Basic Pizza Sauce

STEP NO. 2

GIVE IT SHAPE

The only way to truly learn how to shape dough is to put your hands on it and practice. With patience and experience, you’ll develop a feel for the dough and gain confidence in your shaping techniques and topping combinations. Good pizza will become great pizza. To get started, we’ve broken down the shaping process into its key steps. Start by making the Really Good Pizza Dough (recipe p. 74).

FLOUR POWER

This high-hydration (wet) dough is prone to sticking, so thoroughly dust the work surface with flour. Any excess flour will fall away as you stretch the dough, so don’t worry about going overboard.

1

Punch down the proofed dough in the bowl to gently release air bubbles. Turn dough out onto a heavily floured surface.

2

Cut dough using a bench scraper into 6 (9-oz. or 255-gram) portions. Fold the 4 corners of each portion into the center.

Let chilled covered dough stand at room temperature until dough is cool and a fingerprint remains when dough is touched, 1 to 2 hours.

Lift dough onto the knuckles of both hands, and gently stretch, rotating dough after each pull to maintain its round shape. Transfer dough portions to an unfloured work surface. Use a bench scraper to pull dough across surface to form taut balls.

Transfer 1 dough ball to a heavily floured surface. Using floured fingertips, firmly dock dough, leaving a ½-inch border.

Continue stretching dough, allowing gravity to help expand it, to form a 10-inch circle of even thickness with a slightly thicker outer ring. Arrange balls on a plastic wrap–lined, oiled tray; tug plastic wrap up between balls. (Or place in 6 oiled plastic pint containers.) Cover; chill.

Form a C-shape with the outer edge of your hand, and press firmly around dough border to form a ½-inch-wide lip.

Lay dough round on a lightly floured surface or semolina-dusted pizza peel, reshaping as needed to form a circle.

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STEP NO. 3

ADD THE TOPPINGS

Pizza toppings should be applied with a light hand; think of them as a way to season and add texture to the flavorful crust. As the pizza bakes and the dough puffs and rises in the oven, the toppings will naturally flow toward the center of the pie, so go easy on toppings in the middle.

1 OIL IT

If baking in a kitchen oven, brush edges of dough lightly with 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil or Smashed Garlic Oil (see recipe p. 83), being careful not to get oil on the pizza peel. (If baking in a pizza oven, skip this step.) Drizzle dough evenly with another 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil or Smashed Garlic Oil, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

2 SAUCE IT

Use a restrained hand with the sauce: 11/2 to 2 ounces is the perfect amount. Spoon 1/4 cup Basic Pizza Sauce (recipe at right), 3 tablespoons crème fraîche, or 3 tablespoons pesto onto dough; using back of spoon and starting in the center and working to the edge, spread sauce evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge and adding less sauce to the very center of the pizza.

3 TOP IT

When it comes to toppings, less is more: Through our testing, we found that a total of 3 to 4 ounces of toppings (including cheese) is the ideal amount for these small 10-inch pizzas. Arrange cheese and 3 to 4 ounces toppings of choice evenly on sauce, starting from outer edge and working toward the center. Leave the 2 inches at the very center of the pizza lighter on toppings.

GO-TO TOPPINGS

Preparing toppings before applying them to your pizzas is the key to tender, well-seasoned vegetables, sizzling meat, and evenly melted cheese. Mix and match to taste, or try one of our five Primo Pies (recipes p. 84).

CHEESE

Low-moisture cheese is essential to crisp, wellstructured pies.

Fresh mozzarella, such as Di Stefano Fior di Latte or Crave Brothers Mozzarella, torn into 1/2-inch pieces Soft-ripened cheese, such as Brie, St. Albans, or robiola, cut into 1/2-inch pieces Low-moisture mozzarella, shredded on large holes of a box grater Goat cheese, crumbled into large pieces Ricotta, dolloped by the tablespoonful Parmesan or pecorino Romano, shaved with a vegetable peeler or finely grated

VEGETABLES

Prior to topping, toss 3 ounces prepared vegetables or hardy herbs with 2 teaspoons oil and a pinch of salt; let stand while oven preheats.

Onion or spring onion bulbs, thinly sliced Russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise on a mandoline

Mushrooms, such as whole beech, thinly sliced button or cremini, or torn oyster Zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise or cut into 1/4-inch cubes

Roasted red bell peppers, peeled and thinly sliced Cherry tomatoes, halved or chopped

PROTEINS

Precook and then chop or crumble fresh meat. Purchase cured meats thinly sliced.

Thinly sliced cured meat, such as soppressata, pepperoni, or prosciutto Italian sausage or lamb sausage, crumbled and cooked

Bacon or guanciale, chopped and cooked Anchovies, oil- or saltpacked, draped over toppings (can be applied before or after baking)

HERBS AND GREENS

Add tender herbs and greens to hot pizzas right after baking.

Fresh herbs, such as basil, oregano, mint, or cilantro Scallions, chives, spring onion tops, or ramps, thinly sliced Arugula, lightly dressed with olive oil and lemon juice Olives, pitted and torn (these also may be added to pies before baking)

BASIC PIZZA SAUCE

Simple is best when it comes to tomato sauce. In our many rounds of testing, we tried cooked, raw, canned, and jarred tomato sauces and found the best flavor came from a raw sauce based on

Muir Glen Organic

Tomato Sauce. Open the can, grate in a little garlic, add a glug of olive oil, and stir in some fresh oregano, salt, and pepper. Spooned onto dough, it has bright acid and sweet-savory flavor that’s the star of a cheese pizza and lets other toppings shine.

