My new favorite pizza dough, even more favorite than Peter Reinhart's pizza dough, is the one from Revolutionary Pizza by Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau, owner of Dimo's Pizza in Chicago. I just love it. If you haven't tried it, you really should. But please feel free to use your favorite pizza recipe and your favorite toppings.
For the Dough (makes enough for two round pizzas or grandma's pies baked in half sheet pans (approximately 12" x 18")
8.5oz(1 cup, 1 Tablespoon) cold water
2teaspoonsfine sea salt
2Tablespoonssugar
2teaspoonsactive dry yeast
1Tablespoonextra virgin olive oil
14.8oz(3 1/2 cups) bread flour (I used half King Arthur bread flour and half 00 flour)
For rising
5-6Tablespoonsolive oil
Toppings to Make Your Pizza Just Like Mine
1cupvodka sauce
1cupricotta cheese
1 ½cupsshredded mozzarella(from a block--not pre-shredded)
16-20slicesGenoa salami
4-5pepperoncini, thinly sliced and squeezed so they're not too wet
To Finish (all optional)
coarse sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Italian herbs, fresh or dried
hot pepper flakes
finely grated Parmesan cheese, about 4 tablespoons
Instructions
For the Dough
Whisk together the water, salt, sugar and yeast in your mixer bowl.
Whisk in the oil and then add the flour all at once.
Mix on low speed until the dough comes together and then knead on medium-low speed until the dough is soft, smooth and elastic, about ten minutes. It should pass the windowpane test. If it doesn't, let it rest, covered, for twenty minutes, knead another 2-3 minutes and test again.
Once the dough is beautiful, cut it into two equal pieces.
Knead each piece by hand just to get rid of any air bubbles and then shape into taut rounds. Refrigerate or freeze one round for later use.
Spread the 5-6 Tablespoons of olive oil onto a clean half-sheet tray. You won't need Silpat or parchment, just put it straight on the tray.
Plop the dough round down on the pan and cover the whole thing with plastic wrap.
Let the dough proof at least two hours and up to five hours.
Preheat your oven to 500F about an hour before baking. Place a rack on the lowest setting and set a baking stone on top of the rack.
To Assemble and Bake
Remove the plastic wrap and gently stretch out your dough to fit the pan. It should stretch easily. Press down the center keeping the edges a bit thicker. Keep at it until it fits perfectly (ish) in the pan. If it seems to be bouncing back too much, let it rest 10 minutes and then stretch it some more.
Spread the vodka sauce evenly over the dough to about 1/2" from the edges all the way around. (I used a small offset spatula.)
Top with all the toppings. You can put the cheeses on first or the meat and pepperoncini--however you like.
Let rest for about ten minutes and then bake for about 20 minutes or until the crust is a beautiful burnished golden brown and the underside of the crust is crisp golden brown. If the crust bubbles up during baking (mine did a few times), just stab the bubbles with a knife.
Remove the pizza from the oven and set the pan on a rack to cool a bit. Top with any--or none--of the optional finishes and as soon as you know it's cool enough not to burn your mouth, dig in.
Notes
This pizza reheats beautifully in the toaster oven, especially if you add a bit more grated mozzarella before toasting.Top the pizza with any of your favorite pizza toppings. Just remember to use a light hand so all the toppings don't overpower the crust.