My Best Sicilian Pan Pizza
A simple pizza dough technique that yields a super crispy crust and a light, airy center. The flavor is outstanding too. Fermentation is room temperature so there’s no refrigeration needed.
Combine the all-purpose flour and water in a large bowl. Mixing the dough can easily be accomplished using a stand mixer, but I do it by hand in this video.
Now, mix the ingredients just until you have an evenly wet dough. I typically start with a fork, then transition to using my hands once the dough starts to come together. You can keep the ingredients in the bowl or transition to a flat work surface once the dough starts to come together.
Cover the wet dough with plastic film, or a damp cloth, and let it rest to hydrate for about an hour.
This step is called Autolyse. It helps to jump start gluten formation, reduces the kneading and makes the dough easier to handle. The results are better too.
After an hour, the dough will look like this. You can already see some of the gluten working it's magic.
Next, bloom 1/4 tsp. or 0.8 grams of instant dry yeast in the remaining water. You could go straight in with the yeast, but since I'm hand mixing, I think the yeast is easier to incorporate if you dissolve it first.
Add the yeast mixture to the bowl with the dough, and work it in until the dough has totally absorbed the liquid. This will definitely take a few minutes and a little bit of elbow grease.
The last ingredient is salt. You'll need 18g or 1/2 ounce of it. Don't forget salt, or your dough will taste like cardboard. Work it into the dough in batches until completely dissolved. The dough feel grainy at first, then it'll feel smooth.
At this point, turn the dough out onto a flat work surface and knead it for about 10-15 minutes. For technique, I'm sort of pushing the dough out with one hand, then bringing back and turning the dough about 45 degrees with my other hand. Then I repeat the process.
The dough is ready when the surface is smooth and silky. Shape it into a tight ball and place it into a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough up and let it rise at room temp until doubled in size. To speed up the process, place it in your oven with the light on. like I'm doing here. My dough was ready to go in about 5 hours.
Turn the dough out and cut it into four evenly sized pieces that should weight about 300 grams each, give or take a few.
Ball each piece up, and place them into individual, lightly greased containers. Refrigerate overnight, then pull the pull to rest at room temperature about 1-1.5 hours before you want to bake pizza.
Pre-heat your oven for about 30 to 45 minutes. In this case, I'm using the Ooni Karu 16 Pizza Oven which is perfect for baking Neapolitan-style pizza.
Flour your work surface so the dough doesn't stick, then grab a portion and carefully turn it out onto the counter. Gravity will do most of the work here.
Flour the top of the dough so it doesn't stick to your fingers and begin to shape it by pressing out from the center and toward the edge. Do this all the way around the dough to form the outer crust. Flip it over and continue the process of pressing out and establishing that cornicione.
At this point, pick up the dough with your knuckles and gently stretch it out until you have a circle that about 12 to 13 inches in diameter.
Grab the San Marzano pizza sauce and spread it evenly over the dough up to about an inch or so from the edge. Here's a link to my homemade recipe in case you need it.
PIZZA SAUCE FROM SCRATCH - Raw & Cooked Versions
https://youtu.be/Bn9t4xbF3Js
Next, add the fresh mozzarella cheese torn into little pieces. The smaller they are, the quicker they'll melt so keep that in mind. Finish the pizza off by adding sliced pepperoni. How much you add is totally up to you.
Launch the pizza into the Ooni Karu 16. Quickly turn the flame down by half and bake the pizza for 30 seconds. Rotate it a little and continue baking for another 30. Repeat the process for a total of 90 second to 2 minutes.
When done, you're pizza should look like this.
A simple pizza dough technique that yields a super crispy crust and a light, airy center. The flavor is outstanding too. Fermentation is room temperature so there’s no refrigeration needed.
