It’s one of my favorite food holidays of the year. What’s not to love about pizza? But, for some strange reason, I also love asking Megan where the red-checkered tablecloth is located, because while my pizza style/recipe changes every year, the tablecloth is a constant. There is something soothing about a red-checkered tablecloth - is it because it reminds me of the old days, either at home or in some Italian restaurant…or is it reminiscent of pizza parties at Pizza Hut. Not quite sure, but all fond memories!
This year, I decided to try something that is not my go-to style: Sicilian. I love a standard New York style and of course Neapolitan-style. So, what’s my qualms with Sicilian-style? Primarily, the sauce. Why is it on top? It appears thick and goopy and then it sits, basically, on a thick slice of bread. I was still determined to give it a try and relied on a higher power to make sure this pizza was divine. That’s right, I’m talking about The Pizza Bible! While a Sicilian may still not be my favorite style, I will absolutely make this again. The pizza crust is insanely crispy, but the interior is no slouch. While thick, it’s tender, but not chewy or “doughy”; it’s really insane however this is achieved. The only thing I will change is having the sauce directly on the dough and the cheese on top…just can’t deal with a mouthful of sauce…or sauce all over my beard, as it were, lol. The best was as soon as Megan bit into her slice, she said: “this is some Brooklyn sh!t, right here”...and she knows because she lived in NYC for 20 years and ate at L&B’s in Bensonhurst, the restaurant this recipe is based upon.
The Brooklyn - Sicilian Pizza
slightly adapted from The Pizza Bible, Tony Gemignani
There’s one thing you gotta understand about pizza-making. If you want the best, it’s going to take some time and you’re gonna need a digital scale that measures in grams. Pizza is baking, after all...and a little science, too. You’ll also need a steel baking pan, but they’re hard to find. This is what I purchased and it worked great. You’re going to need 2 pizza stones so that you have steady, intense heat throughout the brief cooking times. I purchased 2 of these and they came with a rubber dough scraper which you also need for this recipe. A mezzaluna works great, but you can also use a large chef’s knife. I am not a fan of dull pizza wheels as they spread all the toppings around and turn your beautiful pizza ugly.
Poolish (starter)
⅓ of ⅛ tsp active dry yeast
47 grams lukewarm water
47 grams bread flour
Pizza
3 grams active dry yeast
90 grams warm water (80-85 degrees F)
578 grams bread flour (for this & the poolish, you’ll need ~5 cups of bread flour total)
13 grams diastatic malt
296 grams ice-cold water (but don’t weigh with the ice)
13 grams fine sea salt
7 grams extra-virgin olive oil + more for the baking pan
1 lb quality mozzarella, sliced (14-16 thin slices), at room temperature for 40 minutes
Dried oregano
Grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Sauce
17 oz ground tomatoes (or canned “crushed tomatoes”)
8 oz tomato paste
1.5 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp fine sea salt
Fresh basil leaf
28 oz can whole tomatoes, drained
Garlic Oil
¼ cup olive oil
Large garlic clove, peeled and thinly sliced
Note: For the best results, you want to start this recipe 3 days prior to baking your pizza.
Day 1. Prepare the poolish by whisking the yeast into the water in a small (16 oz) tupperware container for 30 seconds. The water should be slightly foamy. Then, stir in the flour, with a rubber spatula, until a thick paste forms, ensuring there is no dry flour left. Cover and let it sit out on your counter for 18 hours.
Prior to preparing the pizza dough, refrigerate the poolish for 30 minutes. The poolish will hold for about 8 hours. If you leave it in the fridge for more than 1 hour, you will need to bring it closer to room temperature before mixing in with the pizza dough…about 20 minutes.
Day 2. Prepare the pizza dough once the poolish is ready for use. Whisk the yeast into the warm water, in a small bowl, for about 30 seconds. The water should be slightly foamy.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a hook attachment, combine the flour and malt powder and start the mixer on the slowest speed possible. Pour in most of the water, reserving ~2 tbsp.
Add in the yeast-water mixture, then slosh the reserved cold water around the bowl that contained the yeast and dump that into the mixer as well. Mix for 15 seconds, then stop the motor.
