After all, the difference between the pizza of a Neapolitanpizzaiolo and that of the guy who makes them at Pizza Hut is not necessarily that the former takes his work more personally but that his craft stillallows him to personalize his work. What authenticity is best used for is to help us think our way back to that permission by trying to understand and reimagine for ourselves the conditions under which it thrives. Sartre finally did find a word to sum up thenapoletani: they were, he said,insouciant. In French, the word has overtones of bravado as well as fecklessness, of laughing in the face of fate. Now, when I think ofpizza napoletana, I think of that.
THE CRUST
What follows is not a recipe so much as an explanation of how we have melded certain techniques to produce what we consider an exceptional pizza crust—a crust, that is, that has good wheat flavor and is chewy but also cracklingly crisp. It makes a pizza that is as good as—and in many instances better than—those produced in most American pizzerias. However, if you have never made a pizza before, you should start by using a reliable introductory recipe (see pages 147–48 for recommendations). Then, when you feel you have gone as far as you can with it, use what follows below as a suggestion for ways to develop your strategy.
Our method involves blending three flours, letting the dough rise slowly to develop flavor, hand-stretching it, and using a ceramic pizza brick at the top of a very hot oven. What this narrative does not discuss much are approaches we have tried and discarded, such as the use of olive oil and/or milk to tenderize the dough, oven baking tiles, different oven-shelf positions, other flour blends, fresh yeast, and so on. The following should be considered asnapshot of how, at this particular moment, we make our pizza dough. Tomorrow, I’m sure, it will already be slightly different—as it will also be for you.
The Oven Arrangement
We bake our pizza in a gas oven, adapted to replicate as closely as possible the effect of a brick pizza oven. This is done by raising the oven shelf to a high position, placing on it a thick rectangular pizza stone, setting the oven at its highest baking temperature (approximately 550—F), and allowing it to preheat for about forty-five minutes while the pizza dough and the topping are prepared. The stone we chose is a large (14 x 16-inch), extra-thick (half-inch), coarse-textured ceramic brick, made of the same material used to line pizza ovens. Such a stone absorbs oven heat during the long preheating and radiates this into the small space above it at the very top of the oven with even intensity during the actual baking time. The pizza is fully cooked in five to six minutes—or one-third of the time that many cookbooks say is necessary and much closer to the baking time of a professional American pizza oven—with a crisp, golden bottom crust and brown, puffy edges.
Special Tools
Apart from the pizza stone described above, we use an electronic digital scale to weigh our flour—far more accurate than measuring by cup—awooden pizza peel (invaluable), and a professional, heavy-duty pizza cutter.
The Flour and Yeast
We buy our flour in fifty-pound bags from a food-service company. The foundation of our pizza blend is King Arthur’s Sir Lancelot, an unbleached, unbromated, high-gluten (14.2 percent protein), hard red spring wheat flour. This makes a crust that browns quickly and has an appealing chewy texture. These qualities are enhanced by a small amount of durum wheat flour, which adds some additional crispness and flavor depth. To these two hard flours we add an equal portion of Round Table, an unbleached, unbromated, low-gluten (7.6 percent protein) pastry flour milled from New York State soft white winter wheat, which we have on hand for other baking. This gives us a tender crust without resorting to the addition of olive oil or milk. Blended together, these three flours approximate all-purpose flour in strength but not in character, since all-purpose flours tend to average out the qualities (flavor and texture) of hard and soft flours rather than combining them. We currently use French SAF instant yeast (“instant” means the yeast can be mixed directly into the dough rather than proofed first in hot water), but other granulated yeasts are fine.
