"Always keep mother in the fridge"

Fear not, this is not a rather un-pc italian guide to looking after your elders. Here we’re talking pizza.

‘Pasta Madre’, an Italian term that describes the natural leaven used to make pizza dough, is usually kept in the fridge… And literally translates to ‘Mother Dough’ (or, in my erroneous case, just ‘mother’). Cue misunderstanding…

With the open-armed generosity we’ve come to expect in Italy, our pizza evening at Vecchio Forno quickly turned into a dough-making demonstration and kitchen tour. Discovering their pizzas were made with home-nurtured leaven (flour and water mix – no added yeast), we soon got into the intricacies of storage. “Always keep Mother in the fridge” we were informatively told. Er, really? Seems a little extreme? Knowing now the correct translation, all seems more above board, albeit a little less amusing.

Top tips for Pizza in Umbria?

- Spirito Divino, Montefalco (pictured) for the sheer indulgence of deep, fluffy Neapolitan-style pizzas… Made traditionally by master pizzaioli from Naples.Website

- Vecchio Forno, Cortaccione, nr Spoleto. Run by a collective of seven wonderful Italian friends serving excellent food (from the ‘Vecchio Forno’ – ‘old oven’), comfortable rooms and truly exceptional hospitality… The perfect place to experience Italian kindness at its very best. Website