Lift the mixer arm and add in the poolish. Mix on the slowest speed for 1 minute. Stop the mixer and using wet fingertips, pull the dough off the hook and let it drop back into the bowl.
Add the salt and start the motor on the slowest speed again and mix for another minute. Stop the mixer and using wet fingertips, pull the dough off the hook and let it drop back into the bowl.
Add the extra-virgin olive oil and start the motor on the slowest speed again and mix for another minute. Stop the mixer and using wet fingertips, pull the dough off the hook and let it drop back into the bowl and mix for one more minute.
Coat a normal baking sheet (not the specialty baking pan) with a film of olive oil and, using wet finger tips, transfer the dough to the baking sheet.
Using wet hands, pull the dough into the center from 9 and 3 (think of a clock), pressing down where the edges meet in the middle, then 12 and 6, pressing down again. Fold in the remaining four corners and press once more, then flip. Repeat the process, now at 2 and 8, 10, and 4, then fold in the corners and press once more.
Wet your hands again and start tucking in the bottom, rotating the dough in a circular fashion until it forms a nice round ball.
Cover the dough with a damp dish towel and let it rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Then, remove the dish towel, and double-wrap the dough in the pan. Place it in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours.
Day 3. Make the pizza and sauce! After 48 hours, remove the dough from the fridge, and set the wrapped pan on the counter for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Place the ground tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, garlic, salt, and basil leaf in a large bowl. Using a stick blender, process until smooth.
Prepare the whole tomatoes, by discarding the tough top stem part, cores, and as many seeds as possible. Then hand-crush breaking up the tomatoes into bits and adding just those tomato bits to the pureed sauce. Stir and let sit at room temperature until ready to bake the pizza.
Once the dough has sat on the counter for 2 hours, pour in enough extra-virgin olive oil into the empty steel pizza baking pan to coat the entire bottom, slightly pooling (about 1/16” depth). Unwrap the baking sheet that contains the pizza dough, and invert it directly over the prepared pizza pan. Use the bench scraper to unstick the dough from the baking sheet. Using the bench scraper once more, flip the dough quickly so it is fully coated in oil.
Fully extend your fingers and press the dough out, de-gassing the dough into an even layer. Using your hands gently pull at the corners, extending them to the corners of the baking pan. The dough will not reach the corners just yet. Let the dough rest, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, oil your hands and with fully extended fingers press the dough out to the edges and corners of the pan. Do not try to pull the dough this time, just keep pressing and gently extending. If the dough comes up just a bit short on the corners, that is fine, don’t pull the dough. Let the dough rest for a final 2 hours, on your stove top, uncovered.
After one hour of the dough resting, adjust the racks in your oven to the upper third and lowest rung and place your baking stones on each of those racks and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
After the dough has rested for 2 hours, transfer the baking pan of prepared dough to the top rack of the oven and bake for 7 minutes. Half-turn the pan, then place it on the bottom stone and bake for another 7 minutes, then remove from the oven. Using a metal spatula gently remove the dough from the pan - if there is any stickage, add a little oil to help loosen things up - and place the dough on a rack-lined baking sheet and cool for 40 mins (or up to 2 hours). Leave the oven on to keep the stones warm.
Finally, arrange the sliced mozzarella on the cooled pizza dough, leaving a ¾” border and top with 1.5 cups of the prepared sauce (alternatively, you can sauce first and top with the mozz), spreading the sauce out with the back of a large spoon or small ladle.
Transfer the prepared pizza back into the oiled pizza pan and place on the top stone and bake for 7 minutes. Rotate a half-turn and place the pizza pan on the bottom stone and cook for 6 minutes. If you want the crust done a little more (or the cheese to melt a bit more) transfer back to the top stone and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
Remove from the oven and, using a metal spatula, transfer the pizza to a large cutting board. Using a mezzaluna, or a large chef’s knife, make two evenly-spaced long slices across the length of the pizza, followed by three evenly-spaced long slices across the width to make 12 slices.
Dust with more oregano, some Pecorino, and drizzle on some garlic-oil. Serve along with more grated cheese and some red pepper flakes at the table.
______________________________ Copyright 2024, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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