Excursions in Z

Pizza Instructions

Pizza

Tools

The secret to making great Neapolitan pizza is a very hot surface for baking that retains heat and delivers it evenly to the bottom of the crust. This is easily done with a baking steel or a stone. I have one of each, but prefer the steel for it’s size and shape which fit the oven better and its indestructible nature. But I can’t really tell the difference in pizzas that are baked on one vs. the other.

To accompany your steel or stone, you’ll need a pizza peel to transfer your pizza to and from the oven.

Makes 3 12-inch pizzas.

Ingredients

Crust

 1 1/2 cups warm water, room temperature or a little warmer
 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing as needed
 1 envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
 1 teaspoon kosher salt
 4 1/2 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour

Toppings

 1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced  (Costco is good quality/price.)
 Thin sliced prosciutto.  (Costco is good quality/price.)
 1 small can/box crushed tomatoes  (Cento brand is good.)
 4-5 fresh garlic cloves
 10 to 12 fresh basil leaves, cut/chopped into 1/2in strips.
 Dried oregano

Crust Preparation

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment (or in a small bowl with a spoon), combine the warm water, oil, yeast, and salt. With the mixer on low, stir the mixture to dissolve the yeast. Dump in most of the flour and continue to stir on low just until the ingredients are combined, then increase the mixer speed to medium and knead the dough, adding more flour if necessary until the dough stops sticking to the bottom of the mixing bowl. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic.

    (If you don’t have a mixer with a dough hook, then use a large bowl to combine the liquid mixture with the flour/salt. You can then turn the thick mixture onto a countertop and knead it by hand.)

  2. Gather the dough into a ball and transfer it to a clean, lightly oiled, bowl that’s large enough to hold the dough after it doubles in volume. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise at room temperature until it doubles in volume, about 1 hour.

  3. While the dough is rising:
    • Drain the sliced mozzarella on several paper towels to remove any excess moisture.
    • Peel and finely chop the garlic.
    • Wash and tear/chop the basil leaves.
    • In a serving bowl, prepare a mixture of mostly cornmeal (3/4 cup), a bit of flour, and a 2-3 teaspoons of kosher salt. We’ll use this later to coat the dough before we roll it out.
    • Pre-cut parchment paper into pieces that are a bit larger than your pizza peel.

  4. IMPORTANT: The oven and stone must be very hot to produce a light, crispy crust. Position an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven, placing a pizza stone or steel on the rack. Preheat the stone with your oven on its highest temperature setting for 30-40 minutes.

  5. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Cut into into three equal parts. Shape each part into a ball. Roll each ball in the prepared cornmeal/flour/salt mixture.

  6. Press each dough ball into a rough circle, working from the center outward until the circle is 5-7in across. Use a rolling pin to continue spreading the dough into a very thin layer. The size of the dough will expand to roughly 15 inches across. Don’t try to create a perfect circle which will only bring frustration.

  7. Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment paper. I find that folding it in half helps the transfer process. The dough will shrink when you do this. Stretch it a bit, but don’t fight it.

Toppings

  1. Brush a thin coating of olive oil onto the entire dough - all the way to the edge.

  2. Spread a thin layer of crushed tomato. (The back of a large spoon is nice for the spreading.)

  3. Sprinkle the chopped garlic.

  4. Add the fresh mozzarella slices, leaving some space between them. The classic Neapolitan pizza is not covered completely with cheese, but has “puddles” of cheese.

  5. Add the sliced prosciutto, completely covering the pizza. (It will shrink during baking.)

  6. Finish the toppings with the chopped basil and a sprinkle of oregano.

Baking

  1. Use the peel to slide the pizza and the parchment paper onto the preheated stone. Bake the pizza until the edges are golden and the cheese is bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes. Expect bubbles to form and char a bit. Puncture them during baking if you hate them, but they are “authentic” so I usually leave them alone to avoid opening the oven door too much.

Note that it is perfectly normal for the center of the pizza to be a bit wet when served. I’m told that, for this reason, Neapolitan pizza is normally eaten with a fork in Italy.

For maximum enjoyment, triple the recipe and invite a dozen or so friends over to help you make it. Nothing beats having your kitchen full of people you love, preparing the pizza and eating it as it comes hot out of the oven.

These instructions are based on this recipe from Epicurious.com.

Pizza