PIZZA

PIZZA

#SIAintheKitchen

When the boyfriend begs for pizza, you make pizza. From scratch. Delivery or frozen pizzas aren’t an option at my house.

I had never made pizza from scratch but since everyone has been making bread of some sort during this quarantine, I thought I’d give it a try. How could could it possibly be? Luckily, it was one of the easiest and funnest things I’ve made in a while. From the handmade dough to the most perfect marinara sauce and all the wonderful toppings, it was a total breeze to make. Traditional Neopolitan-style pizza will take some days to properly proof in the fridge and the results are completely worth it - trust me.

If you plan to make pizza, please plan in advanced. As said, the best pizza dough will take atleast 2 - 3 days to cold ferment in the fridge. We tried pizza after 1 day of fermenting and it was good. Day 2 was delicious and day 3 was super damn good. The dough tasted amazing, slightly yeasty, possessed a good bounce and just enough crunch and chew. So good.

As for the sauce, it was the best marinara I have ever made. It might seem to acidic in the beginning but after simmering and adding in the baking soda, it really mellows out. Be sure to use San Marzano tomatoes for the best-tasting tomatoes.

As for toppings? Go crazy but as always, use high quality ingredients - it makes a huge difference.

PIZZA - makes 4 10 - 12” pizzas

Pizza dough

• 1 kg 00 flour

• 2 1/2 cups warm water

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast

• 1 tbsp kosher salt

Pizza sauce

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 anchovies

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tsp dried red chili flakes

• 1 (28 fl oz) can san marzano tomatoes

• 1 tsp fish sauce

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 2 tsps granulated sugar

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• freshly ground black pepper, as needed

Toppings

• chorizo, soppressata, arugula, pesto, artichokes, olives, anchovies, bocconcini, diced red peppers, sliced mushrooms, fresh basil, dried red chili flakes, extra-virgin olive oil, roasted garlic, jalapeños…

1. Start preparing the pizza dough atlest 2-3 days in advanced to allow it to cold ferment/proof. Dump the entire bag 00 flour, 2 1/2 cups of warm water, kosher salt and yeast in your stand mixer with the dough hook attached. Mix on setting 2 for 1 minute until all the ingredients come together. Increase the speed to 4 and knead for 3 - 5 minutes until the dough begins to come off of the sides.

2. Take the dough hook off and cover the bowl with a damp cloth. Allow for the dough to proof in the oven on its lowest setting for at least 1 hour. I accidentally left mine at 5 1/2 hours and over proofed it, oops. Still salvageable though so don’t give up!

3. Dust some flour on a clean surface. Remove the dough off of the hook and form into a ball. The dough will be slightly sticky. Separate the dough into 4 and form into smaller bowls. Each ball is the equivalent of 1 pizza dough. Place each ball of dough in an airtight container and allow to second proof in the fridge for atleast 24 - 48 hours. You may also freeze your dough at this point as well.

4. While you’re waiting for the dough to proof, prepare the marinara pizza sauce. In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add in the anchovies, garlic and red chilli flakes - it should sizzle. Allow for the garlic to become aromatic and to get some colour on it. Lower the heat to medium and add the San Marzano tomatoes. Crush the whole tomatoes with the spoon while the tomatoes are heated through. Add the fish sauce, salt, and sugar. Once the sauce begins to boil, add in the baking soda and lower the heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes uncovered. The sauce should reduce and thicken slightly on its own.

5. Once you’re ready to make the pizza, bring the pizza dough out from the fridge atleast 2 hours ahead of time - you’ll need to bring the dough to room temperature. Keep the pizza dough in a covered container to prevent from oxidizing and the dough from forming a skin on the outside.

6. SKIP THIS STEP IF YOUR DOUGH IS FINE! Since my dough was overproofed, I dusted a surface with flour and placed the dough onto it. Dust some additional flour on top of the dough and hold the dough down with your right hand. With the left hand, stretch the dough out to the left and fold over. Rotate the dough and repeat this method 4 times. Place the ball of dough in your palms and begin to rotate until the dough forms into a ball again. Place the dough back on a floured surface, dust with additional flour and cover the dough with a damp cloth. Allow to come to room temperature over the next two hours.

7. Preheat your oven to 500F 45 minutes prior to baking the pizza and prepare a pizza pan with parchment paper. Dust a small amount of flour on it and set aside.

8. Place the dough on the floured parchment paper and begin to press down the centre of the dough. Leave atleast 1/2” around the exterior to form the crust. Lift the pizza and place on top of your fists and rotate as the pizza dough stretches. Be careful as the dough may rip at this point. Place the dough back and continue to flatten and stretch out to about 1/4 - 1/3” thick (depending on how thick you want your pizza). The pizza should be around 11 - 12”.

9. Ladle sauce onto the exterior and circle the sauce with the back of the ladle. Working quickly, add your toppings, ending with mozzarella cheese, no more than 3 cups.

10. Bake the pizza for 8 - 15 minutes (I found that 10 minutes was perfect for mine!), cut and serve immediately.