Tomato and Herb Pizza

This recipe shows how the proofer can be used to create rich, full flavors and to plan meal times.

This easy recipe is our favorite pizza crust. The soft dough is a pleasure to work with and forms a nicely raised border with a crisp crust and open crumb. It boasts rich, complex flavor from fermenting at a range of controlled temperatures in the proofer. The cold dough and time in the refrigerator pay tribute to Peter Reinhart’s Pain à l’Ancienne and allow the enzymes in the dough to unlock flavorful sugars from the wheat. It then undergoes a full fermentation in the proofer, and as it warms it passes through a range of different temperatures, creating an ideal balance of flavorful acids. The addition of a small amount of whole wheat flour adds a subtle, clean wheat flavor and helps tenderize the crumb, but doesn’t cause the crust to be dense, bitter or mealy. The crust is so delicious it’s addictive, even without toppings.

Timing: The dough can be mixed anytime the day before, or on the morning of making the pizzas. We like to mix the night before, then divide and proof the next day after lunch. Because the proofer helps achieve a predictable rise, this recipe includes a timetable that takes the guesswork out of rising dough and timing a meal.

Scroll down, and there’s a “Quick Crust” variation at the end for times when mixing the dough ahead of time isn’t possible.

Makes about 15 oz of dough, enough for two 10-12 inch thin crust pizzas.

	Volume	Ounces	Metric	Baker’s Percentage
Unbleached AP flour*	2 cups (lightly spooned)	8.25 oz	234 g	92.9%
Whole wheat flour	2 tablespoons	0.65 oz	18 g	7.1%
Water, ice cold	3/4 cup	6.30 oz	179 g	71.0%
Instant yeast	1/2 teaspoon		1.6 g	0.6%
Salt, preferably sea salt	1 teaspoon		5.6 g	2.2%
Olive oil, for kneading and coating containers
Semolina, for coating the underside of the pizza

*Preferably an unbleached all-purpose flour with 10-10.5% protein and containing malted barley flour, such as Gold Medal Unbleached AP or Hecker’s Unbleached AP.

Mix ingredients. Before measuring the water, add ice and allow to chill. While the water is chilling, mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, being careful to put the yeast and salt in separate areas of the bowl. Whisk or stir until well combined. Measure or weigh the chilled water, add to dry mixture and mix with a spoon until all the flour is moistened but the dough is still rough and shaggy. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to hydrate the flour and begin chilling the dough.

Develop structure. Lightly oil a clean bowl, your hands, and the kneading surface with olive oil. Turn the dough out and stretch into a rectangle. Fold the rectangle like a business letter, then rotate the dough and stretch and fold again, so that all four sides of the dough have been folded to the center. Do this a second time, stretching the dough and folding all four sides to the center. The dough should feel noticeably firmer and smoother.

Retard the dough. Place the dough in the oiled bowl and turn it over so that it is lightly coated with oil. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least six hours, or up to 30 hours.

Choose a timetable. From the chart below, choose a fermentation temperature and its corresponding time to remove the dough from the refrigerator. For example, if you would like to bake the pizzas at six, then setting the proofer to 75F would mean taking the dough out of the refrigerator 4.5 hours ahead of baking, at about 1:30pm.

Pre-shape the pizzas. Set up the proofer with water in the tray and the rack in place. Set the thermostat and allow the proofer to come to temperature.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, scrape it out onto a lightly oiled surface and cut it into two pieces with a sharp knife. Shape each piece into a ball by drawing all the edges up, then pinching seams gently to close. Place the dough balls seam side down in a lightly oiled container, such as a 9×13 pan, or put each ball into a bowl.

Proof the pre-shaped crusts. Set the container(s) with the dough balls in the proofer and allow the dough to relax and ferment until about doubled in size. A gentle poke with your finger should produce an indent that remains. If the dough was mixed with ice water and thoroughly chilled, it should generally follow the guidelines listed below.

