Pizza

Info

• Serves 2 (1 whole pizza)

Ingredients

For the dough

120g bread flour + more for kneading (all-purpose is fine instead)
1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2-3g) sugar
1/2 teaspoon (1-2g) dried yeast
1/4 teaspoon (1g) garlic powder (very optional)
2 teaspoons (10mL) olive oil
1/2 cup (120mL) milk (water is fine instead)

For the sauce

1/3 cup (80mL) canned crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon (5g) tomato paste
a small pinch of sugar
a few pinches of dried pizza herbs (oregano, basil, marjoram, chili flakes, etc)

For the toppings

170g of mozzarella
grated parmesan


(optional) For the gremolata

1 clove of garlic
A few slices of lemon zest
Small bunch of fresh parsley

Method

• Combine all the dough ingredients. If it's too wet to knead, add more flour, but try to keep the dough as sticky as you can handle. Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover and let it double in size, 1-2 hours. (You can also simply throw it in the refrigerator and let it rise slowly for 1-7 days.)

• Get a 10-inch (25cm) well-seasoned cast iron instead and drop in just enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Put in some of your pizza herbs and a tiny pinch of salt, and coat the pan with oil and seasonings. Transfer your risen dough ball to the pan and flatten it into the pan with your finger tips, being sure to stretch it a little wider than you want it (it'll contract a bit). Rub the surface with a little more olive oil and let it rise again in the pan for at least 30 min.

• Combine all the sauce ingredients and grate your cheese. Position an oven rack up close to the grill.

  When you're ready to bake, turn the hob on medium heat under your dough, and get the grill in your oven heating to maximum. Cook the dough on the hob until the bottom is browned to your liking, checking frequently by lifting it up with a soft spatula. You can shake the pan to make sure the dough isn't sticking. I like the bottom to be just starting to burn — this usually takes me 6-7 minutes.

• When the bottom is cooked, take the pan off the heat. Spread on the sauce, edge to edge. Dust the sauce with parmesan, and spread on the mozzarella, edge to edge. Put on any other toppings you want.

  Transfer the pan under the hot broiler, close the oven door, and cook until the cheese is brown to your liking. This usually takes me only two minutes.

• Remove the pizza from the oven and allow it to cool just until it's solid enough that you can slide it out intact — no more than 5 minutes. (The sooner you get it out of the pan, the crispier the bottom will be.) Slide the pizza out to a cooling rack, and let cool to eating temperature. If the bottom is too soft or soggy, you can slide it back into the pan and fry over medium heat again for a minute until sizzling.