THE METHOD
[makes 1 12-inch thin-crust pizza]
scant teaspoon fine sea salt
4 ounces soft unbleached pastry flour
3 ounces hard unbleached bread flour
1 ounce very fine durum flour
½ teaspoon instant dried yeast
4½ ounces tepid water about)
Initial Preparation.Into a large mixing bowl, measure first the salt, then the flours, and finally the yeast, sprinkling this evenly over the top. Pour in the water and work everything into a cohesive dough, kneading until it is elastic and muscular-feeling, or about 10 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky. Dust it lightly with flour and put it in an ungreased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, prick this with a fork, and set in a cool, draft-free place to rise for 4 or 5 hours. The dough will triple in bulk. Deflate, then let rise again for about an hour, or until it has doubled in bulk. (If you do not have a scale,add first a generous ½ cup water to the bowl and mix in the yeast and salt. Put ¼ cup of the durum flour in a 1-cup dry measure, then fill with the bread flour and stir this into the yeast–salt water mixture. Now, bit by bit, work in just enough pastry flour [about 1 cup] to form a cohesive butslightly sticky dough. Then proceed as described.)
La Battitura.Preheat oven as directed below. After the dough has risen for a second time, deflate, reform into a ball, dust well with flour, and set on a clean empty counter. Using a rolling pin or similar implement, beat the dough into a flat disk. The beating should be done firmly and methodically, with the pin lifted up only a few inches above the counter and brought down smartly onto the dough. Rotate the disk and turn it over, to ensure that the blows are evenly distributed over its entire surface. Dust regularly (although lightly) with flour, both over and under, to keep the dough from sticking. The blows should fall flat across the surface of the dough. This is especially important toward the end of the beating, to avoid pinching the dough (or denting the counter). The dough should now feel distinctly silky and yielding.
The Hand-stretching.When the dough has been flattened to a disk about 9 inches wide, dust it lightly with flour. Then, using the palms and fingers of your hands, gently but firmly stretch it, shaping it into a round about 12 inches in diameter. Move the hands about the surface so that the stretching is done evenly. (Never grasp it by the edges and pull it.) This method should result in a pizza-shaped dough with a natural ridge around the edge and a stretched, irregularly textured surface. Scatter coarse semolina or cornmeal onto the surface of a wooden pizza peel and set the dough out on this. Then let it rest and rise slightly while the topping is prepared.
The Baking Process.Begin preheating the oven before shaping the dough. Raise the shelf in the oven to a high position. Set the pizza stone on this and preheat the oven to 550—F or its hottest baking temperature. If you have an electric stove with a broiling element at the top of the stove, be sure this isnot turned on. Add the topping to the pizza directly on the peel, first giving it a gentle shake to make sure the dough has not adhered to the peel’s surface. Then slide it directly onto the preheated (and nowvery hot ) stone. Bake until the crust is a golden brown, or about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the pizza carefully to a cutting board, slice, and serve.
SOME FAVORITE TOPPINGS
BROCCOLI RABE
[makes 1 12-inch pizza]
This is, perhaps, our favorite pizza. With its “ferocious pungent-bitter taste” (Elizabeth Schneider), broccoli rabe, even sautéed with garlic in plenty of olive oil, has overwhelmed any pasta dish we’ve tried it in. Put it on a pizza, however, and something magical takes place. Pizza wants aggressive flavors, and it makes a perfect setting for this one. Broccoli rabe (also known as rapini,cime di rape,and broccoli raab) is available from late fall into early summer, and is at its best in the colder months. Look for resilient (rather than limp) stalks and tight buds with only a sprinkling of yellow blossoms.
dough for one 12-inch pizza, made as described
above
1 bunch (about 1 pound) broccoli rabe
1 large clove garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon pure hot red chile powder
¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste
4-ounce ball fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes (see note)
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
Preheat oven and pizza stone and prepare pizza dough as directed above. Put dough in a warm place to rest.
Pick over the bunch of broccoli rabe for wilted or damaged leaves and trim away the very bottoms of the stalks. Wash well. Immerse in a large pot of boiling salted water. Cook until the largest stalks are tender but not soft, about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the size of the stalks.
Meanwhile, trim and mince the garlic clove until it is reduced to a moist pulp. Pour the olive oil into a skillet and set it over medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic, chile powder, and salt. Stir well. Turn off the heat as soon as the garlic is translucent, about 1 minute.
