3 h of work, 12 h until cooked and delicious - Everybody loves pizza. Here is how to make your very own, Neapolitan, pizza at home!
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
6 grams or 1.5 tsp of instant dry yeast (baker's yeast)
600 grams or 5 cups of flour (preferably organic and unbleached)
475 cl or 2 cups of water
2 tsp on salt
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of honey
For the Tomato Sauce
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 bay leave
some thyme & rosemary (or your favorite dry herbs!)
+the Toppings of your Choice!
I used Prosciutto and Mozzarella (classic but delicious!)
The Video:
The Step by Step Recipe:
1. Making your Dough:
You ideally want to start this process 12 to 24h before you want to eat your pizza!
Start by combining your water, yeast, and honey in a large bowl
Cover with a plastic wrap and let the yeast activate for 20-30 minutes (or until the mixture gets foamy/bubbly and smells yeasty)
Once the yeast is activated, add your flour, salt, & olive oil
Stir with your fingers until no flour in left in the your bowl
Cover with a plastic wrap and leave it for 30 minutes (this will start the gluten development and help to create a homogeneous dough)
Dump your dough on a slightly flowered work surface and begin to knead it (see video for how to knead your dough). The basic movement is to slap your dough on your work surface, roll it on top of itself, turn it, and repeat.
After about 5 minutes of kneading, cover your dough with a wet towel and leave it on your work surface for 10 minutes (this is so that the gluten structure "relaxes" from the stress it was put under during the kneading process, it will help a lot later!)
Knead again for another 5 minutes
Place your dough in a bowl (greased with olive oil) and cover with a greased plastic wrap or a wet towel
Leave your dough at room temperature (or place it in your oven with just a light on to speed up the process!). You want it to double in size (it can take 1-3 hors depending on the weather)
Once doubled in size, divide your dough into 4 "pâtons"
You are now going to pre-shape your dough. This process will help you create nice bowls that will make shaping your pizzas way easier. Start by shaping your "pâton" in a rectangle shape. Fold each side of the rectangle towards the middle, creating a tension n the side of the "pâton" that is facing the work surface (see video) roll the smaller rectangle. You are almost there! Take you rolled pâton and palce your pinkies at the base of it. Pull it towards you. The stickiness of the dough (which, by the way, is normal and will help to get a airy crust) will create surface tension and you'll obtain perfect pre-shaped "pâtons" after about 5 "pullings"
This was a bit tricky, I know, but bear with me. The delicious bite of pizza is very close now!
Place your pre-shaped pâtons in a greased baking tray, cover them with a grease plastic wrap or a wet towel and place them i the fridge for as long as possible (take it out of the fridge about 1h30 before you want to eat your pizza)
2. Making your Tomato Sauce: (about 1h30 before eating your pizzas)
In a saucepan, heat up the oil and add the diced onions
Cook your onions for 3-5 minutes or until translucid
Add your can of diced tomatoes, fill up the can with water and add the water to your saucepan
Add the herbs (you can add chili flakes if you want to spice it up!)
Let simmer on medium heat for about 45 minutes or until it half of the original volume has evaporated
Once finished cooking, mix your tomato sauce
You have the sauce!
Take your pizzas out of the fridge 1 hour before shaping them (1h30 before eating them)
3. Shaping and Cooking your Pizzas
Preheat your oven with a pizza stone inside to the highest temperature it can reach
If you don't have a pizza stone (I didn't have one!), just use a baking tray and put it upside down in your oven. You want to put your stone/baking tray close from the broiler (you'll understand why a bit later)
You want to let the oven + pizza stone/baking tray to preheat for at least 30 minutes
Shaping your pizzas:
Slowly use your knuckles to rotate the dough, letting gravity pull on it. Try to move in a regular way to have a nice circle (if you don't, don't worry! I didn't and it still was delicious!). You can refer to the video to have an easier time understanding the movement!
Shape your pâtons one by one (once a pizza is cooked, you can start shaping the next one)
Load the pizza on a pizza peel (I used a thin baking tray). Be careful to flour your peel correctly, you don't want your dough to stick to it!
This is when you can add your tomato sauce (my advice is to not put too much sauce, as it will make taking your pie out the oven very hard)
Add your toppings (I used fresh mozzarella and topped it with ham once it was cooked! Prosciutto e Bufala is delicious!)
Cooking your Pizzas:
Place your pizzas on the pizza stone (or flipped baking tray)
Put your oven on broil, and let the pizza cook until the crust is nice and golden brown
Take out your pizza (you can ideally use the pizza peel but just take out the stone/baking tray if it's too hard to get it out with the peel!)
You've made pizza! Enjoy!
Bon appétit!
Passionately yours,
Anton
Yorumlar