A home cook's pan pizza that got adopted by pizzerias: pressed into an oiled sheet pan the same day, cheese first, sauce in stripes on top. Thinner and crisper than Sicilian, and forgiving enough that it is the pan pizza to start with.
Method
- Mix to a soft dough and knead briefly. This one does not need much.
- Bulk until doubled.
- Pour a few tablespoons of oil into the pan and press the dough halfway to the edges. It will fight you.
- Walk away 20 minutes, then press it the rest of the way. Fighting a relaxed dough is a losing game; waiting always wins.
- Rest in the pan an hour until slightly puffed.
- Grate mozzarella straight onto the dough, add thin slices of garlic, then ladle sauce in three stripes.
- Bake on the lowest rack, then slide the pie onto a rack so the bottom does not steam.
Fermentation
| Stage | Time | Temperature | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk | 2 h | 22°C / 72°F | |
| Cold ferment | 18 h | 4°C / 39°F | Optional; same-day works. |
| Pan rest | 2 h | 22°C / 72°F | In two stages, with a break to relax. |
Times are a guide. How to read the dough instead of the clock →
The bake
Oven260°C500°F
Time16-20 minutes
Surface. Oiled steel sheet pan, bottom rack
Cheese under sauce keeps the base dry and lets the tomato concentrate rather than boil.
On top
- Sauce
- Crushed tomato with garlic, oregano and oil, uncooked.
- Cheese
- Low moisture mozzarella under the sauce, pecorino over the top.
- Toppings
- Fresh basil after the bake. Sliced tomato in summer.
You got it right when Crisp fried bottom, thin chewy crumb, tomato stripes that darkened in the oven.