No Knead to Fuss for Great Pizza
I mentioned that I gotten back into homemade breadmaking after an overly long hiatus. The no-knead recipes popularized by New York City baker Jim Lahey make it so easy that it’s hard to figure out why I ever stopped.
And if that’s not good news enough, Lahey’s My Bread book — my bread baking bible — also has a super-easy pizza dough recipe that will turn you into a devoted pizzaiolo over the space of just a few hours.
Isn’t that pie in the picture above pretty? Read on and we’ll get back to that.
How easy is it? From empty bowl to finished pizza takes less than three hours, nearly all of that waiting for the dough to rise.
Because I have high respect for intellectual property owners (being one myself), I rarely reprint cookbook recipes. But My Bread was published in 2009 and this pizza dough recipe has been re-published in the public domain, so I’ll make an exception.
There are only five ingredients in the dough:
3-3/4 cups (500 grams) bread flour (though I used local Janie’s Mill Italian-style pizza flour, produced in Ashkum, Illinois, which is fashioned after Italy’s legendary “00” flour)
2-1/2 teaspoons (10 grams) instant or other active dry yeast
3/4 teaspoon (5 grams) table salt
3/4 teaspoon plus a pinch (about 3 grams) sugar
1-1/3 cups (300 grams) room-temperature water (about 72 degrees)
Put the first four ingredients in a large bowl and then gradually add the water while stirring. Continue to stir until the dough forms a ball and all the flour is incorporated (you may use your hands to finish the process). Cover the bowl with a towel and let rise for two hours.
Then remove the dough to a flour-covered board, cut it in half and place the two pieces about four inches apart, and cover with a towel for another 30 minutes (see the photo above). If you’re not in the mood for two pizzas, you can wrap one and put it in the fridge for a day, or put it in a freezer bag and freeze it for up to a month. (You can also halve the recipe if you know you only want one pie.)
Then take a dough ball, put it in a pan and stretch the dough until it reaches the edges of the pan (this takes a few minutes and is really very zen). I went with simple toppings: jarred pizza sauce (I’ll work on making some homemade) and shredded whole-milk mozzarella with a little shredded cheddar.
When the first plain pie was successful, I got a little fancier, grilling up some mild Italian sausage from Finn’s Ranch in Buchanan, Michigan, then slicing it to top the pie (scroll back up to that photo at the top).
My Bread suggests a rectangular rimmed sheet pan, but as you can see from the photos, I went with my 12-inch pizza pan. I’ve also had success in the past making a thicker-crust variety in a 9-inch cast-iron pan (see photo below) and will be trying that again soon.
Note well: Watch the timing in the oven carefully. My Bread’s recipe suggest baking the pizza for 25 to 30 minutes in a 500-degree oven. I baked mine on the pizza setting in my Breville convection oven and 15 minutes was plenty. When you check for doneness, use a spatula to check the bottom of the crust to make sure it isn’t get burnt.
The result was a crisp crust that easily held the toppings and had a little darkening on the bottom that called to mind Neapolitan-style pizza. While Barb and I thoroughly enjoyed these pies, I’m sure I’ll get more adventurous (and seasonal) with the toppings.
Trivia Time
The Vera Pizza Napoletana (real Neapolitan pizza) designation is provided by the Associzione Verace Pizza Napolentano to pizza makers who meet their criteria for authentic Naples-style pies (Naples hold claim as the birthplace of pizza in the early 18th century.)
Which of the following is not a requirement to gain the Vera Pizza Napoletana designation?
a) You must use “00” flour produced in Italy.
b) You must be located in Italy.
c) You must use a wood-burning oven to bake the pizza.
d) You must use Italy-produced canned tomatoes, preferably San Marzanos.
Answer in the next Local Food Forum.
Still holding at 999. Would you be the one who gets us to 1,000?
That looks awesome! I haven't made pizza in years (even in COVID times). It's my first go-to for takeaway when I can't face cooking. Plus my 1968 oven might not make it to 500 degrees (Captain, the engines cannae take it!) But you're absolutely tempting me to give this a try, Bob, as soon as I can get out from under the snow to get cheese.... As Captain Oates said to Scott of the Antarctic, I may be some time . .
Thank you!