I have finally achieved a version of margherita pizza I believe both Mark and Scott would be very proud of. Recently, I’ve been catching up on all of my favorite shows after finishing my summer semester of classes. One show I’ve been watching frequently is a YouTube show called Really Dough? where Mark and Scott try some of the newest and latest pizza inspired creations and debate whether or not the creations are considered pizza. Most of the restaurants featured on the show are restaurants throughout New York City (which adds another nostalgic element to the show for me). Scott seems to believe almost every creation is pizza. Mark tends to disagree. For the most part, I seem to side with Scott, but sometimes I do think Mark has a point. Mark believes pizza is dough, sauce, and cheese. At its most basic level, isn’t pizza just dough, sauce, and cheese? Watching all of these episodes have really given me the energy boost to make some pizza from scratch over the weekend. I typically prepare my pizza dough using a combination of all-purpose flour and bread flour. Over the weekend, I put a spin on my usual pizza dough and used only double zero flour to make the pizza dough. I was first introduced to double zero flour when I took a pasta making class in Rome. Our chef explained the pasta and pizza in Italy are usually made with double zero flour because of how fine the granules are. After returning from Italy, Kevin and I made a special trip out to Jungle Jim to pick up some double zero flour. We used it mostly for fresh homemade pasta, but on Friday night, I used some of the flour to prepare my basic pizza dough. I always prepare the pizza dough the evening before to give the dough as many hours to rise as possible. Plus, preparing the dough the night before allows me to have pizza the very next day. After preparing and kneading the pizza dough on Friday night, I left it to rest in the corner of my kitchen counter overnight. On Saturday morning, I preheated my oven to 500°F along with a pizza stone. As the oven was preheating, I lay out my pizza peel, placed a sheet of parchment paper over the pizza peel, and placed half of my pizza dough I’ve been letting rest overnight onto the parchment lined pizza peel. I used a rolling pin to roll the pizza out as thin as possible. I learned this trick by watching Mark roll out his pizza dough using a wine bottle at his restaurant, Lucali, on the Really Dough? show. I can’t believe I didn’t think of using a rolling pin earlier to roll out my pizza dough. Once the pizza dough was rolled thin enough, I tossed some kosher salt, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder onto the pizza dough, opened up a can of unsalted tomato sauce, scooped a couple tablespoons of the tomato sauce onto the pizza dough, spread the tomato sauce all over the dough, and topped the pizza with some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, mozzarella cheese, and fresh halved cherry tomatoes. I then popped the pizza into the oven. I debated whether or not to watch another episode with Mark and Scott bickering over pizza before my pizza was ready. I did resist the temptation to watch another episode though. The pizza took about 10-12 minutes to cook through and achieve a nice golden brown crust. I knew my pizza was successful when I opened the oven door five minutes in to check on it and saw the most amazing dough bubbles forming on the pizza. All of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten throughout New York City always had bubbles on the pizza. I closed the oven door and waited anxiously for several minutes before removing the pizza from the oven. The smell must have been very fragrant because it drew Kevin to the dining table immediately. He too was impressed by how visually stunning the pizza turned out. I topped the pizza with some fresh basil prior to serving (just like Mr. DeMarco does at Di Fara Pizza). It was the perfect breakfast for two. As we ate, I mapped out the stores I would visit in the afternoon to take advantage of the Ohio Sales Tax Holiday. I did end up squeezing in another pizza video just because.
For the dough:
· 2½ cups double zero flour, plus additional for kneading the dough
· ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 teaspoon fine sugar
· ¾-1 cup water
· 2 teaspoons olive oil
· 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the rest of the pizza:
· 3 tablespoons unsalted tomato sauce from a can
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
· ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· 2 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
· 2-3 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed or shredded
· 6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved
· 3 sprigs fresh basil, stems trimmed
Directions:
1) Prepare the pizza dough the evening before. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Stir to combine all ingredients. Gradually add in ¾ cup of water to the mixture. Begin kneading the dough. Gradually add more water if needed. Add the two teaspoons of olive oil. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes directly in the large bowl or on a lightly floured surface. Drizzle the tablespoon of olive oil in the large bowl. Coat the dough in the olive oil and let it rest in the bowl. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the bowl. Let the dough rise undisturbed overnight.
2) In the morning, preheat oven to 500°F with a pizza stone placed on the center rack. Place a sheet of parchment paper over a pizza peel. Divide the dough in half. Reshape both halves into a ball. Place one of the balls of dough onto the parchment lined pizza peel. Save the other ball of dough to use later (or right after). Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on the pizza peel.
3) Add the tomato sauce and spread all over the pizza dough in circles starting from the center. Evenly distribute the kosher salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and freshly cracked black pepper all over the pizza dough. Distribute the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, mozzarella cheese, and halved cherry tomatoes evenly over the pizza. Gently glide the pizza and parchment paper onto the pizza stone and cook for 10-12 minutes.
4) Remove the pizza from the oven once the crust begins to turn golden brown. Let the pizza rest for a couple minutes before topping with fresh basil.
Takeaways: Pizza is a very versatile dish. You can swap in any toppings you love onto your pizza. Some of my favorite pizza combinations include my BBQ hot chicken, pickles, and gorgonzola pizza, BBQ turkey pizza, broccoli, bacon, and cherry tomatoes pizza, buffalo chicken pizza, deep dish ham and greens pizza, hearty peperoni and arugula cast iron pizza, or my tomato, lemon, and black pepper pizza. Suffice it to say, if there was only one food I can eat for the rest of my life, it would probably be pizza.