28 April to 2 May 2020
Recipe from Bread Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen, 2016, p. 180; recipe also available online
I've been wanting to make this basic, thin-crust pizza for some time and I have finally done it! Our daughter made this for us once but I have never made it myself. The recipe for this New York style thin-crust pizza was shared on the America's Test Kitchen TV show in 2012. Since the crust is my favorite part of most any pizza I have been somewhat reluctant to try a New York style pizza. I have memories of NY style pizza from a pizzeria, probably in Central New York, where the crust was so thin and crispy it was more of a cracker than a bread. Is that what I would end up with using this recipe? (This is on the America's Test Kitchen list of Top 20 recipes.)
Planning ahead was required to make this pizza as the dough was cold fermented in the refrigerator for several days, 1-3 according to the recipe. Making the dough was quickly accomplished in a food processor. Bread flour, yeast, and sugar were pulsed to combine the ingredients. Ice water was slowly added with the processor running then the dough was allowed to rest for 10 minutes. Oil and salt were added and combined with the dough in the processor. The dough was shaped into a ball, put into a covered bowl, and left in the refrigerator to ferment. It took about 25 minutes to make the dough.
The recipe asks that the dough ferment for at least 24 hours or up to 3 days. After 24 hours I took out half the dough and returned the other half to the refrigerator to continue fermenting. The dough was shaped into a 4-inch round, covered, and left on the kitchen counter for 1 hour. During this time tomato sauce was made by processing canned whole tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, salt, and pepper until smooth. Fresh mozzarella was grated, after being chilled in the freezer, and Parmesan was grated. Meanwhile, a pizza stone was heated on the top rack of the oven and at 500° for an hour. At the end of the hour it was heated even more under the broiler for about 10 minutes, then the oven temperature was set back to 500°. When the dough was ready it was stretched into a 12-inch circle, covered with sauce, Parmesan, and mozzarella. It was baked (using an inverted sheet pan with parchment paper as a peel) on the stone until done. These steps, including letting the dough warm and heating the oven, took 85 minutes.
The second half of the dough was used 4 days after it was made. Sauce and grated cheeses had been saved from the first bake. Again it took about 85 minutes to prepare and bake the pizza.
The pizza was really good! The crust was crispy on the outside and chewy and flavorful on the inside. It was not anything like a cracker and I now suspect that sadly remembered pizza came from a pizzeria that didn't really know their stuff. Since making the pizza I have learned that 72 hours is the best resting time for the dough. Less time and the dough is not relaxed so is hard to stretch into a large circle. Longer than that and it is too relaxed and too easily tears. My experience at 24 and 96 hours is consistent with these observations. Each pizza served the two of us for one dinner and two lunches. Next time I will try to get higher-quality canned tomatoes for the sauce. The brand I purchased, Cento, had a lot of sauce and not so many tomatoes and I had to use ½-cup of the canning liquid to make up the desired volume of sauce. I enjoyed making the pizza, the dough is fun to work with and it was satisfying to make this pizza at home.
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