Sheet Pan Pizza Dough

Ingredients

STARTER

7 tablespoons (100 ml) warm water (about 85°F/29°C)

⅛ teaspoon (0.4 g) active dry yeast

¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons (50 g) white bread flour

¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons (50 g) whole wheat flour

DOUGH

3 cups (720 ml) warm water (about 85°F/29°C)

½ cup (120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the bowl

½ teaspoon (1.5 g) active dry yeast

5 cups (600 g) white bread flour

3 cups (360 g) whole wheat flour

¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons (50 g) durum flour, or ¼ cup (45 g) semolina flour

3 tablespoons kosher salt

FOR THE PAN

Olive oil

⅔ cup (80 g) finely grated

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions

MAKE THE STARTER: Whisk the water and yeast together in a medium bowl. Whisk the flours together in a separate bowl, dump into the water, and stir until mostly smooth; the starter will look lumpy. Keep in a warm place until doubled in volume and looking very bubbly, at least 4 hours. MAKE THE DOUGH: In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water, 200 g of the starter, the olive oil, and the

yeast. Whisk together the bread flour, whole wheat flour, and durum flour in another bowl. Tip the flours into the water mixture and mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl to make sure all the flour is getting moistened and incorporated; be sure to scrape along the bottom.

Stop the mixer and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Add the salt and mix on the lowest speed for 8 minutes. Rub a film of olive oil on the inside of a bowl or other large container. Transfer the dough to the bowl and oil the top of the dough. Cover loosely with a lid or kitchen towel and let rest at room temperature until doubled in size, about 4 hours.

If you're making the dough ahead of time, transfer the dough to the fridge. The dough will be delicious for up to 5 days. Or if you're only going to use half the dough to make one pizza, divide the dough in half and return the other half of the dough to the bowl or put it in a large zip-top bag, oil it lightly, cover it well (if using a bowl), and return it to the fridge. When ready to make pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it rest, lightly covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding. To make the pizza, lightly flour your work surface and dump out the dough. Divide it in half. Each half will make one 13 x 18-inch (33 x 46 cm) pizza, but bake only one pizza at a time. Adjust an oven rack to a lower position; if you have a large pizza stone or steel, arrange it on the rack. Heat the oven to 500°F (260°C). If your oven isn't clean, you might want to turn on the exhaust fan. PREP THE PANS: Brush a half-sheet pan, or other 13 x 18-inch (33 × 46 cm) rimmed baking sheet, with enough olive oil to cover the bottom and sides generously. If you are baking two pizzas, oil a second sheet. Distribute the grated cheese evenly over the bottom of the pan (⅓ cup/40 g per pizza). Plop the dough onto the sheet pan and press it out with your fingertips so it fills the whole pan. If the dough doesn't want to stretch easily and springs back, let it rest another few minutes. Be aware of the cheese layer; you don't want to disturb it too much. If not a couple of pieces will be cheesier than others!

Add your sauce and choice of toppings and bake until the bottom is nicely browned (lift up a corner for a peek), the edges are puffed and browned, and your toppings are bubbling a bit, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer the pizza to a rack as soon as possible, so the bottom crust stays crisp. Cut into squares and serve hot.

Notes

I take pizza very seriously, as it is one of humankind's greatest inventions. I've been working on making the perfect pizza for years, and something l've learned along the way is that making pizza at home is often disappointing. With a normal home oven, people just can't achieve a crust like the crust at a good pizzeria-chewy-crisp with the right amount of char on the edges-and they end up with pizzas that are cardboardy. That's because it's just not possible to get the high heat and thermal capacity of a wood-burning masonry oven by using a

home oven.

So I say forget about Neapolitan-style pizza, leave that to the pizzerias, and make a sheet pan pizza. You can use the same types of toppings you'd use on any good pizza, and the crust is equally delicious, just different-slightly thick, meaning you get a lot of delicious whole-grain flavor. Sometimes I give it some

extra crunch with a layer of grated cheese on the bottom. The recipe for this dough is not a quickie one, but it's not hard to make; it just requires some time and advance planning.

The recipe makes two half-sheet-pan pizzas (13 x 18 inches/33 × 46 cm), so you can make two for a party or make one with half the dough (or even a smaller version) keeping the rest in the fridge for up to about 5 days, pulling out a portion whenever you want to cook up a 'za during the week. Topping possibilities for pizza are endless, but I'm sharing a

few of my favorites.

1 Do not oversauce your pizza. Pizza is about the dough; the sauce should just be an accent. No soggy pizzas, please. Exception to the rule: Pomodoro Pizza (page 275).

2 Do not use more than three main ingredients for

your toppings (other than extra-virgin olive oil and some grated Parmigiano). The concept will just be

muddled.

Bake your pizza hotter and longer than you think you should. You want your toppings to get good and browned for the most flavor and the bottom crust must be cooked and crisp

4 Once the pizza is out of the oven, finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a big pinch of flaky salt as the final flourish.