Empty the cooked broccoli rabe into a colander and press the leaves gently with the back of a wooden spoon to remove excess moisture. Arrange the drained pieces on a cutting board so that the stalks are together. Cut these into small rounds, about ¼-inch long. Then coarsely chop the leaves. Add all this to the hot (but not still heating) oil and mix well. Spread this mixture over the pizza dough, grind over black pepper, and sprinkle with the cubed fresh mozzarella and the grated Parmesan. Slip the pizza onto the preheated stone and bake until crusty and brown, or about 5 to 6 minutes. Cut and serve at once.
Variation.Swiss chard, prepared the same way, makes a less lusty, but still delicious, pizza.
Cook’s Note.Fresh cow’s milk mozzarella floating in a bath of salty whey is becoming more and more available in supermarkets, although some searching may be required to find it. (At one of our local supermarkets it is in the cheese section; another includes it in the self-serve olive bar.) Unlike the hard-rubber familiar in the dairy case, fresh mozzarella has the delicate, yielding texture of gently compressed curd and a fresh dairy taste. On a pizza it less melts than swoons. Once you try it, you’ll never go back to the other, faux kind.
PEPPER, ONION, AND SAUSAGE
[makes 1 12-inch pizza]
dough for one 12-inch pizza, made as described above
¼ pound fresh Italian sausage, store-bought or homemade (see note)
½ large green bell pepper, seeded and cored
½ large red bell pepper, seeded and cored
1 medium onion, peeled and cored
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon pure hot red chile powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large clove garlic
freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
Preheat oven and pizza stone and prepare pizza dough as directed above. Put dough in a warm place to rest.
Remove the sausage meat from its casing. Flatten into a large patty and fry in a lightly oiled skillet until browned on both sides. Remove and cut into small cubes.
With a sharp knife, slice the bell pepper halves as thinly as possible. Cut the onion in half and slice each half as thinly as possible. (This helps keep everything on the pizza.) Add enough olive oil to the skillet in which the sausage was cooked to make 1 tablespoon, including any grease already in the pan. Turn on the heat to medium and add the chile powder and salt. When this has heated, add the slivers of pepper and onion and sauté gently until softened, about 6 or 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, mince the garlic clove until it is reduced to a moist pulp. Stir this into the vegetable mixture. Cook until the garlic is translucent, about 1 more minute.
Spread the pepper-onion mixture over the prepared pizza dough. Dot with cubes of the sausage. Generously grind over black pepper and sprinkle with the grated Parmesan. Slip the pizza onto the preheated stone and bake this until crusty and brown, or about 5 to 6 minutes. Cut and serve at once.
Variation.Substitute a few anchovy fillets and/or pitted and halved black olives for the pork sausage and ¼ pound cubed good mozzarella for the Parmesan.
HOMEMADE SAUSAGE
[makes 1 sausage patty]
Although our supermarket makes an acceptable fresh Italian sausage, we find this basic—and less fatty—sausage mixture better tasting, easy to make, and amenable to adaptation. If fresh sage is unavailable or unwanted, mince the garlic by itself and, if you like, add ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds.
1 medium clove garlic
2 fresh sage leaves
¼ teaspoon pure hot red chile powder
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan (optional)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ pound ground pork
Mince the garlic and sage leaves together until reduced to a moist pulp. Mix this and all other listed seasonings into the ground pork and, with the side of the mincing knife or your palm, flatten into a patty.
Variation.To make lamb sausage, substitute ground lamb for the pork and 3 or 4 rosemary leaves for the sage. Omit the cheese.
SPINACH AND MUSHROOM
[makes 1 12-inch pizza]
dough for one 12-inch pizza, made as described above
1 bunch (or bag) fresh spinach (about 12 ounces)
8 ounces cremini (brown) mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 large clove garlic
½ teaspoon pure hot red chile powder
4-ounce ball fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes (see note on pages 141–42)
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preheat oven and pizza stone and prepare pizza dough as directed above. Put dough in a warm place to rest.
