If you do not plan on using your dough right away, place it immediately into the fridge or freezer. When you are ready, allow the dough to come to room temperature. If you are taking it from the fridge, about 30 minutes is just right. While you are waiting for your dough to come up to room temperature, preheat the oven for 475 degrees. (Be careful, and use extra oven glove protection, plus additional, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used a mitt and still felt the heat pierce through them, when cooking at this temperature.)
Flour your surface liberally.
For a thicker crust: Using your hands only begin to round out the dough, then tap the dough with all 10 fingers curved out like claws and gently work from the center outward. Gently pull, with both hands, areas that seem thicker than others, a little jiggle helps to loosen the dough as you pull. Using your hands in this way, allows for more of an open crumb in the pizza. Should you roll it out, you could lose much of the lovely air pockets that are needed for texture.
For a thinner crust: Use a roller to roll out the dough to the desired thinness, keep in mind variables of oven rise yielding it a bit thicker and the amount of sauce and toppings you plan on using. Thin crusts don’t tend to hold up to a lot of sauce and toppings, keeping it simple is best for this level of thinness. Once you are at the desired thinness, prep your pizza pan with parchment, throw some semolina flour or corn meal on the parchment. Transfer your dough on top of that.
My sauce recipe:
Bring pan to med/high, Add 1-2T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
When the Oil begins to move with a film, more fluidly
Add 1.2 T of minced garlic
½ cup of chopped onions
1 pinch of Fennel Seed
1 teaspoon of each Garlic Powder and Onion Powder
1 light pinch of red chili pepper flakes
1 pinch of sugar
1 pinch of baking soda (to cut the acid)
Add, by crushing/squeezing with your hands, San Marzano Whole Tomatoes
Fresh oregano, finely chopped
Fresh Basil, finely chopped
Add as much Beef Bone Broth needed to get a pizza sauce consistency
Simmer only a few minutes.
Add to the top of pizza (I use only one scoop of a ladle, placing it in the middle, then circling out with the bottom of the ladle to evenly distribute.
Add your cheese, (if you can buy your mozzarella in a ball, not shredded, it melts better.)
Add topping of your choice from there.
Brush the crust with olive oil, also a bit on top of the pie.
Add a Mix of Pecorino/Romano Cheese to the top
Drizzle with Olive Oil. Sprinkle with Italian seasonings, and fresh Basil. Place a cake dish with boiling water in the lower rack.
Spray the oven with water for a crispier crust. Cook for @18 minutes until you see a nice brown crust. Enjoy!
