SPONSORED: Piero’s pizza bases, a labour of love bringing a slice of Italy to Irish kitchens

Master baker Piero began working in a bread bakery in his home town of Treviso, near Venice, when he was just 15, with a meticulous boss who taught him the discipline that is a vital element of successful bread baking.

He moved to London and met his future wife, Cliona, a secondary school teacher who persuaded him their home should be in Ireland.

Piero worked at Griffins’ bakery in Galway. When the couple moved to Dublin, he was still baking on his own account – making what all their friends and family agreed were the best pizza bases they had ever tasted.

“People said they never knew pizza at home could taste that good,” recalls Cliona. “Everyone was telling us we should start selling them.”

So they did. In 2007 Cliona and Piero decided to set up their own bakery. Piero quit his job and put all his efforts into building the business. It grew, almost literally, by word of mouth. Everyone who tasted Piero’s pizzas agreed that was what a real pizza should taste like, much better than anything then available in Ireland.

Piero started selling his bases in local food markets and shops. Steadily  the business took off. Fallon & Byrne were among the first prestigious stockists and soon all the major supermarkets like Tesco, Dunnes and Supervalu were getting in touch.

Love, skill and patience are the elements that combine to make ‘Pizza da Piero’ Stonebaked Pizza Bases so special.Piero makes his dough by a traditional method over two days and attributes the unique flavour of the bases to the long fermentation process in the starters he uses, which includes sourdough.

The long process allows the gluten enzyme to break down so the dough doesn’t sit in your stomach like other pizzas,” explains Piero. “Our pizzas are easy to make and cook in only five minutes. They are healthy and suit all tastes.”

The ingredients are simple and contain no preservatives, sugars or additives. They are vegan-friendly and dairy-free.

Piero and Cliona are proud to be bringing Italy to Irish kitchens. The marriage of Italian tradition with the finest Irish ingredients is a true labour of love that creates artisan pizza bases of the highest quality – a blank canvas for meat lovers, vegetarians or vegans. It is also preferred by many people on special diets such as high protein/low calorie, who go for the mini pizza bases for a weekend treat.

Piero’s pizza bases will also freeze and defrost within minutes. They come in transparent packs of two 11″ or four 5″ mini pizzas and sell with the brand name ‘Pizza da Piero’. RRP is €3.99 for two bases or 4 mini bases. You can also find their ‘da Piero Pizza Sauce’ located within the chilled aisle of your supermarket with an RRP of €2.99 for 250g tub of pizza sauce.

The couple also provide some nice topping recipes to help you complete your own work of art. Look for the packs of two in the fridge department of your local specialist food shop or supermarket or see www.pizzadapiero.ie for stockists.