Pizza, Flatbread & Calzone
Makes 2 flatbreads
*Stir the flour with a table knife to lighten the flour; it becomes compacted as it rests. Dip your measuring cup into the flour and use the knife to sweep the excess flour off the top of the cup. According to King Arthur Flour it should weigh 4 ¼ ounces.
Dough recipe adapted from ‘Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day’
Sauce recipe will yield 2 cups and hold for several days. Adapted from Sunset Magazine
- 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
- 1 packet granulated yeast, 2 ¼ teaspoons
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 ¼ cups King Arthur unbleached white flour, measured with the scoop and sweep method*
- Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ small onion, chopped
- 2 small cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound fresh tomatoes, quartered or 1 lg. can whole or crushed tomatoes
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 granulated sugar or more as needed
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- Sea Salt and fresh pepper, to taste
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- Pizza Margherita Topping
- Sauce
- Mozzarella, torn into pieces
- Fresh basil, torn into pieces
Dough: (Make at least 1 day up to 5 days ahead of time)
The water should be warm to the touch but not more than 110°, and add the yeast to the water.
Add salt to the flour and whisk to distribute using a large bowl or a plastic food container with lid. Add the water to the flour all at once and mix with a wooden spoon or wet hands, the dough will be sticky. No kneading is necessary.
Loosely cover with lid and let stand at room temperature approximately 2 hrs. The dough can rise longer, up to 5 hours without affecting the results. The dough is easier to handle if you can make it the night before and refrigerate overnight.
Working on a lightly floured surface, pinch off a palm sized piece of dough, shape into a round, rectangular or square shape. Dough is sticky so keep some extra flour nearby, dust your hands as necessary to shape the dough. If the dough starts to snap back you should let it rest for a few minutes and then resume shaping. I use a rolling pin to thin the dough out to my desired style
Place onto parchment paper, a dusted pizza peel or the bottom of a dusted baking sheet. You can use anything you want providing the pizza can slip right off onto the rack.
If you are baking in an oven, preheat your oven to 500° or as high as it will go. Top the dough with anything you like, slid it into the hot oven and bake for 12-14 minutes.
Sauce:
Heat a deep saucepan big enough to hold all the ingredients, add the oil and onions and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and stir briefly.
Place all the ingredients along with the garlic and onions into a blender, or use an immersion blender and puree.
Ladle or spoon onto pizza dough leaving an clean edge around the outside of the dough. Sprinkle or place the cheese on top and bake on a hot pizza stone for about 6-8 minutes, checking frequently. Sprinkle with fresh basil and let rest for a minute or two before slicing. Mangia!
