"Heroes in a halfshell, Turtle Power!" That's right, I sing that song whenever I make pizza. This is a pretty basic marinara-based Italian-style thin-crust pizza that makes me want to play Super Mario Bros. 3 while getting shitfaced on Carlo Rossi, the inventor of the shit-eating grin. I'm also pleased to announce that this dough recipe is the result of successful experimentation.
The dough and the cheese are enough for two 14" pizzas, so be sure to half both of their portions before actually assembling it or you'll find yourself suddenly working for an upscale Pizza Hut! I could never find any dough recipes for a single pizza, and the portions involved in making dough are too small when halved for me to feel confident in it resulting in a good crust.
Preparation: 2½ hours
Cooking: 15 - 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Today's Specimen
← Pizza dough
Ingredients
- 1½ cups warm (not hot!) water
- ½ packet (ca. 1⅓ tsp.) active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. salt
- 4½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup cornmeal (optional)
Remember, this is enough for two 14" thin-crust pizzas!
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl add the warm water, yeast, and sugar and stir slightly. Allow to proof for ten minutes; if a tan foam forms on the surface of the water proceed, otherwise go to the store and get new yeast.
- Add the salt and olive oil and then add the flour one cup at a time, mixing with a fork or paddle until the entire mixture forms a large ball. Add more water — a tablespoon at a time — if needed to ensure the ball of dough isn't dry and flaky and is cohesive.
- Lightly flour a large cutting board or clean counter surface and knead the dough for five to ten minutes: smash it into a small disk and then fold it over and repeat. You want it to be cohesive and moist but not so moist as to be slick or doughy; if it is too moist add a little bit of flour.
- Place the ball of dough back in the mixing bowl and cover with a towel and let sit in a warm, dark place for at least an hour and a half to rise.
← Marinara sauce
- 1 14 oz. can tomato puree
- ½ tsp. dried parsely
- ½ tsp. dried basil
- ½ tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. Balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp. fresh garlic, crushed with ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. water
Directions
- Just toss it all together in a small sauce pot, cover, and let it simmer for at least an hour then set aside until it's ready.
← Meat & veggie toppings
- 4 oz. prosciutto ham
- 1½ cups red onion, sliced
- 2 cups portabella mushroom, sliced into thick chunks
- 1 cup tomato, small dice
- ⅔ cups artichoke hearts, torn apart
Directions
- Prepare all the ingredients, making sure to drain the tomato and artichoke hearts of excess water, and set each aside in separate containers or bags.
← Cheese blend
Ingredients
- 8 oz. mozarella cheese, shredded into small chunks
- 7 oz. Asiago cheese, grated
- 7 oz. Romano cheese, grated
Remember, this is enough for two 14" pizzas!
Directions
- Crumble the mozarella cheese onto a large plate and set aside, then grate the Asiago and Romano into a medium mixing bowl and mix together thoroughly.
The Assembly Line
- Start the marinara sauce first and have it simmering on the stove while you start the rest of the pizza components.
- Next prepare the dough and set it aside to rise.
- Then crumble and grate the cheeses and set aside.
- Slice and dice and chop up those veggies, making sure that the tomato and artichoke hearts are drained of excess water to ensure the pizza doesn't end up soggy, and set aside each in separate containers.
- Take the marinara sauce off the heat and set aside and clean and sanitize a large surface to roll out or toss the dough for the crust.
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF if you're going to use a pizza stone and set it inside to preheat; if you're using a pizza screen preheat the oven to 500ºF.
- Cut half of the dough into a ball and bag the remaining half and store in the fridge, then start to knead the dough into a large oval on the floured dough-preparation surface.
- Roll out or hand-toss a large circle of dough that's about an inch wider in radius than the pizza screen or pizza stone then set on the screen or stone and roll the edges onto the cooking surface to make the edge of the crust. If you're using corn meal for the bottom of the pizza sprinkle that on top and then flip the dough onto the cooking surface.
- Ladle and spread the marinara sauce evenly; then add the prosciutto ham, the onion, tomato, tomato, and artichoke heart in that order to ensure the drier ingredients don't burn.
- Take half of the mozarella and evenly distribute it on the surface of the pizza, followed by half of the Asiago-Romano mixture, making sure to evenly cover the pizza all the way to the berm of the crust.
- Toss it in the oven and periodically check it, turning three or four times, and removing when the crust is dark-golden brown and the cheese is slightly tan. If using a pizza screen this will take about twelve to twenty minutes, if using a pizza stone it will probably take half an hour to forty minutes.
- Let it sit and cool for fifteen minutes before slicing and serving.
Next Time in the Lab
The only thing I can think of to do with this is to be versatile, which is one of the things that makes pizzas great: add roasted garlic, substitute halved olives for the artichoke heart, stuff like that. I leave it to your imagination, and mine.
- Add half a cup of roasted garlic.
- Ad half a cup or halved dark olives (not the flavorless sliced black ones).
