We’ve never encountered a pizza we didn’t eat. For almost 20 years we’ve made pizza at home, with varying success. We always ate it, of course, but knew it could be better. This recipe is the culmination of our efforts. We’ve found it to be reproducible and a really top-notch version of Neapolitan pizza. Lindsay is the master at making the dough at this point. I make the pies. The key is to not roll the dough with a rolling pin- this makes the crust tough. You only need a couple tablespoons of sauce, and easy on the toppings! The right balance makes the right pizza.
Dave
Dough:
- 3 1/2 cups good bread flour
- 1/2 cup semolina
- 1 1/2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon yeast
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Topping Suggestions:
- Shredded and fresh mozzarella
- Parmesan
- Olives
- Caramelized onions
- Pepperoni
- Sausage
- Bacon
- Leftovers!
Add all the dough ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on level 1 for 2 minutes, level 2 for 5 minutes, and level 1 again for 2 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for 2 hours, or until doubled.
Gently shape the dough into 3 balls; stretch the top of the ball down and around to the bottom, forming a skin. Prove the balls until nice and puffy, 30-60 minutes. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 550°F.
Stretch the dough out by hand on a well-floured surface until it is shaped into a thin circle (very thin- you should be able to see light through it). One could even twirl it up in the air, if one was so inclined.
Working quickly, place on a floured pizza peel, top with sauce and toppings, and slide into the oven on a pizza stone. If you don’t flour the peel adequately or don’t work quickly enough, then the dough will stick and you will have a real problem on your hands (give the peel a sharp rap with your hand to see if you can loosen it, or put in on a piece of parchment paper before you top it).
Bake for 10 minutes.
Spencer Family Cookbook 