Pizza, Pizza
To go along with my March 10 story on pizza, here are some other pizza-dough recipes, plus a recipe for sauce.
Double-Crust Pizza Dough
Recipe adapted from Pizza Any Way You Slice It by Charles and Michele Scicolone (Broadway Books, 1998). “Double-crust” refers to thicker, American-style pizza crusts. Bread flour produces a crisper crust than all-purpose, but all-purpose will work, too. If desired, replace half of the bread or all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour. But note that whole-wheat dough may require a longer rise.
1 envelope active dry yeast (2½ teaspoons)
1 1/3 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
3½ to 4 cups bread or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for coating dough
1. Sprinkle the year over water. Let stand 1 minute, or until the yeast is creamy. Stir until the yeast dissolves.
2. In a large bowl, combine the 3½ cups flour and the salt. Add the yeast mixture and the oil and stir until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding a tiny bit more flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
3. Lightly coat a bowl with a bit of olive oil. Place dough in the bowl, turning it to oil the top. Cover top of bowl with plastic wrap. Place in a warm draft-free place and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours.
4. Flatten the dough with your fist. Cut the dough into two pieces and shape the pieces into balls. If desired, the dough now can be wrapped and frozen up to 1 month. It also can be covered, but not in airtight container and kept refrigerated for up to one week. Be sure to thaw and then bring to room temperature any cold dough before second rise.
5. Dust the tops with flour. Place the balls on a floured surface and cover each with plastic wrap, allowing room for the dough to expand. Let rise 1 hour, or until doubled. (If the dough was refrigerated, plan on 2 to 3 hours to let it come to room temperature and rise.)
Makes 2 12-inch double-crust, or thick, pizza crusts.
No-Knead Pizza Dough
Adapted from Jim Lahey, the founder of Sullivan Street Bakery in New York, who helped launch the no-knead bread craze after he was featured in The New York Times.
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the yeast and salt. Add the water and stir until blended. (The dough should be quite sticky.) Cover top of bowl with plastic wrap. Let rest for 12 to 24 hours at room temperature, or about 70 degrees.
2. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Lightly sprinkle the top with flour. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Generously sprinkle a clean cotton towel with flour and cover the dough balls with it. Let rest at least 30 minutes before shaping.
Makes four 12-inch thin pizza crusts.
The Pizza Maker’s Sauce
Recipe adapted from Pizza Any Way You Slice It by Charles and Michele Scicolone (Broadway Books, 1998). There are lots of different kinds of sauce, even tomato sauce, for pizza. This is the style that most U.S. pizzerias use.
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
Salt
1. Place oil, garlic and red-pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until garlic starts to turn golden, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, oregano and a bit of salt. Bring to a simmer.
2. Cook, stirring often, until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Watch carefully that sauce does not stick to bottom of pan. Taste and add salt if needed.
3. Cool sauce to room temperature before putting on a pizza crust. Sauce will keep refrigerated for up to one week. It also may be frozen in smaller portions (figuring ½ up for each 12-inch pizza) for up to 3 months.
Makes about 2½ cups, or enough for about 5 12-inch pizzas.
