NOTES from THE TABLE
The best foods are usually simple, uncomplicated, accessible, and reliable. This pizza dough and sauce is an evolution of a recipe that began many years ago with a great dough recipe from Canal House and sauce made up on the fly. It’s become family staple and community legend.
Crowd your tables,
Megan
BEST PIZZA EVER
INGREDIENTS (DOUGH)
One 1/4-ounce envelope active dry yeast (2 ¼ t)
3 T really good extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the crust
4 cups bread flour, plus more for kneading
2 t salt, plus more for crust
Cornmeal (opt.)
Garlic clove (opt.)
STEPS
Dissolve the yeast in ½ cup warm water in a Pyrex measuring cup. Stir in 1 ¼ cups water and 2 T of the EVOO. Pulse the flour and salt together in a food processor.* Pour the yeast mixture into the feed hole of the processor with the machine running. Process until the dough comes together and forms a sticky smooth ball, about 1 minute.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead it five or six times until you have a smooth ball. Pour the remaining 1 T EVOO in a large bowl. Invert the dough into the bowl and move it around to cover the bowl and the dough with a nice layer of oil. Cover tightly and let sit in a warm place until it’s doubled in size, about 2 hours.
*You can adapt this for use with your standing mixer and bread attachment if you don’t have a food processor.
On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into four equal parts. Shape into balls. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel. Allow the dough to rest for 1 hour. While the dough rests, place two pizza stones in a cold oven and preheat to 500 degrees. This is a great time to start making your sauce, if you’re making your own. You can also pour a few tablespoons of EVOO into a small bowl and add a sprinkling of salt and a crushed garlic clove for the last step, if desired.
Once dough has rested, cut four equal pieces of parchment, large enough to fit on the baking stones. Spray two pieces of parchment with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with cornmeal (if desired.) With lightly floured hands, press a round of dough out to about a 10 inch circle on a prepared piece of parchment. Repeat with the other round. (Keep the other two covered so they don’t dry out.)
Add your sauce, cheese, and toppings. Carefully remove the stones from the oven to the counter; slide the parchment directly onto the baking stones and return to oven. Bake pizzas until the cheese is nicely browned, about 5-6 minutes. Prepare the other two pizzas while the first two bake. When pizzas are done remove the stones from the oven and slide the parchment onto the counter, repeating the baking process with the other pizzas.
If desired, brush the hot crust with more EVOO or EVOO infused with garlic.
INGREDIENTS (SAUCE)
2 cans Muir Glen Organic NO SALT ADDED Diced Tomatoes
Basil, fresh or dried
1T EVOO
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ t red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper
STEPS
In a cold pan with sloping sides, add EVOO, minced garlic, pepper flakes, and about ¼ t salt. Turn the burner on medium high, constantly stirring the EVOO mixture as the pan heats up. When the garlic begins to sizzle and turns amber in color, add the tomatoes. If using dried basil, add it now, otherwise, toss chopped fresh basil in at the end.
Bring the mixture up to a simmer, stirring often. As the tomatoes cook, break them down using a wooden spoon or spatula to create a uniform sauce. The sauce will begin to thicken as it simmers, usually after about 10-15 minutes.
When sauce reaches the desired consistency, season with salt and pepper to taste.