There are so many options to make your own pizza. I really enjoy my 72 hour cold proof pizza dough, but sometimes I want something faster.
The pizza dough in this recipe is more like a focaccia texture, but that makes it perfect for a pan pizza. It is a recipe from the amazing Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC. It is from his book “My Bread”.
Ingredients
3 3/4 cups/500 grams Bread Flour
2 1/2 tsp Instant or Active Dry Yeast
3/4 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Sugar
1 1/3 cups/300 grams Water, at room temperature.
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Mix all of your dry ingredients together in a large bowl, slowly add your water and mix well with a spoon or spatula until well mixed. About 1 minute. Cover and allow to rise for two hours.
Turn it out onto a floured surface and form into a ball and allow to rise for another 30 minutes covered with a damp cloth.
Preheat your oven to 500°F. Once the dough has finished its second proof, oil a half sheet pan well and gently stretch the dough into a loaf shape and place the dough into the pan and use your fingers to stretch it into a thin even layer and a little bit of thicker crust around the edges.
Add whatever ingredients you desire and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until well browned. Slide it onto a cutting board, and slice into squares.
Note: The pizza above with Parma Ham, Mozzarella and Arugula was particularly good.
The Louisville Chef 