Yield: 1 large pizza (approximately 16” diameter)
This recipe is the result of much experimentation to arrive at the perfect proportions and method to recreate authentic east coast, New-York style pizza dough ~ the kind you find at the best pizza restaurants. Trust me on this: if that’s your favorite kind of pizza, the floppy dough that you can fold & eat, this recipe’s for you!
Ingredients:
- 2½ cups bread flour*
- 1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour*
- 1¼ cups spring water, lukewarm (approximately 110° farenheit)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin
- 1 package or 2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 tablespoon sea salt, finely ground
- 1 teaspoon organic cane sugar
- Merchant Spice Co.’s Pizza Seasoning, suggested as a topping for all pizzas
*Alternatively, for a softer crust with larger air pockets, we use: 2½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour and 1 cup of bread flour, again for a total of 3½ cups flour.
Preparation:
Mix together the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the water, yeast and sugar. Allow the yeast mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast is noticeably activated (you will see bubbles rising to the top).
Once the yeast is activated, pour the yeast mixture over the flour. Then, pour the olive oil over the top. Stir the contents of the bowl with a wooden spoon to combine. The mixture should just hold together, perhaps requiring an additional tablespoon or two of water. Do not add more than one tablespoon at a time, stirring with each addition.
Once the mixture has combined well, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until the dough develops a beautiful shiny surface. Place the dough back into a large mixing bowl (you can rinse the bowl you used earlier with hot water to remove flour particles, then dry) that has been coated generously on the inside with olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm area to rise, until doubled in size. This will take anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours, depending upon the temperature in your home. (You may allow the dough to rise overnight, if desired, in a cool place.)
Before turning out the dough, place a large pizza stone (preferably 16” round) in the oven; then preheat your oven to 500° farenheit. This will take about 30 minutes. In the meantime, turn out your dough and shape into a round approximately 16” in diameter.
Place the shaped pizza dough onto a pizza paddle that has been generously sprinkled with semolina. Top the dough, as desired, and slide the pizza onto your preheated baking stone. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the crust is a light golden-brown.
Topping suggestions are as limitless as your imagination …
Merchant Spice Co. 