Pizza Party Pizzas
Serves: 4
Kendrick Gleason
1 January 1970
Based on User reviews:
54
Spice
56
Sweetness
55
Sourness
36
mins
Prep time (avg)
5.3
Difficulty
Ingredients:
2 cups
Tomato Sauce (bestquality)Directions:
1
Special equipment: 5quart mixing bowl, for rising dough Wooden surface, for kneading Pastry scraper Set of quarry tiles or a large pizza stone Two perforated 15inch pizza pans, for baking pizza Docker or the tines of a large serving fork Food processor (optional), for grating cheese Baker's peel, to remove baked pizzas from oven Two nonperforated 15inch pizza pans, for serving baked pizzas to prevent sauce and cheese from running through holes Pizza wheel, the larger the better To set up: Brush the interior of a 5quart mixing bowl generously with olive oil and set aside for rising dough
2
To assemble liquid mixture: Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar
3
In a large mixing bowl, combine the 2 cups lukewarm water, 1 generous tablespoon of the olive oil, salt, the 2 teaspoons sugar, and pepper, if using
4
When yeast mixture is creamy and starting to bubble, add to mixing bowl and briskly stir in just enough flour, a little at a time, to create a mass that is not easily stirred in the bowl
5
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured wooden board
6
Using floured hands, knead dough in a brisk pushfoldandturn motion, until perfectly smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes
7
Add only as much additional flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking to your hands and work surface
8
Use a pastry scraper while kneading to scrape dough off board cleanly as you continue to knead in a sufficient amount of flour
9
To rise dough twice: Place dough in the prepared rising bowl and turn to coat it with olive oil
10
Cover bowl with a piece of oiled plastic wrap and then with a clean kitchen towel
11
Let rise in a warm, draftfree spot until doubled, about 2 hours
12
Punch down dough with several swift swats with the back of your hand until dough is totally deflated
13
Although dough can be used right away, it's preferable to refrigerate it for at least 1 hour and as long as 2 days before shaping crusts
14
(Chilling relaxes the dough so it won't fight back so much when being stretched into shape and the extra time allows the dough to develop a deeper, more satisfying flavor
15
) To set up to prebake crusts: Position the oven rack in the lower third of the oven and, if using, place a sheet of quarry tiles or a large pizza stone onto rack
16
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F for at least 30 minutes before baking
17
Lightly brush both perforated pizza pans with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal; tilt to coat pans and tap out excess meal
18
If using, set eggwhite glaze and sesame seeds next to your work surface
19
To shape pizza dough: Turn out dough onto a lightly floured board and gently knead just to release air pockets
20
Using the blade of a pastry scraper, divide dough into 2 equal pieces
21
If dough is not chilled, cover and let rest for 10 minutes to relax dough
22
If not working with a double oven and thus can only bake 1 crust at a time, return half the dough to the bowl, cover and refrigerate until the first pizza crust goes into the oven
23
Pat the remaining half dough into a low round on the floured work surface
24
To stretch dough: Spread the fingers of your hand and smack dough several times until visibly flattened but still round
25
Flour your fists, lift up dough and drape it (centered) over your floured fists
26
Stretch dough by pointing your fists upward and gently pulling them away from each other
27
Take care to stretch evenly; if dough starts to feel bottom heavy and is becoming too thin, lay it on your work surface, rearrange it, then lift and continue to stretch
28
Use as much flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking to your hands, which can cause it to tear
29
To place dough in pan: Lay stretched dough in the prepared pan, arranging it so the edges of dough meet the rim
30
Press and pat out dough until it totally covers the pan, building up the rim of dough so it's a little thicker and higher than the interior of the circle
31
It doesn't have to be perfect, just not overly thick in one spot and paper thin in another
32
If dough resists at any point, just throw a towel over it for 5 minutes
33
If dough should tear, just pinch it together with floured fingertips
34
And if the rim seems too thin, simply fold 1-inch of the edge over onto itself and press to adhere
35
Additional Topping Suggestions: To prepare crust for prebaking: Brush the interior of the circle (excluding the 1inch rim) with some olive oil and prick the oiled section of the dough deeply all over with a docker or the prongs of a large fork
36
Sprinkle oiled dough with freshly ground black pepper
37
If desired, brush the raised rim of dough with egg white glaze and sprinkle rim generously with sesame seeds
38
To prebake crust: Place 4 ice cubes into a 1cup measuring cup and add enough cold water to measure 1/4 cup
39
Prick the interior surface of crust once more and place pizza pan directly on hot tiles, stone or oven rack
40
Immediately toss ice water onto the oven floor, underneath the tiles, and shut the oven door
41
Bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes
42
Remove pan from oven using a baker's peel and place it on a wire rack to cool
43
Meanwhile, as crust is baking, remove the reserved half of dough from refrigerator and prepare the second crust completely through the preceding step
44
As soon as you remove the first crust from the oven, prick the second crust again, place in oven and administer ice water as directed above
45
To set up for baking topped pizza: After prebaking, the crust is sealed, so if you like, you may remove quarry tiles or pizza stone from oven
46
If baking 2 pizzas the in same oven, position oven racks to the upper and lower thirds; if using a double oven, use the center rack for each pizza
47
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F until very hot
48
To bake and serve completed pizza: Bake in the hot oven until crust is deeply golden, toppings are piping hot and cheese is bubbling, about 20 minutes
49
If using the same oven for both pizzas, switch positions of pies after half the baking time for even heat exposure
50
To serve, insert a baker's peel under the pizza pan and place the pie on a solid (nonperforated) pizza pan
51
Slice into wedges using a pizza wheel and serve immediately
52
To prepare topping: Scatter some grated cheese over the interior of the prebaked crust
53
Spoon or ladle about 1 cup tomato sauce on top of cheese (not too much or your pizza will be soupy)
54
Spread sauce over crust, stopping just before the rim
55
Scatter one or more of the suggested toppings over sauce, along with chopped basil leaves
56
Scatter half of the grated cheese over the top, allowing some of the toppings to be visible through cheese
57
Drizzle 1 teaspoon fruity olive oil over pizza and then finally top with some sliced pepperoni, if desired
58
Grind on some fresh black pepper
59
Repeat with the remaining pizza
60
FreeForm Pizzas Baked Directly on Quarry Tiles or a Pizza Stone You do not need a pizza pan for this method and you do not need to prebake the crust before assembling and baking
61
Position the rack and quarry tiles or pizza stone as directed for prebaking crusts
62
When preheating, increase the oven temperature to 500 F
63
Sprinkle a baker's peel generously with cornmeal
64
Prepare and stretch dough as directed and place it directly on the peel
65
Rearrange the thin round, to correct the shape
66
Brush the interior of dough with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh pepper
67
Docking is not necessary since the weight of the toppings will prevent dough from swelling underneath
68
(If applying seeds to the rim, try not to let the egg white drip onto the baker's peel since this will cause dough to stick to the peel
69
) Top dough as you would a prebaked crust and assemble ice cubes and water as directed
70
Lift the loaded baker's peel and give it a gentle shake to make sure that the pizza is not stuck
71
Open oven door and insert peel all the way to the back of the oven
72
With one swift jerk, remove peel, leaving pizza on the hot tiles
73
Immediately, toss ice water onto the oven floor and shut the door
74
Bake until golden and bubbling, 18 to 20 minutes
75
Remove pizza by sliding the peel underneath it and place on a nonperforated pizza pan
76
Cut into wedges and serve immediately