it on our menu: Spice Cake & Apple Crostata on our dessert menu
Mushrooms
Common mushrooms like crimini and portabella are available all year long. Many special and exotic mushrooms are cultivated during the Autumn at their peak, and many are great with pasta, chicken and meat dishes. We make our ragu with portabella, crimini, shiitake, and porcini mushrooms. Black truffle is at high peak from September until December in central and northern regions of Italy. Black and White truffles can be anywhere from the size of an egg to the size of an orange, and usually grow in shady zones with lots of moisture.
Find it on our menu: Mushroom Lasagna & Risotto ai Funghi
Squash
As the weather gets cooler, people start to think about heartier, stick-to-your-ribs type of dishes. Winter squash paired with braised meats and red wines are particularly a favorite of ours! Some types of squash are available all year round, but keep your eye on the ones that are seasonal and can be used for salads, soups, fried or grilled.
Find it on our menu: Baby Arugula & Butternut Squash & Roasted Butternut Squash Bruschetta
What is double decanting?
Double decanting allows us to both properly decant a wine and still serve it in the original bottle. This process doubles the wine’s exposure to air when compared to a single decanting process.
How does it work?
We are able to add more air to the wine using the double decanting wine method because the wine is exposed to oxygen twice, on its way out of the bottle and on its way back in. This process takes about 1 minute to go out of the bottle, and about 30 seconds to go back into the bottle. The wine is able to breathe 10x more than it would in the actual bottle, and makes the wine much smoother and tastier.
What wine goes through the double decanter?
The double decanter is used most effectively for full-bodied red wines. A few nice choices on our menu that would be complemented by the double decanting process are our Mossback Cabernet Sauvignon and Franco Francesco Barolo.
Watch the video below to see how the double decanter works!
How do you feel about double decanting wine? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
You can’t go wrong with a classic cocktail. Watch our bartender Alexis from our Clifton location make our Cherry Manhattan!