Proofer Temperature	Approximate Time in Proofer	When to Take the Dough out of the Refrigerator
70F	4 hrs 30 min	5 hrs 30 min before baking
75F	3 hrs 20 min	4 hrs 20 min before baking
80F	2 hrs 30 min	3 hrs 30 min before baking
85F	2 hrs 10 min	3 hrs 10 min before baking
85F, Quick Pizza Variation	1 hr 10 min	no refrigerator time

Preheat the oven. One hour before baking, place a pizza stone in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 500F. The goal is for the underside of the crust to be crisp and browned at the same time that the topping ingredients are cooked. If the pizzas are done on top but not browned enough underneath, next time move the stone to a lower position. And if they are getting too done on the bottom before the tops are finished, move the stone to a higher rack.

Shape the crusts. Sprinkle semolina over a 12-inch round piece of parchment, leaving the outer portion of the circle bare. Even though it isn’t necessary for creating a non-stick surface, we use a little semolina with parchment because it creates a crisp and delicious crust. If shaping on a peel, use a more generous layer of semolina so the pizza won’t stick. We find shaping on parchment is easier than a peel, because the dough will stick to the parchment and not spring back when stretched, yet once the pizza is baked for a minute or so, the non-stick properties of the parchment kick in and the pizza slides off the paper effortlessly.

Keep the crust not being working on covered. Place a dough ball seam side down in the semolina, and with oiled fingertips tap the dough down to form a disc. Gently stretch the dough into shape, leaving a thicker rim at the edge and focusing on stretching rather than pressing down. This can be done either by stretching with oiled fingers from the top of the dough, or by sliding the underside of the dough over the backs of floured hands and stretching gently from side to side. When finished, cover the shaped crust and move to the other pizza.

Top and bake the pizzas. If desired, cover the crusts and allow to proof for 30 minutes in order to create the most open crumb possible in the border of the pizzas (this is optional, but is built into the timetable). If the pizzas were shaped on a peel, it is best to omit the 30-min rise to help avoid sticking to the peel. Add toppings and bake on the pizza stone for 8-10 minutes, using a peel or the back of a sheet pan to transfer the pizzas to the oven. About half way through the baking, rotate the pizzas to promote even browning and slide out the parchment so the pizza finishes baking directly on the stone.

Variation- Quick Pizza Crust
This method creates a warmer dough that is ready to bake in just two hours. The flavor is still good, though not as rich and fully developed as the mix-ahead version. With flavorful toppings the pizzas are delicious.

Use the same ingredients and procedure as above, except warm the water to lukewarm (ours was 100F for testing), autolyse at room temperature for only ten minutes, and omit the refrigerator time. Directly after stretching and folding the dough, divide it in half, round into balls and transfer to a pan or bowls. Proof the pre-shaped crusts at 85F for about one hour and ten minutes, then shape and bake.

If the optional 30 minute rise after the crust is stretched to its final shape is omitted, the pizzas can be ready to bake about two hours after mixing the dough.

Fresh Tomato Topping Printable Recipe

For two 10-12″ pizzas.

Fresh tomatoes, about 2 lbs (or a 28 oz can of crushed or whole peeled tomatoes)
Olive oil, 2 tablespoons
Fresh oregano, about 2 tablespoons
Fresh thyme, about 2 teaspoons
Salt, about 1/4 tsp
Pepper to taste

A showcase recipe for garden fresh tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes in half, remove any white core and slice about 1/4″ thick. Scoop out large areas of seeds. Brush crust with olive oil and sprinkle with a little dried or fresh oregano. Top with tomato slices, arranging the larger or thicker slices near the outer edge and the smaller or thinner slices near the center to facilitate even baking. Brush the tomatoes with additional oil, top with salt (about 1/8 tsp per pizza) and freshly ground pepper, and fresh herbs such as oregano and thyme.

If using canned tomatoes, empty into a blender or food processor, add the olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt, pepper and oregano and blend or process. Taste and add more seasoning, if needed. Spread over pizzas and top with additional fresh herbs.

Bake five minutes at 500F, then remove parchment and rotate to facilitate even browning. Continue to bake until tomatoes are reduced in size and the underside of the crust is well-browned and crisp, about 5 more minutes. Serve immediately.