Manfredi set to open modern pizza bar at The Star

Stefano Manfredi and restaurateur Julie Manfredi Hughes are adding to their line-up with the opening of their Italianate pizzeria and bar, Pizzaperta on November 20. Pictured is Pizzaperta chef and keen surfer Gianluca Donzelli.

“He will have Monday to surf, Monday’s a perfect day to go the beach, everyone else is at work,” says Manfredi who is set to open it just in time for summer.

Testing times ... Stefano Manfredi and Pizzaperta chef test their ingredients.

Manfredi will be using advanced technology, 48-hour fermentation, a cranking Stefano Ferrara M130 handcrafted oven burning seasoned Blackheath ironbark, as well cherry and olive woods, and quality enrefined flour from Molino Quaglia in Padua.

“They also do these things they call ‘bricks’. They are flours made from sprouted grains. So you have a brick which is flour made from germinated chickpeas,” Manfredi says.

“What that does is you can add it to your pizza dough in quantity, say of 1-5 per cent, to give you specific flavours and colour but also it makes the dough rise slight differently.

“This is all brand new technology that is not here in the Australian pizza industry as yet.”

Stefano Manfredi (right) and Gianluca Donzelli on location at the new Pizzaaperta venue at The Star.

Despite quality ingredients, including toppings, costs from $13-$24, will be kept low as there will be no table service.

“A lot of those toppings have become really cheap to drive costs down, what we are going to do is try and lift the whole thing. There is no use having a great base if you are not have quality toppings,” he says.

Italian architect Vince Squillace has designed the once redundant space and respected pizzaioli and Manfredi’s friend Antonio Pappalardo arrives today in time for the launch.

Source:  Telegraph - 28th October 2014