Pick over the spinach, discarding any less-than-perfect leaves and, with a sharp paring knife, trimming away all split and damaged ends of stems. Rinse carefully in two or three sinkfuls of cool water, to remove all grit. Place the leaves, still dripping with water from the last rinse, in a large pot, and cover. Put this on a burner over high heat. Turn the flame off the moment steam emerges from under the cover. (If using an electric range, remove entirely from the burner.) This should take about 3 or 4 minutes. Let this sit with the cover on.
Cut away any moldy or soil-impregnated stem bottoms from the mushrooms and gently brush off any loose bits of dirt. Slice thin. Pour the olive oil into a large nonstick sauté pan and sprinkle in ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Cook the mushrooms quickly over high heat, turning often, until their edges are brown. Remove and reserve.
Trim and mince the garlic clove until it is reduced to a moist pulp. Stir the minced garlic, chile powder, and remaining salt into any remaining oil in the sauté pan. If there is none, just add these to the pan.
Empty the spinach into a colander or sieve set over a bowl. Press firmly with a rubber spatula or the back of a wooden spoon to remove all excess liquid. (Pour this liquid into a cup, season, and drink—cook’s treat.) Turn the pressed spinach out onto the cutting board and coarsely chop it. Transfer to the frying pan and stir gently to distribute the garlic and chile throughout the spinach.
Spread the spinach over the prepared pizza dough and then dot with the sautéed mushrooms and mozzarella cubes. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan and pepper generously. Slip the pizza onto the preheated stone and bake until crusty and brown, or about 5 to 6 minutes. Cut and serve at once.
Variation.Omit the mushrooms and replace them with crumbled fresh goat’s cheese and a scattering of coarsely chopped pine nuts.
EGGPLANT AND LAMB SAUSAGE
[makes 1 12-inch pizza]
Sautéed eggplant makes a terrific pizza. Many recipes encourage you to do without the salting, soaking, and subsequent wringing out of that vegetable. We do it, however, because the process transforms the eggplant’s texture (as it also does zucchini’s).
1 small to medium eggplant (about 12 ounces)
salt
dough for one 12-inch pizza, made as described above
¼ pound homemade lamb sausage (see page 143)
1 large clove garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
½ teaspoon pure hot red chile powder
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ red or yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
An hour or so before the pizza preparations begin, trim the stem ends of the eggplant and then peel it. Cut the flesh into French fry–sized strips. Place these in a colander and sprinkle with about ½ tablespoon of salt, mixing this through the eggplant pieces. Set over a large bowl and let rest for at least an hour. Discard the collected liquid and put the eggplant strips in a sink full of cool water. Swirl them around to rinse, then lift them out, handful by handful, squeezing hard. Put them in an old but clean dish towel, gather its ends together, and twist it tightly, squeezing out as much liquid as possible. (Note that this may permanently stain the towel.) Reserve.
Preheat oven and pizza stone and prepare pizza dough as directed above. Put this in a warm place to rest.
Prepare the lamb variant of our homemade sausage. Flatten into a large patty and fry in a lightly oiled skillet until browned on both sides. Remove and cut into small cubes. Meanwhile, trim and mince the garlic clove until it is reduced to a moist pulp.
Add enough olive oil to the skillet in which the sausage was cooked to make 2 tablespoons, including any grease already in the pan. Turn on the heat to medium and add the minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, chile powder, dried oregano, and salt. Stir well. As soon as the garlic softens, about 1 minute, add the eggplant and strips of red or yellow pepper. Sauté until the eggplant is limp and translucent and the pepper strips tender, about 6 minutes.
Spread the sautéed vegetables over the prepared pizza dough. Dot with the sausage. Generously grind over black pepper and sprinkle with the grated Parmesan. Slip the pizza onto the preheated stone and bake until crusty and brown, or about 5 to 6 minutes. Cut and serve at once.
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