Pizza

This pizza dough recipe comes from Jim Lahey’s cookbook My Bread, which has been a staple in our kitchen for the past 10 years. Before that, when we lived in downtown Manhattan, I loved popping into his Sullivan Street Bakery for sandwiches and treats, and I often featured his bread when I catered dinners. In our copy of the cookbook, page 117, “Basic Pizza Dough,” is worn and water-stained, and there are yeast and flour particles in the crease. It’s marked with an expired metro card so I can quickly get there when it’s time for DIY pizza night.

REcipe: no-knead pizza dough

Makes two 13-by-18 inch pies

Ingredients:

Bread Flour; 3 3/4 cups or 500g
Instant or other active dry yeast: 2 1/2 tsp. or 10g
Table salt: 3/4 teaspoons or 10g
Sugar: 3/4 teaspoons plus a pinch or about 3g
Room-temperature water: 1 1/3 cups or 300g
Extra virgin olive oil for pans
Toppings of choice

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until blended, at least 30 seconds. The dough should be a bit stiff (not super wet and sticky). Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the dough has more than doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
Using a bowl scraper or rubber spatula, remove the dough from the bowl onto a floured work surface. Gently form into a rough ball. Then divide the dough into two halves, spacing them 4 inches apart, and cover both with a moistened kitchen towel for 30 minutes.
When you are ready to make your pies, oil two 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheets. Pick up the dough and invert and stretch the dough the length of the baking sheet. The floured side should now be facing up and the moist side should now be on the pan. Using your palms, gently pull, press, and stretch the dough to fill the entire bottom of the pan. There is no need to make a crust or a lip around the edge of the pan. Your objective should be to make an even layer of dough across the entire bottom of the pan. If the dough sticks to your fingers, lightly dust it with flour or coat your hands with oil. Pinch any holes together. Repeat with the second piece (or freeze it for later). The dough is ready to top as you like. (Note: you can also divide the dough into more, smaller balls and let everyone make individual round pies).
To cook: Preheat oven to 500° F, with rack in the center. While oven is preheating, prepare your masterpiece. Pictured above are a pie with ricotta, pesto, mozzarella, and zucchini blossoms, and a more classic one with sliced tomatoes and mozzarella (I drained the tomatoes on paper towels beforehand). Other favorites include chopped mushrooms and thyme, or thinly sliced zucchini with gruyère cheese. You can, also, of course, do a classic sauce and cheese rendition—just always be mindful of how many toppings you’re loading on, and be careful not to pool the sauce (especially not in the center) so the crust doesn’t get soggy.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are slightly charred and the crust is pulling away from the sides of the pan. Serve the pizza hot or at room temperature.