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Thick-Crust Sicilian-Style Pizza

Source of Recipe

From "Game-Day Favorites" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"For a Sicilian pie with a creamy, golden interior and a crisp bottom, we used a mixture of semolina and all-purpose flours. A generous amount of olive oil in the dough tenderized it. Cold-fermenting the dough overnight let flavors develop without large bubbles forming. Rolling out the dough and weighing it down with a baking sheet during the final proof kept the crumb even and tight. A concentrated, long-cooked tomato sauce and a mixture of cheeses stood up to the thick crust. The dough needs to be refrigerated for 24 to 28 hours before shaping. King Arthur all-purpose flour and Bob's Red Mill semolina flour work best here. Anchovies give the sauce depth without a discernible fishy taste; if you opt not to use them, add an additional ¼ teaspoon of salt."

List of Ingredients

Dough:
â—¦ 2 ¼ cups (11 ¼ ounces) all-purpose flour
â—¦ 2 cups (12 ounces) semolina flour
â—¦ 1 teaspoon sugar
â—¦ 1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
â—¦ 1 â…” cups (13 â…“ ounces) ice water
â—¦ 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
â—¦ 2 ¼ teaspoons salt
â—¦ Vegetable oil spray

Sauce:
â—¦ 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
â—¦ 2 teaspoons sugar
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon salt
â—¦ ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
â—¦ 3 cloves garlic, minced
â—¦ 1 tablespoon tomato paste
â—¦ 3 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced
â—¦ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Pizza:
â—¦ ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
â—¦ 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)
â—¦ 12 ounces whole-milk mozzarella, shredded (3 cups)


Recipe

For the dough: Using stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix all-purpose flour, semolina flour, sugar, and yeast on low speed until combined, about 10 seconds. With mixer running, slowly add ice water and oil until dough forms and no dry flour remains, 1 to 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough stand for 10 minutes.

Add salt to dough and mix on medium speed until dough forms satiny, sticky ball that clears sides of bowl, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove dough from bowl and knead briefly on lightly floured counter until smooth, about 1 minute. Shape dough into tight ball and place in lightly oiled large bowl. Cover tightly with plastic and refrigerate for at least 24 hours or up to 48 hours.

For the sauce: Process tomatoes, sugar, and salt in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds. Heat oil and garlic in medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is fragrant and just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste, anchovies, oregano, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce measures 2 cups, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to bowl, let cool, and refrigerate until needed.

For the pizza: One hour before baking pizza, place the baking stone on upper-middle rack and heat oven to 500 degrees. Spray rimmed baking sheet (including rim) with oil spray, then coat bottom of sheet with oil. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter. Lightly flour top of dough and gently press into 12 by 9-inch rectangle. Using rolling pin, roll dough into 18 by 13-inch rectangle. Transfer dough to prepared sheet, fitting dough into corners. Spray top of dough with oil spray and lay sheet of plastic over dough. Place second baking sheet on dough and let stand for 1 hour.

Remove top sheet and plastic wrap. Gently stretch and lift dough to fill sheet. Using back of spoon or ladle, spread sauce in even layer over surface of dough, leaving ½-inch border. Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over entire surface of dough to edges followed by mozzarella. Place pizza on stone; reduce oven temperature to 450 degrees and bake until bottom crust is evenly browned and cheese is bubbly and browned, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pizza halfway through baking. Remove sheet from oven and let cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Run knife around rim of sheet to loosen pizza. Transfer pizza to cutting board, cut into squares, and serve.

Serves 6 to 8