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Sweet Heat Pepperoni Pizza

Source of Recipe

From "The Secret Ingredient Cookbook" by Kelly Senyei


Recipe Introduction

"Searching for the best slice in New York City is an impossible feat, but I spent six years devoting myself to the cause. There's Roberta's, Nino's, Luigi's, and Joe's. Then there's Paulie Gee's, Di Fara, and Prince Street Pizza to name a few more, and we're barely starting to slice our way through the surface of all the five boroughs have to offer. Bottom line: Everyone will have a different opinion when it comes to the Big Apple's best pizza, but Emily in the West Village gets my vote. I'd even go one step further and claim their Colony pizza (pepperoni, pickled chili, and honey) is my all-time favorite pie. It's sweet, spicy, and ready for you to re-create in less time than it takes to get a table at Emily."

List of Ingredients

For the dough:
â—¦ Cooking spray
â—¦ ¾ cup water, heated to 110° F
â—¦ 1 (¼-ounce) packet active dry yeast
â—¦ 1 teaspoon honey
â—¦ 2 to 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface
â—¦ 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
â—¦ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
â—¦ Cornmeal, for dusting baking sheet

For the toppings:
â—¦ ½ cup marinara sauce
â—¦ 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
â—¦ â…“ cup sliced pepperoni
â—¦ â…“ cup sliced pepperoncini
â—¦ ½ teaspoon dried oregano
â—¦ Honey, for serving


Recipe

Make the dough:
Grease a large bowl with cooking spray and set aside. Combine the water, yeast, and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Let the mixture sit until the yeast becomes foamy, about 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of the flour, the olive oil, and salt. Mix on medium speed until the dough comes together into a ball, about 5 minutes. If the dough is still very sticky, add more flour as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Lightly flour your work surface, then turn out the dough and knead it ten times. Transfer the dough to the greased bowl. Cover and let rest in a warm, dark place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 500° F. Dust a pizza stone or the bottom of a baking sheet generously with cornmeal. Lightly flour your work surface. Turn out the dough and punch down with your hands to deflate. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough until it is ½ inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough onto the prepared pizza stone or baking sheet.

Top the pizza:
Spread the marinara sauce on top of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Arrange the mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and pepperoncini on top. Bake the pizza until the crust is baked through and crisped around the edges, about 10 minutes.

Remove the pizza from the oven. Sprinkle with oregano and drizzle with honey, then slice and serve.

Makes 4 servings