I’ve long been obsessed with the pizzas they’re slinging at Von’s 1000Spirits. From the first time I had their Nonna Maria, a mere week into moving to Seattle five years ago, I was smitten. (And yes, this delicious pie made with olive oil poached red sauce over aged whole milk mozzarella is still on the menu.) It’s not just the Nonna though, all the pizzas here are seriously bomb, and it all starts with that fantastic Seattle sourdough crust.
Von’s starts with the best, using high quality, organically grown Giusto’s Vita Grains Flours for its famous sourdough crust. And, amazingly, the starter they’re using in the crust is over 60 years old. It’s been in Executive Chef Jason Amador’s family for literally generations, being baked with by his grandmother and parents (who own the popular bakery in Bellevue, Sugee’s). Once the dough has been mixed and then hand rolled into balls, they’re placed in containers and go into the cooler for four full days to ferment. That’s right people – this is a process that takes several days (and lots of love). As the yeast grows during this process, it turns into sugar, which brings a mild sweetness to the sourdough. There’s actually no sugar added in the dough originally, it’s all naturally occurring from the fermentation.
photo provided by Von’s 1000Spirits
Once the dough has been sitting for four days the fermentation is complete and these babies are ready to become pizzas! They’re removed from the cold and placed in the kitchen at room temperature for a few hours where the final proofing happens before being stretched into the signature boat shaped sourdough pizzas that we all love!
photo provided by Von’s 1000Spirits
Cheeses and toppings are added and then it’s into the 900 degree almond wood fired pizza oven where they’ll be baked and removed in just 90 seconds. (The heat is so intense that they cook that fast.) They’re then pulled from the oven and any additional ingridients or garnishes are added. Von’s has an array of mouthwatering pizzas on their menu from the Walla Walla Chutney, Proscuitto and Baby Arugula to the San Juan Island Wild Mushroom and Willamette Valley Fontina. They’re committed to local and quality ingredients featuring local purveyors’ produce, cheeses and mushrooms almost exclusively on their menu.
The end product is a beautiful one. The sourdough crust has a chewiness that typical crusts don’t and it’s quite fantastic. Currently my favorite is the Olympia Provisions Classic Pepperoni made with whole milk mozzarella, hot chili relish, Farmstead fontina and reggiano. It’s got a spiciness to it from the chili relish that, to me, is absolute perfection. I am not exaggerating even a little bit when I say that I eat this pizza at least three times a week (don’t judge me, y’all).
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