By Alessia Benelli
The pizzeria Il Grano Antico of the award-winning pizza maker Jonathan Viscillo is celebrating one year.
Water, flour and yeast. Three very simple ingredients that enclose tradition, culture and history. Three products to which Jonathan Viscillo has dedicated his life.
Viscillo inaugurated his pizzeria in San Piero a Sieve exactly one year ago: Il Grano Antico. For Jonathan, pizza is not just a dish or a way of doing business, it is a reason for living. “I started being a baker when I was 14 – he tells us – my parents weren’t in the sector, but they educated me in the love of quality raw materials. I was struck by leavened products and I combined this job with a passion for good food. Pizza is a global food and yet it has not yet received the dignity it deserves”.
In Jonathan’s pizzeria you eat a pizza made with his special dough of ancient grains which is crunchy, crumbly and light because it is less rich in gluten and therefore more digestible. The raw materials chosen by the pizza maker are of the highest quality: the extra virgin olive oil is that of the territory (from the Trebbio company), the water has certain characteristics, as well as the tomatoes or cheese. Viscillo’s incredible passion for pizza has had very important recognitions. Jonathan has finished first several times in the Tuscan pizza championship, in 2021 he qualified first at national level and this year he finished 24th in the world championship which is held every year in Parma and which saw the participation of 840 competitors from 42 countries. “I saw colleagues who showed up with incredible equipment – says Jonathan – I only had a spatula, my dough and my passion”. Viscillo has arrived so high in the world rankings thanks to a pizza that we could define as hyper-Florentine. He presented the jury with a pizza with lamprey, Sangiovese flavored onion, green sauce, porcini mushrooms, roasted piquillo pepper cream, very little red cow parmesan and a few Pantelleria caper leaves. “I make gourmet pizzas – says Viscillo – but I never want to distort tradition. In the world championship pizza I wanted to preserve the typical flavors of the classic Florentine sandwich with lamprey”.
At Grano Antico you can taste all the pizzas with which Jonathan has won the regional, national and world championships.Pizzas with a fragrant and tasty base (precisely, of ancient grains) and stuffed with combinations for true connoisseurs: from the one with lamprey to the one with Patanegra cooked, from the one with Pietramala potatoes to the one with ‘Nduja di Spilinga … In Jonathan’s pizzeria you will also find classic pizzas such as margherita and marinara, also made with high quality products. Absolutely to try the tasting of pizzas selected by the pizza maker which ensures a unique culinary experience. And the price? It is suitable for all budgets and all palates.
THE SECRETS FOR A PERFECT DOUGH
700 gr of Ancient wheat flour (preferably between Grano Verna San Pastore or Perciasacchi)
300 g of flour 0
550ml of cold water
60 ml of sunflower oil
8 g of brewer’s yeast or 200 g of sourdough
15 g of salt
1 teaspoon of acacia honey
Info: Il Grano Antico, Piazza Colonna 21, Scarperia (Fi) / Tel. 055 848112
Opening Hours: Open every day for dinner except on Wednesdays