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The Angry Grandma (Pizza)

Source of Recipe

From "Smitten Kitchen Keepers" by Deb Perelman


Recipe Introduction

"If you've ever struggled with making pizza in your home oven, if you've been frustrated that it didn't get ripping-hot enough to emulate a pizzeria and instead turned your thin-crust efforts into overcooked crackers with none of the blistered, chewy charm of a Neapolitan pie, come, sit down. Grandma wants to talk. Grandma pies are what your nonna would make at home if you had one. No special ovens, no pizza stones, and no intense rules, the grandma pie is *just pizza,* baked in a rectangular pan. The oven isn't as hot, the pizza is less likely to burn, and oiling the pan leads to a golden, crunchy crust that reminds me of the pan pizzas we'd beg for as kids. I make my grandma pizzas slightly on the thicker, more Sicilian side, with a looser dough I've adapted from Alexandra Stafford's incredible Bread Toast Crumbs cookbook. That's impossible to mess up. I can fit two rectangular pans of pizza in the oven at once�one for today and one for tomorrow (or two days from now)�and the leftovers reheat perfectly. Everything about grandma-style pizza is incredibly chill, the exact energy I was missing in our at-home pizza nights. So how does one pivot from 'chill energy' to 'angry grandma?' The Angry Grandma is a delightfully named item on the menu of a slice shop we sometimes go to at the Jersey Shore. It uses a spicy arrabbiata (which translates as 'angry') sauce and loads up the toppings: fennel and onion and pepperoni and sometimes artichokes and sweet peppers, all of my husband's and son's favorites. At home, our slightly thicker grandma-style pies take well to these extras�never sogging the way thin-crust pizza can�and it's so good, your pizza night is going to be a real rager (sorry)."

List of Ingredients

Dough:
◦ 2 cups lukewarm water (not hotter than 116� F)
◦ 2 teaspoons kosher salt
◦ 2 teaspoons instant yeast
◦ 1 tablespoon olive oil
◦ 4 cups all-purpose flour

Assembly:
◦ Olive oil
◦ � to 1 cup prepared tomato sauce
◦ � teaspoon red pepper flakes
◦ 12 ounces mozzarella, torn or diced into bite-sized pieces
◦ � small red onion, thinly sliced
◦ 2 to 3 tablespoons pitted, chopped black olives
◦ 4 ounces pepperoni, or hot or sweet soppressata, thinly sliced
◦ � small fennel bulb, trimmed, very thinly sliced, or 4 canned or marinated artichoke hearts, drained, thinly sliced
◦ 2 Calabrian chilis from a jar, thinly sliced, or more red pepper flakes, both to taste
◦ � cup (2 ounces) grated Pecorino Romano


Recipe

Make the dough: Whisk the water, salt, yeast, and oil together in a large bowl. Add the flour, and use a spoon to bring it together, stirring a few times. Cover the bowl with plastic or a dishcloth, and let the dough rise until doubled and jiggly, from 1 � to 2 hours at room temperature, or you can move it to the fridge right before it's fully doubled�for this, plastic wrap is best�and let it finish there overnight.

To assemble: Heat the oven to 450� F. Coat two 9-by-13-inch pans (or two 12-inch round skillets) each with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Use two forks to divide the dough in half; then I use them like salad tongs to lift each dough half out of the bowl and into its pan. Turn the dough over in the oil so it's now coated all over. Oil your fingers, and use them to dimple each dough out to the edges of its pan as best as you can; it's normal for it to not reach the edges yet. Wait 20 to 25 minutes, and repeat the process; at this point, it should fight back a little less. While waiting, combine your tomato sauce and pepper flakes.

Divide the toppings and cheese between the pizzas, and scatter them all over the dough. For grandma-style pizzas, you put the sauce on last, and you soon will be converted, too. Once you've added the toppings, dot the smaller amount of sauce around it and also to the edges. Add the remaining sauce if it looks like your pizzas need more; I usually use all of a thicker sauce and less of a thinner one. Don't worry if things spill over the edge of the dough into the pan; your pans are well oiled, and those crispy parts are bliss.

Bake the pizzas: Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Check them at the 20-minute mark because ovens and pans will vary, but I almost always go for the full thirty�you want a good deep golden brown color and crunchy edges on your pizzas; the well-oiled dough underneath is at little risk for burning.

To serve: You can serve your pizzas in their pans, but I prefer to run a knife around each to loosen it, then shimmy it onto a cutting board, where I cut it into eight rectangles or wedges. Eat right away. Leftovers, should any survive, reheat fantastically on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven.

Makes 2 large pizzas, or 16 slices total







❧ Note:
These are the toppings we like on our very busy pizza, but they're just suggestions. Use your favorites here.