Mamma Dough

So this year National Pizza Day falls on the 9^th February and obviously I can’t wait – a two day celebration dedicated to one of my favourite foods! There’s a preview party with Street Feast on Thursday evening before the main event on Friday 9^th, where a ton of London’s best independent pizza places including Pizza Pilgrims, Voodoo Rays and Radio Alice will be appearing alongside nationwide chains. There are some incredible sounding collaborations, there’s going to be a gelato pizza cake (have you ever heard of a more wonderful sounding thing!?) and Mamma Dough are serving up an incredible three course pizza dinner especially for the occasion.

Mamma Dough are a London-based pizza restaurant with three locations (Brixton, Honor Oak Park and Peckham – soon to be opening a fourth in Ladywell!), serving up a selection of homemade dishes and desserts alongside their heavenly sourdough pizzas. Their vegetables and herbs are seasonal and locally grown wherever possible, with specialist meats, wines and the all important buffalo mozzarella coming from further afield – each individually tried and tested by the founders to ensure that only ingredients of the highest quality make it into their kitchen. Their coffee is roasted across the river in Shoreditch (where some of my favourite coffee shops in London are based!), their craft beers are brewed within 5 miles of the restaurant and their very own Ginger Ale is made on site.

Ahead of the day itself I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to try Mamma Dough’s pizzas, and have a sneak preview of their three course menu. We went down to their Brixton location, a beautifully rustic spot with long wooden benches, exposed brick walls, blackboards showing their specials and huge open wood fired ovens blasting out warmth.. and stunning pizzas!

We had to start with one of their specials – “The Truffle-O”. A little pizza with beautifully puffy crusts topped with fior di latte, truffle cheese and truffle oil, with a soft egg in the middle! Since becoming truffle-obsessed on a trip to Italy a while ago I’m always on the look out for dishes which incorporate truffle but I’ve never had it on a pizza, and I’d never even heard of truffle cheese – what a revelation! The truffle flavour was subtle, the cheese soft and wonderfully stringy and the soft egg yolk in the centre was perfect for dipping those beautifully doughy crusts into! Surprisingly (given that my huge sweet tooth means any dessert option is nearly always the winner for me!) this was my favourite dish of the night – an absolute must order if you go!

For mains I went for another of their specials – a vegetarian option! Butternut squash, rosemary and pine nuts is a combination I love, though not one I’d normally choose for a pizza but the fact that truffle cheese featured again sealed the deal for me! My friend also gave me a very generous slab of her pizza and that too was delicious – a slightly bitter green leafy veg (whose name escapes me – sorry for my total lack of knowledge) was the perfect compliment to the white base.

Their bases are made from a mix of organic rye, wholemeal and white flour. With a thin base and doughy crusts, they’re a bit of a half-and-half – far thicker than the thin based Roman-style pizzas served up at Homeslice or Pizza Union but not quite as fluffy or sour-tasting as the likes of Pizza Pilgrims and Franco Manca. As I always say it’s difficult to compare different pizzas as everyone has such different preferences but at Mamma Dough you definitely get the best of both worlds – the rye added a deliciously nutty flavour to the dough and the base, whilst thin, is lovely and soft – the perfect carrier for all of their delicious toppings.. and perhaps slightly less filling so you can be sure to fit in three courses!

For dessert, there was only really ever one option! They have a tiramisu, ice cream, sorbet and a brownie, but if Nutella calzone is on the menu can you really order anything else!? After clarifying that we definitely wanted one each (and not one to share!) we were presented with a wonderful crescent of their homemade dough, stuffed full of Nutella – a little parcel of joy! Since it was folded the crusts were thick and doughy, the whole thing was drizzled with mascarpone and served with a smooth and creamy vanilla ice cream – absolute dessert heaven.

If the pictures so far haven’t convinced you that you need to head down to Mamma Dough on NPD, then check out their incredible menu below.. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect menu if I tried!!

Starter
“The Truffle-O” with a soft egg, fior di latte, black trufle cheese and truffle oil

Main
“The Big Blini” with smoked salmon, red onions rocket, capers, crème fraiche and dill

Dessert
“Hazel Night” – a Nutella calzone with mascarpone cream, dusted with icing sugar

I just hope the Nutella calzone special is here to stay…

Link to their website: http://mammadough.co.uk