Instructions

Makes: one 12-inch pie

Prepare the dough:

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, and sugar to combine.

2. Add neutral oil and olive oil to the dry ingredients and stir with a large spoon until partially mixed.

3. Add the yeast and half of the water to the bowl and stir. Once partially incorporated, add the rest of the water and stir until the ingredients come together in a loose shaggy dough.

4. Gently knead and hand-mix the dough in the bowl for about 1.5-2 minutes, stretching the dough and pressing it into the walls of the bowl, and rolling the dough ball around the bowl to incorporate any remaining flour. You don't need a super kneaded, well developed dough here – just make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated and your dough is not sticky or falling apart.

5. Transfer your dough to a clean bowl with a little bit of neutral oil in it. Roll the dough around in the oil to make sure it doesn't stick to the bowl. Cover and put in a warm place, and let it rise for 5 hours (a turned-off oven with the light on works great!).

Prepare the tomato sauce:

6. While the dough is rising, prepare your tomato sauce.

7. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and allow it to melt. Once melted, add the grated onion, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes and sauté. After a few minutes, make a well in the center of the pan, add a Tbsp. of olive oil to the well, and then add grated garlic to the olive oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is transparent and fragrant, and the garlic has browned slightly.

8. Once your onion and garlic has cooked, turn the heat down to medium-low and open your can of tomatoes. One-by-one, take each peeled tomato and crush it with your hand into the pot. I recommend holding the tomato as low into the pot as you can – it will try to squirt its juices everywhere. I aim for a chunkier sauce, so single-handed crushing is just right with peeled San Marzano tomatoes. Once you have crushed all of the tomatoes, pour any remaining liquid from the can into the pot and add the sugar.

9. Simmer the sauce on medium-low heat until its thick and fragrant, and the acidic taste of the tomatoes has mellowed, about 60 minutes. It will reduce in volume quite a bit over this time.

10. Once your sauce is done, remove it from the heat and set aside until your dough is ready. Allow it to cool for at least an hour before assembling you pizza.

Note: You can make this sauce up to two days in advance if you like, and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make your pizza.

Assemble the pizza and bake:

11. Preheat the oven to 450°F. If you have one, place a pizza stone on the middle rack and preheat it for 45 minutes.

12. If you are using a block of mozzarella, 10 minutes before you assemble your pie, put the block into the freezer to make it easier to grate.

13. Add a few tablespoons of neutral oil to a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Using a paper towel, wipe a thin layer of oil all over the pan, pouring out any excess.

14. Turn your risen dough out into the cast iron pan. Using your palms, gently press out the dough so it covers the entire bottom of the pan. Then, using your fingers, press the dough up the sides of the pan, creating a crust that rises all the way up the sides of the pan. Try to get your crust to an even thickness all the way around the sides and all across the bottom – thin spots can cause leakage later!

15. Cover the bottom of the dough with a layer of low moisture mozzarella – if you are using a block, pull it out of the freezer and grate it now. Make sure you completely cover the bottom layer of dough – this mozzarella should create an air-tight barrier between the bottom crust and the tomato sauce.

16. (Optional) If you are using sausage, cook the sausage in a skillet until it is mostly cooked through and nicely crumbled. Add the sausage in an even layer over top of the cheese.

17. Add the tomato sauce over the cheese. Use enough that it comes up to about ¼ inch below the top of the crust. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top of the sauce.  

18. (Optional) If you are using any other toppings, such as spinach or black olives, place them on top of the tomato sauce.

19. Place the pizza in the oven on the middle rack (or on top of a pizza stone, if you have one). Bake for 28 minutes. When there are 10 minutes left, place a piece of aluminum foil on top of the pizza to prevent the toppings from burning. When there are 3 minutes left, remove the foil.

20. Pull the pizza out of the oven and let it rest for 10-15 minutes before you cut into it. This will give the sauce time to set up, the crust time to solidify, and will make the pizza much easier to serve.

21. After resting, cut into slices, top with more grated Parmesan, and serve!

Note on toppings: You can put just about whatever you want on this pizza! Traditionally, meaty toppings like sausage or pepperoni will go directly on the cheese, under the tomato sauce. For meaty toppings, make sure you cook them at least partially, as in a home oven they won't be exposed to enough heat to cook fully while the pie is baking. For other toppings, arrange them evenly on top and they will crisp up nicely. Be mindful about water content when adding toppings to the top of the pie – with especially wet toppings such as spinach, you may want to sop up some of the liquid that comes out of them with a paper towel once the pie comes out of the oven. 

Note on leftovers: To keep leftovers, you can store the pizza directly in the cast iron in your fridge, transfer it to a tupperware, or wrap in aluminum foil (if you choose to use aluminum foil, add a layer of plastic wrap between the foil and any tomato sauce – the acidity in the sauce can corrode the foil and become metallic tasting. Reheat in the oven or a toaster oven at 400 until warm, or enjoy cold right out of the fridge!