At Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md., Executive Chef Brandon Gross and team have been perfecting their pizza program for years.
“Our pizza dough is made from a sourdough starter that we have been curating since I arrived six years ago,” notes Gross. “This gives the base of the pizza some texture and holds great.”
The team tried various iterations and tested the dough for a while through pizza stations at member events before officially rolling it out.
“We even started holding pizza nights with these portable ovens for the restaurants to give the members a taste of what was to come and help build up the program,” Gross says.
After years of planning and testing ovens and recipes, Columbia CC now has a rotating deck oven, which is run at 600°F typically, and at times 750°F; pizzas cook for about 90-120 seconds.
“We can keep up with the demand at this rate,” Gross says, “and it rivals every pizza place around us.”
The club offers 12-inch and 16-inch Neopolitan-style pizzas with a choice of toppings. Speciality pizzas include the formaggio, which mozzarella-provolone blend and pomodoro; the margherita, with buffalo mozzarella, pomodoro, and basil; the salamino, with pepperoni, cheese blend, and pomodoro; the bianca, with fontina, ricotta, garlic, and olive oil; the fungi alfredo, with mushrooms, goat cheese, and truffle oil; and the pollo pesto, with grilled chicken, basil pesto, mozzarella, ricotta, and tomatoes.
the fungi alfredo, with mushrooms, goat cheese, and truffle oil
Pizza also makes an appearance on the brunch menu. The ‘breakfast bianca’ features mozzarella, prosciutto, egg, and chives.
“Chef [de Cuisine] Patrick Knott has recently been rolling out calzones and strombolis, which have been a huge hit at the club,” Gross notes. “We have also worked on using the oven for other items, such as truffle gnocchi in a cast iron dish, ‘pizziola’ sandwiches made from the pizza dough, lobster macaroni and cheese, baked mussels, and a few other items.”
