to sting or to season

81. Pizza dough

I'd argue that perhaps the most significant factor--after quality of ingredients, of course--that sets good examples of pizza apart from the bad is the base. A crappy base--doughy, burnt, whatever--won't save even the finest of toppings. The base is the most difficult part to get right at home. I suspect this is why a lot of people use pita bread or, worse, store-bought pizza cases already smeared with what is supposedly tomato passata.

Larousse Gastronomique's pizza dough is similar to the one--delicious magazine's, if I recall correctly--I've made in the past. 2 teaspoons of dried yeast, sugar and water are combined and let to sit until frothy. The yeast mixture is combined with 350 grams of flour, 300 mL warm water, 4 tablespoons of olive oil and a teaspoon of salt. You knead the dough for ten minutes and then let it rest until doubled in volume. Larousse Gastronomique says this should take 90 minutes.

The recipe makes enough dough for a single 25 centimetre pizza. Note that the base is a very thick one. If you prefer thin, crispy bases you could probably make two pizzas with it. Just remember to cut the cooking time or you'll burn it to a crisp.

82. Neapolitan pizza

Neapolitan pizza follows, at least on paper, one of the rules of good pizza: keep the topping light.

To make Neapolitan pizza, take a pizza base. Spread 6 spoonfuls of tomato passata over it and top with 400 grams worth of sliced Mozzarella cheese. The toppings take the form of 100 grams of black olives and 50 grams of anchovies. The pizza is seasoned with dried oregano, salt and freshly ground black pepper. The pizza is then baked at 240 degrees. Larousse Gastronomique recommends baking it for 30 minutes.

 
The pizza base is nice. Really nice. In fact, it's my new go-to pizza dough recipe. The problem is the topping. Larousse Gastronomique says to season the pizza heartily with salt and pepper. I ignored its demands for more salt, more salt, more salt. Why? Because the topping is naught but fucking anchovies and olives. Even so, the pizza was still too salty for my tastes. In the fierce heat of the oven the anchovies had melted and spread salty anchovy-ness all over the top of the pizza. Still, the saltiness justified the opening of another bottle of James Squire Golden Ale ...

With another topping--say, meat and meat and more meat, a multi-animal pizza, a zoo atop cheese and tomato and olive oil-enriched bread--this pizza would've been awesome.