Eat Like Ushi

My goodness - looking at the Franco Manca website today I realised the place has spread like wildfire. During my time in London there was only one or two of these stores, and the mothership was in Brixton Market and the main reason for taking the Northern Line all the way down south.

Although the menu is only small, the pizzas are cheap (£5-7 each) and well known for the slow-rising sourdough base. The result is a complex masterpiece of soft gelatinous dough, a gently crisp surface and some nice toppings. Realistically the star is the dough and a Franco Manca pizza was the first one where I enjoyed eating the crust at the end moreso than the topping part.

Great toppings require excellent ingredients. Great dough requires outstanding skill.

I've tried the dough recipe from the cookbook. It uses yeast rather than sourdough starter (more due to availability than anything else) and although the taste doesn't have the same sourness, the texture comes close. It's definitely the best home version I've had.