Who doesn't love pizza? Pizza seems to be one of America's favorite foods, and there's good reason for this. It's cheesy, greasy, and just plain delicious! It's a sad fact that not many people are attempting pizza at home. With all the talk of wood-fired pizza ovens and insane kneading times, people get scared away. But after today, you will know an easy way to make delicious homemade pizza from scratch, with a no-knead dough that tastes just as good as your favorite pizza place! This recipe makes about four personal pizzas with extra sauce that you can use for other dishes.
Ingredients:
850 grams bread flour
12 grams yeast
550 grams water
18 grams kosher salt
2 cans whole San Marzano tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
1 onion
6 cloves garlic
1 carrot
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Black pepper
Kosher salt
Olive oil
Low moisture mozzarella
Directions:
For the dough, whisk together bread flour and yeast. Add the water and the kosher salt and mix until all flour is hydrated. It should be a very shaggy dough. Cover and let sit at room temperature overnight.
For the sauce, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepot. Finely chop the onion and carrot and saute both in oil until softened and slightly browned. Finely mince garlic and add to the pot along with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Saute until fragrant, about one minute.
Once you can smell the garlic and it starts to slightly brown, add in red wine. Simmer until reduced by half. Feel free to skip this step if desired.
Add in two cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes. If you cannot find these, feel free to substitute any canned tomatoes you can find.
Cook tomatoes until softened, and then crush with a wooden spoon. Cover and cook over low heat for at least two hours, ideally all day. The longer you cook the tomatoes, the deeper their flavor will be.
Use an immersion blender to puree the tomato sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep over low heat until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 550 degrees, or as high as your oven goes. Preheat cast-iron skillet in the oven for one hour.
While the oven heats up, you can prepare the dough. Scrape the dough out on a lightly flowered work surface and evenly divide into four balls (I like to use a scale). Roll dough across the work surface between your two hands while keeping constant contact with the surface to form dough into taught balls. (Watch the video to see what I am talking about.) Let dough balls rest, covered, for 15 minutes.
Time to make the pizza! Gently shape your dough into small disks, then stretch it out to a diameter of about eight to nine inches, letting gravity do most of the work. Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil into the pre-heated cast-iron skillet, and place the dough into the pan. Add a few spoonfuls of sauce onto the dough and spread out evenly. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and the toppings of your choice. Bake in the oven on the top rack for 7-9 minutes, or until cheese is just starting to brown and the crust is crispy.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing. Finish with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.