Pizza Night at Berkeley’s Revival Bar + Kitchen

Recipe by Chef Amy Murray | Photos by Stacy Ventura

 

 

Chef Trinidad “Trinny” Jimenez is Revival Bar + Kitchen Chef-Owner Amy Murray’s secret pizza superpower.

“We introduced Trinny into our kitchen in 2020 when the world was shutting down,” she says. “He started making our pizza dough, and it was just so impressive how he kept tweaking it. For me, Trinny is the best in the industry. He understands it better than anyone else.”

Native to Mexico, Jimenez came to the United States when he was 11 years old.

“We don’t make pizza over there,” he says, “but my great-grandfather owned a bakery, and he [taught] us how to make bread. I already knew how to work with dough when I started working at Pasquale’s in San Francisco as a teenager, and they started teaching me how to make pizza. So, I grew up in this industry.” He rattles off several other old San Francisco Italian and French standbys he worked for in the ’90s like Rose Pistola, La Folie, and Fior d’Italia. More recently, he made dough at Benchmark in Kensington.

So, what makes good pizza dough good?

Long fermentation for one.

“We age ours three days which creates that great elasticity and delicious crust,” says Murray. “I want to be able to eat the crust; we want to respect the dough.”

And Murray and Jimenez agree that you need the right flour.

“All flours are not created equal,” says Murray. “We use Central Milling’s non-GMO, pre-WWII hard winter wheat. Trinny has taken all the classes at Central Milling to learn about their flour.”

 

 

Jimenez specifies that the flour must have the right proportions of protein and ash, and the dough needs the right proportion of flour to yeast. “We use very minimal amounts of yeast, almost nothing. We’re very close to the ocean, so there’s a lot of yeast in the air.” It’s also about how you mix the dough, the hydration, fermentation time, the room’s temperature before you shape it, the temperature of your oven… “All those things count,” he says.

Jimenez spins the dough in the air, stretches it across the pan, and crimps the rim like a pie crust, saying, “You make the big blisters like this.”

Regarding ovens, Jimenez says that wood-burning pizza ovens are the best, but Berkeley has a strict ordinance that requires proper filtering of particulate matter. “It was very expensive, so basically people stopped building wood ovens,” he says. “The cost of wood has gone up, too.”

Both Murray and Jimenez emphasize brushing the crust with oil before the pizza goes in the oven. Jimenez adds, “You want to place your pizza at least 16 to 18 inches away from the flame, so you get a nice crust and blister without it getting too dark too fast.” Of course, most home ovens are not that big.

On toppings, Jimenez and Murray are of two minds:

“I like simple pizzas,” says Jimenez. “Something like Margherita. Any kind of pizza with three items or less.”

Murray says, “I make busy pizzas. I like using Middle Eastern sauces and crunchy garbanzo beans. I like to use the vegan world to create taste and texture.”

Revival Bar + Kitchen | 2102 Shattuck Ave Berkeley |  revivalbarandkitchen.com

Stacy Ventura’s photography has been featured in San Francisco Magazine, Food Arts, 7×7, Food & Wine, and several Edible Communities publications. She can often be found in the garden with her chef husband, Brian, or at the beach with her big white dog, Bianca.

Amy Murray, chef-owner at Berkeley’s Revival Bar + Kitchen, discusses pizza crust with Chef Trinidad Jimenez.

 

 

Winter Squash Pizza with apples, chanterelles, and caramelized onions

By Chef Amy Murray of Revival Bar & Kitchen

“This pizza is reminiscent of a really good Indian meal where flatbread and rich vegetarian flavors come together to satisfy our hungrier appetites of winter,” says Amy Murray, chef-owner of Revival Bar + Kitchen in Berkeley. She created it as a salute to the Bay Area’s excellent farmers’ markets, farmers, and foragers: Devoto Gardens and Orchards for golden delicious apples, Riverdog Farm for kabocha, Bellwether Farms for ricotta. Revival works directly with a local forager for wild mushrooms, but Murray speaks highly of the mushroom aisle at Berkeley’s Monterey Market.

Makes 4 (12-inch) pizzas

Make ahead

Make your own dough with your favorite recipe, giving adequate time for a long fermentation. If you want dough made by experts, Revival Bar + Kitchen will be happy to sell you a portion of theirs, or try asking at your favorite pizzeria.

Cilantro Pumpkin Seed Pesto (recipe below)

Apple Cider Gastrique (recipe below)

Toppings

• 1 small kabocha (winter squash)
• 2 golden delicious apples
• 1 pound chanterelle mushrooms
• 8 small cipollini onions

Assembly

• Plenty of extra virgin olive oil
• Chopped fresh thyme leaves
• Apple cider vinegar
• Grated lemon zest
• Sea salt
• Fresh-ground black pepper
• 12 ounces Bellwether Farms Ricotta
• Toasted pumpkin seeds
• ¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano

To make the toppings: Preheat oven to 350°F as you prepare the following toppings.

For the roasted kabocha: Wash the squash, but since kabocha skin is very tender, there is no need to peel it away. Simply slice the squash into thin slices, toss in olive oil with chopped thyme, salt, and pepper, and place on an oiled, parchment-lined sheet tray. Roast in the preheated oven until golden brown and tender.

For the roasted apple slices: Slice apples into ¼-inch thick wedges, toss in olive oil with a splash of cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Place on an oiled, parchment-lined sheet tray and roast until golden brown and tender.

For the roasted chanterelles: Wipe mushrooms clean with a damp towel, toss in olive oil, chopped thyme, grated lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Roast until tender.

For the caramelized cipollini onions: Cut each onion into 6 small wedges. Toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 10 minutes until tender and golden.

To assemble and bake the pizzas: Preheat oven to 550°F.

Stretch pre-prepared dough across pizza pans and brush lightly with extra virgin olive oil. Spread with a thin layer of Cilantro Pumpkin Seed Pesto. Arrange prepared squash, apple, chanterelles, and onion over the pesto. Add a few dollops of ricotta. Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds, sprinkle with grated cheese, and drizzle with the Apple Cider Gastrique. Bake for 8 minutes at 550°F. Brush crust with extra virgin olive oil and serve.

Cilantro Pumpkin Seed Pesto

• 2 tablespoons roasted garlic
• ½  serrano chile, deseeded (use more if you like spicy)
• 2 cups cleaned, picked cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (use more if desired)
• Salt
• ¾  cup delicate extra virgin olive oil
• ½  cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Place garlic and chile in blender. Add cilantro, lime juice, and a little salt. Begin to blend on low speed, adding a little water if needed to loosen mixture. With blender still running on low, slowly drizzle in olive oil until mixture is a spreadable pesto consistency. Add toasted pumpkin seeds and purée on low until seeds are the texture of coarse coffee grounds. Add more salt as needed.

Apple Cider Gastrique

This classic French sauce adds a lovely acidic punctuation to all manner of roasted vegetables or meats. You will have plenty left over, but as a winter pantry staple, it can perk up many a dish.

• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• ⅔ cup organic sugar
• 3-inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced thin
• ½  Fresno chile, deseeded

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until mixture resembles runny honey. Season with salt.