Pizza Night!
This week I ordered everything I needed from The Dill Pickle Co-Op in Logan Square, but I didn’t have to drive there. I just ordered via Mercato, and had the sauce, anchovy paste, mushrooms, mozz, flour and sausage delivered to my front door. I made two pies: one using Underground Meats’ ‘nduja (a spicy, spreadable Calabrian sausage we like to call “pork butter) with caramelized onions. The other, a standard sausage (using Jake’s Country Meats bulk sausage) and sautéed shiitake, cremini and oyster mushrooms. I always finish my pies with grated Pecorino Romano and dried oregano. If you had some hot honey on hand, that would be a nice post-bake finish. Be sure to let your dough ferment at least one day in the fridge. You could certainly make the dough in the morning and leave it out on the counter, in a lightly covered bowl, then bake it for dinner. I prefer baking on a pre-heated stone, at around 525 F. All amounts are listed in weights because I insist you invest in a scale and weigh your ingredients, otherwise these recipes will not be reliable.
Pizza Dough
(Should make two 12” pies)
- 100 grams 00 flour (option: use half fine corn flour and half 00 for a Chicago accent)
- 200 grams all-purpose flour
- 9 grams kosher salt
- 4 grams active dry yeast
- 6 grams extra-virgin olive oil
- In a large bowl, combine flours and salt.
- In a separate bowl, combine 200 grams lukewarm water (between 98 and 105 degrees), yeast and oil, then pour back into flour mixture. Knead until well combined, a couple of minutes, then let rest for 30 minutes. You can use your hands here, or place into bowl of a stand mixer for 30 seconds on low.
- Knead rested dough for another few minutes. At this point, either cut in half, and leave each half out on the counter, covered with a damp cloth, or put the whole mixture into a bowl, covered with saran wrap, and place into fridge for at least a day. You can use the room temp doughs later today/tonight; I’d wait for the refrigerated dough for at least two days before using.
When topping the pizzas, sprinkle some coarse cornmeal onto your peel or the bottom of baking sheet, so the pizza will slide off easily into the oven (where you will hopefully have a pre-heated stone or steel). Don’t over-dress! Use sauce sparingly, just enough to cover the pie, and tear off small pieces of fresh mozzarella to place evenly around the diameter. If using vegetables, I prefer sautéing or roasting them ahead of time, to draw out moisture; mushrooms especially.
