The Williams-Sonoma Test Kitchen - The Pizza Cookbook

Pizza with K ale, P ancetta & Chile Oil (page )

P hotographs E rin Scott

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cookbook

C ONTENTS

M aking Pizza at H ome Pizza Equipment Pizza Dough Prim er

Recipes

Index

Serr ano Ham & Grilled Pineapple Pizza with Smoked Mo zzarella ( page )

P esto Pizza with Summer Squash, Sweet Corn & P ec orino (page )

Making Pizza at Home

Authentic h omemade pizza is more achie vable now than eve r before. Cooks benefit from both a greater k nowledge of classic pizza st yles and how to duplica te them, as well as from sophisticate d equipment d esigned for th e home kitch en and backy ard. A ceramic pizza sto ne in a hot conv entional o ven is still the mo st popular way to bake pizza, bu t aficionados re gularly adapt re cipes to work equally w ell in outd oor grills and brick ovens as well as in cont emporary countert op pizza o vens.

Most modern p izza make rs strive f or a lightly charr ed, ev enly blist ered, and chewy crustth e result of bo th a terri fic dough reci pe and the hi gh heat used to bake it. Howeve r, the charact eristic s of a top-r ate pizza dou gh are real ly a matter of personal preferen ce, so we of fer s everal d iffe rent rec ipesfrom a dense Sicilian crust best suited for a pan pizza to cornmeal, glute n-free, and cheese-s tuffe d crusts, plus the thin flatbrea d-style R oman crust and th e chewy , s low-rising Neapolitan cru st.

Sauces and to ppings are sec ondary but essential compo nents. They r e the easiest way to chan ge up the flav or pro file of any pizz aespeci ally when you cho ose the best local and seasonal ingred ients. Fo r light, summer y fl avors, we incorpora te fresh toppings such as tom atoes, zucchini, peac hes, figs , and fres h arugula. Wh ite pizza is also a favo rite, so we ofte n make Po tato, Bacon & Ro semary Pizza (page 26) with a white sauce of garl ic and Pa rmesan, and a pizza of shave d asparagus (p age 22) with melted lee ks and a creamy base of melted burrata. Piz za with Kale, P ance tta & Chile Oil (page 45 ) is robu st enough to stand up to a t hick Sicili an crust, as is the Salsicci a Pizza with Pa drn P ep pers (page 56 ) and a Spanish -inspired pie (page 40 ) top ped with romesco sau ce, chorizo sausage, and pl enty of shav ed Manche go cheese, though any cru st will work with these ze sty blends. The combinations of pizza topping s are endless , so you ll have lots of opport unities to experiment.

Pizza Equ ipment

When it comes to pizza making, the essential t ools ar e really qu ite basic. The recipe s in this book we re test ed using a wooden piz za peel and a ceramic pizza sto ne in a hot conve ntional ov en. Bo th are exc ellent choices fo r making pizza at h ome. However , there are many other methods fro m which to c hoose. These re cipes can be easily adapte d for baking in a hot grill ( ei ther direc tly on the grill rack or on a cast-iro n pizza pan or ceram ic pizza sto ne) , in an outd oor pizza ov en, or in an y of the counte rto p pizza ov ens now available. ( See rig ht for a fe w of our favor ite countert op option s.) T im ing and tempe rature will v ary with each de vice, so consu lt the manufact urers instruct ions for assi stance in making any re cipe alte rations.

ROCCBO X PIZZA OV EN

Roccbo x is the w orld s first portable outdoor stone-floor pizza ov en. Fr om Britain s leading manufacturer of commer cial pizza ov ens, the R occbo x bake s authentic Neapolitan pizza in under 90 seconds. The countertop ov en achiev es tempera tures of up to 9 30F using a wood burner for authenticity and a gas burner for con venience, e xpertly heating the pizza sto ne inside to replicate the stone-cook ed fl avor of pr ofession al pizza ov ens. A unique safe-touch silicone jacke t protects users and kitchen co untertops from the intense heat. The ove n is light enough for one person to carry and includes a strap for easy transport.

BREVILLE PIZZAIOLO

The Pizzaiolo is Brev ille s first countertop ov en dev eloped ex clusive ly for baking pizza. Reachin g temperature s up to 75 0F , the Pizzaiolo feat ures a unique dual heat -sourc e oven te chnology that radiates heat fro m two circ ular panels of a high-perf orming electric heating coil systemone belo w the cera mic stone pizza deck and one abov e the pizza while it bake s. Set the top and bottom heat according to the desir ed pizza style, using lower t emperature s for froz en and thick -c rust pan pizzas, mid-range heat for New Y o rk style pizzas, and high heat for the lightly blistered and charr ed crusts char acteristic of traditional wo od-fired Neapolitan pizza.

C ountert op pizza o vens ar e compact, high-per for ming alternativ es to built-in bac kyard ovens an d capable of ach ieving similarly high te mperature s.

Pizza Dough P rimer

MIXING & KNEADING

Prepa ring pizza dough from scr atch is re ally quite easy . The recipes in this book use an electric stand mixer for mixing and kneading, but that s not the only method for making top-notch dough. Y e ast dough can be prepar ed by hand , of course, and also with a food processor . Dough mixed b y any of these methods will not vary perceptibly , so choose the technique you pre fer .

To mix and knead dough in a stand mixer , combine the yeast, sugar , and water in the mixer bo wl and let stand until foamy , about 5 minutes. Add the flour and salt. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium-low speed just until combined. L et stand for 10 minutes, then switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed (slowly adding the oil, if called for in the recipe) until the dough comes together in a ball, pulls cleanly from the sides of the bo wl, and springs back when gently pr essed wi th a fingertip, about 10 minutes.

To mix and knead dough by hand, combine the yeast, sugar , and water in a larg e bowl and let stand until foamy , about 5 minutes. Add the oil, if called for in the r ecipe, and the salt. Gradually stir in as much of the flour as poss ible until the dough is too stiff to mix. Dump the remaining flour out onto a w ork surf ace and place the dough on top. Knead the dough, incorporating as much of the flour as needed to pre vent s ticking, until the dough is smooth and springs back when gently pres sed with a fingertip, about 10 minutes.