This recipe from Peak Season by Deirdre Buryk produces a fabulous crust with fresh toppings. Use “00” flour for the dough and start making it the night before. If you don’t have time to prepare the dough the night before, purchase a good quality pizza dough. After baking the crust for about 8 minutes, top with the oil, garlic, dried spices, tomato and cheeses and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Serve with fresh basil on top. Cook’s note: Keep a close eye near the end of the baking to avoid burning.
Avoiding Additives and Preservatives
Check the dried spices to make sure they don’t contain colour or anti-caking agents. I used Tre Stelle bocconcini and genuine Parmesan cheese. For the latter, look for the name stamped on the rind.
Ingredients:
Dough
6 oz (173 g) lukewarm water
1 tsp (3 g) sugar
½ tsp (2 g) traditional dry active yeast
1 tbsp (10 g) extra-virgin olive oil
8 oz (230 g) “00″ flour
1 tsp (6 g) kosher salt
Toppings
3 tbsp (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp (15 ml) fennel seeds
2 tbsp (30 ml) dried oregano
1 heirloom tomato, sliced
4 ½ oz (125 g) fresh mozzarella, torn
¼ cup (25 g) freshly grated Parmesan
1 bunch fresh basil leaves for topping
Preparation:
Mix water, sugar and yeast together in large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes; make sure yeast bubbles. Whisk in the oil. Add flour and, using your hands, mix and knead in the bowl until the flour is mixed in. Cover with a tea towel and set aside for 30 minutes.
Uncover dough, add salt and knead in. Cover again and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Then cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Two hours before eating, oil pizza sheet or stone and transfer dough onto it. With oiled hands, press the dough down as best you can. Cover with a tea towel and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Press down dough again. Repeat at 30-minute intervals until dough fits the sheet with an equal amount of thickness all around. It usually takes two or three pressings.
Place wire rack at lowest level and one wire rack in centre of oven and preheat to 500 F (260 C). Par-bake the dough with no toppings on the lowest rack, 6 to 8 minutes, until the dough has set and the bottom is golden brown. Remove from oven. Turn oven temperature down to 475 F (250 C).
Evenly spread oil, garlic, fennel seeds and oregano on par-baked pizza. Top with the tomato slices and mozzarella. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the pizza, covering all the way to the edge to get that fried cheese crust everyone loves. Place the pizza in the centre rack of the oven and bake until the cheese on the edge is set and the crust achieves the desire marking (mini bubbles with black spots), 15 to 20 minutes. Use a flat spatula to help get the pizza and excess cheese off the sheet. Top with fresh basil, slice and serve. Serves 4.
From Peak Season