Do an internet search for “NYC Pizza Wars” and you’ll be amazed at how institutionalized this is in our local culture.
Who makes the best crust? Is coal fired better than wood fired? And who IS the “Original RAY”, anyway??
Who cares? The best pizza is the one hot and bubbling and coming right out of your own oven. Let’s make two, they’re easy. Begin with the crust because it needs about 45 minutes to rise.
For each crust start with 2 cups of flour, one package of dry yeast, 1/2 tsp salt, 2/3rd’s cup very warm water with 1 tablespoon of your best extra virgin olive oil and one tablespoon of honey stirred into the water. Do the oil first and the honey slides right off. We doubled this for two.
Mix it all in a big bowl really working it, then turn it out onto a surface and knead it over and over and over for at least 10 minutes. Don’t skimp on the time until the sticky dough becomes beautifully elastic. When it’s done and your hands are exhausted roll it in good olive oil, drop it back into the bowl covered with a cloth and put it into a warm place to rise. We set ours on the floor next to the gas heater register.
We made one of our pizzas eggplant. Slice it fairly thin, salt both sides and set aside for 15 minutes to sweat out some of the moisture and bitterness. When the beads of sweat appear, towel them off and here we go. Beat one egg with a tablespoon of water and shake some breadcrumbs on to a plate.
Coat in the egg, then press into the breadcrumbs…
Then slip the breaded slice into very hot corn oil. Watch your eyes, it's hot!
Flip when golden brown…
And drain on paper towels, layering paper between the slices to absorb some of the corn oil. The smell is amazing. Just TRY not to eat one! lol
Have 45 minutes passed? Check your dough. It’s fluffy and the size of a football, right? Great! Turn your oven to 450. It has to be insanely hot.
We doubled the recipe to make two pizzas so we cut the dough in half, sprinkled a little cornmeal on the cookie sheets, fingered the halves out flat on the sheets and then spread a simple store-bought spaghetti sauce, your favorite. Don’t use a rolling pin, it changes the texture of the crust.
I like grating parmigiano reggiano cheese on mine, too.
Patch holes in the crust with a pinch of dough before you sauce. Holes let the sauce through to the bottom and the crust never crisps.
For one pie we added fresh red pepper rings, thinly sliced raw vidalia onion with dabs of fresh ricotta and pinches of sausage. And then the mozzarella. Almost anything can go on a pizza, but fresh mozz is sometimes too milky so we usually use the classic packaged kind instead. And lots of grated reggiano.
The eggplant pie got a good shake of dried basil on the sauce and then the eggplant slices.
Fresh basil leaves can be added later but won’t survive the heat if you put them on now. Add the cheeses, raw garlic if you want it, another shake of basil and we’re good to go.
Ready? Toss ‘em in, dial it down to 400 (you lose at least 50 degrees just putting them into the oven) and now keep an eye on the clock. You may want to turn them or change racks at 10 minutes if the oven doesn’t heat evenly. Now check at about 20 minutes, maybe 25 if you make two? Lift the crust with a spatula and look at the bottom if you are not certain. It’s done when it looks like this.
Let them rest for five minutes before you cut.
Congratulations, you’ve joined the New York pizza wars! And with a glass of sparkling rosé I’d say you’ve won them, too.
Happy Holidays!
Don't forget to cut, foil wrap and freeze extra slices. It reheats in the toaster oven wonderfully! I just ate my leftovers, yumm..
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