When I was a kid we had pizza every Friday night. My mom would spend all day making the dough, and then at dinner time she would make a big pizza and let us kids make our own little pizzas. It was fun to choose our own flavors and decorate them just so, and the pizza was always delicious. This pizza recipe is in a bit of a different style, but it still reminds me of being a kid.
I started by prefermenting a portion of both the flour and water in my recipe with just a pinch of yeast and letting it rise for 4 hours. This preferment could have gone longer, but I mixed it into the dough when it was convenient for me. Flat breads like pizza can be a little more forgiving about rising times than traditional breads where we’re trying to coax as much rise out of the dough as possible.
I mixed the preferment and the remaining dough ingredients together and into a very shaggy mass, then kneaded by hand until the ingredients were fully incorporated and the dough was smooth.
The dough rose for 2 hours before I divided it into two rounds and shaped it into pizzas. I started by patting each round into a circle, then I used my hands and gravity to stretch the dough into a large round, maybe 15” in diameter. I tried to get the dough thickness even, but it’s harder than it looks.
When the dough was shaped to my satisfaction I topped the pizza with sauce my husband made, then fresh mozzarella and provolone, and finally garden-fresh basil.
I floured my pizza peel and held my breath while I loaded the pizza onto it and then put it into a very hot oven. I followed the pizza baking recommendation from Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast: I used a pizza stone and heated my oven as high as it would go (550 degrees Fahrenheit). Once the oven was searing hot and I was tired of waiting for it to get hotter I changed the setting to Broil while I topped the pizza. I kept the broil setting on to bake the pizza.
The second pizza was done in much the same way, except I used Boar’s Head pepperoni, sliced thin, instead of basil.
Both pizzas turned out delicious! My husband said it was the best pizza he’s ever had.
My pizza shaping/stretching technique is not great (yet!). I definitely need to practice more, which is totally ok with me. I don’t mind more pizza.
I had trouble loading the second pizza onto the peel and into the oven because I didn’t re-flour my peel. I also didn’t give the oven long enough to come back up to temperature between the first and second pizzas, so the second pizza wasn’t as crispy as the first.
And finally, the amount of sauce and cheese was perfect for both pizzas, but both could have used more of their final toppings: at least twice as much basil and half again as much pepperoni.
Overall, I would call this recipe a rousing sucess, even though I still having some areas for improvement with shaping technique and topping. Practice will solve these.
Until the next time: may your yeast always rise and your flour never run out.
A Baker's Education 