Chewy pan pizza ready in 2 1/2 hours start to finish
When I was a kid, the Italian lunch ladies would sometimes serve up trays of pizza: fat slabs of rich yeasty crust slathered with oregano-spiced tomato sauce and mozzarella. When I bit into a hunk of that pizza, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Here’s my rendition.
Makes 2 pans
4 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (23 oz. by weight)
2 cups water at 100º
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup flour for bench work
olive oil for the bowl and pans
15 ounces Contadina pizza sauce
8 ounces no-salt tomato sauce
16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni, ham or olives as desired
Oregano to sprinkle
1. Put the yeast in a large mixing bowl and add a few ounces of the water. Stir to cream.
2. Add all but a half cup of the water, all the flour and the 2 teaspoons salt. With the handle of a wooden spoon, scrape the sides toward the center to incorporate. Pour the rest of the water around the sides and over the flour, pull towards the center again with the wooden handle and make a ball.
3. Turn the dough ball out onto a lightly floured counter and knead for at least 5 minutes and preferably 10, using a small amount of flour as needed to keep the ball from sticking. See ‘dough 101’ in my Foodbuzz recipes if you are unsure of proper kneading techniques.
4. Clean and dry the mixing bowl. Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons olive oil into the bowl, put in the doughball and turn to coat. Cover with a piece of plastic and a towel, and let rise for 1 ½ hours at 80º. You can create a warm environment in your oven by turning it on for 3 minutes only, shutting it down and putting a pan of boiling water on a low rack.
5. If you are making the second dough, use only ½ teaspoon yeast in the recipe, follow the steps above and let it rise overnight in your refrigerator – no warm environment for this slow-rising dough.
6. Remove the bowl and water from the warm oven and preheat the oven to 475º. If you have a pizza stone, set it on a middle rack. Lightly oil 2 12×17 jelly-roll pans or rimmed cookie sheets and set within reach of your work surface.
7. Lightly flour your counter, cut the dough in half and spread out each half as best you can to form a rectangle. This dough is weak and tears easily, but don’t worry because as long as you get it close to the size of the pans, you can continue shaping in the pan. Turn each piece over the length of your forearm and plop it into the pan. Spread uniformly with your fingers, leaving the dough somewhat thicker at the edges.
8. Mix tomato sauces together, spoon half onto each pizza, and top each with 8 ounces of cheese. If you like, distribute pepperoni, ham or olives. Sprinkle with oregano.
9. Bake for about 12 minutes, until the cheese starts to brown. Baking times vary depending on your oven.
10. Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting. Slice and enjoy!