1 (15-oz.) can

Muir Glen

Organic Tomato

Sauce 2 Tbsp. extravirgin olive oil 2 medium garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane 11/2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano 3/4 tsp. fine sea salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper

Stir together all ingredients in a bowl. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 2

days. —HUNTER LEWIS

MISE EN PLACE

Prepare all of your ingredients in advance, and organize them for easy access. While the dough tempers, set up a pizza command center with all of your toppings, a kitchen towel, bench flour, semolina, and a pizza peel. Small sheet pans or jelly roll pans are great for organizing ingredients, keeping pizza stations tidy.

“BALL BEARINGS”

Dust the pizza peel with a thin, even layer of semolina before draping it with the stretched dough. The coarse flour will act as ball bearings, helping the topped pie slide easily from peel to preheated stone.

STEP NO. 4

TIME TO BAKE

We’ve long coveted one of those tiled, wood-fi red pizza ovens that our favorite pizza joints all seem to have, but you don’t need to spend the price of a Ferrari to make pizzaiolo-level pies at home. We built these recipes to work in home ovens that max out at 500°F and also for popular portable backyard pizza ovens like Ooni and Gozney that rely on gas or wood and can crank up to 950°F. Controlling heat is the key to a proper bake. Here’s how to do it.

BAKING IN A KITCHEN OVEN

Broiling for the last few minutes of cooking helps brown the edges and top of the pizza while the bottom crust continues to cook from the hot stone below. Don’t forget to return the oven to 500°F to give the stone time to heat back up while you stretch and top the next pizza.

1. Preheat oven to 500°F with a baking steel or large round cast-iron pizza pan (such as Lodge 15-inch) on middle rack. Let pan preheat in oven about 30 minutes. 2. Gently shake pizza peel with prepared pie to loosen. If pizza feels stuck in any areas, carefully lift pizza edge with a bench scraper, and dust peel with a 1:1 mixture of semolina and bread flour.

3. Unload pizza onto preheated pan using quick, decisive movements: Set the peel edge on the pan at about a 20-degree angle, and quickly pull back peel to slide half of the pizza onto the pan. Gently shake the peel side to side while pulling it back to slide the rest of the pizza onto the pan, allowing it to stretch slightly. 4. Bake at 500°F until edges of crust have puffed slightly, about 3 minutes. Rotate pan 90 degrees, and increase oven temperature to broil. Broil until pizza is cooked through and crust is browned, 3 to 6 minutes. Using the peel, transfer pizza to a cutting board. Reduce oven temperature to 500°F. If needed, dust off any residual flour on pizza pan using a silicone pastry brush or thickly folded flour sack towel. Let baking stone preheat for a few minutes before loading the next pizza.

MAKE-AHEAD PIZZA FOR A CROWD

Parbaking shaped dough (aka skins) was a revelation for us during recipe testing because it fast-tracks dinner for busy families or pizza-party hosts. As a bonus, we found the crust gets extra crackly using this method.

KITCHEN OVEN PARBAKING

Shape and bake pizza dough at 500°F on preheated stone until just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely, about 20 minutes. Freeze multiple skins in a large ziplock plastic bag up to 2 months. Thaw skins at room temperature about 30 minutes. Add toppings (see p. 78), and bake (see above) to desired doneness, 3 to 6 minutes.

PIZZA OVEN PARBAKING

Bake pizza dough according to “Baking in a Backyard Pizza Oven” (see above) until just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes, rotating pizza every 30 seconds. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely, about 20 minutes. Freeze parbaked crusts in ziplock bags up to 2 months. Thaw skins at room temperature 30 minutes. Add toppings (see p. 78), and bake (see above) to desired doneness, 1 to 2 minutes.

BAKING IN A BACKYARD PIZZA OVEN

1. Preheat pizza oven and pizza stone according to manufacturer’s instructions on high 20 minutes. (Note: Cooking with wood takes more experience to control the heat, so we’ve only included instructions for gas oven cooking here.) 2. Reduce oven heat to medium-low. Follow directions in steps 2 and 3 for “Baking in a Kitchen Oven” (at left) to transfer pizza to oven. Cook pizza, using peel to rotate pizza 90 degrees every 20 to 30 seconds, until cooked through and crust is risen and charred in spots, 2 to 4 minutes. 3. Using peel, transfer pizza to a cutting board. If needed, brush off any residual flour on stone using an oven brush. Let oven preheat on high for a few minutes before loading the next pizza.

Want to take your pizza party to the next level? These backyard pizza ovens will do it. Here are two of our favorites.

GOZNEY ROCCBOX

This gas pizza oven is efficient and powerful— so powerful that you’ll want to lower the flame once you’ve maxed out the temperature so the pizzas don’t blister too quickly on top before the dough cooks through. We like the solid construction, stable tripod legs, and nifty pizza peel. Dependable and durable for cooking artisanstyle pies at home, tailgate, or campsite. ($499, gozney.com)

OONI KARU 12 MULTIFUEL PIZZA OVEN

Ooni’s dual-fuel ovens are impressive: Within 25 minutes, an infrared thermometer clocked 950°F. Whether you’re using wood or gas, be sure to reduce the heat of the flame that licks the roof of the oven and washes over the dough (about 700°F is just right) for gorgeously charred pizzas with crispy bottoms and wood-fired flavor in minutes. ($399, ooni.com)