The thinnest and crispiest pizza crust you’ll ever try!
When it comes to pizza nothing can beat a good old slow-rise dough. Of course it might sound more appealing to go for a quicker option with far more yeast, but if you’re open to a little planning, you won’t regret giving this recipe a try. Ironically, this used to be my go-to recipe when I was a working mom and I still find it a great option on my busy days. With a little time investment early in the morning (no more than one hour), you can come home to a perfect pizza disk ready and waiting to be baked at night. If you’re not convinced yet let me just add that you don’t need any kitchen appliance to make it: just one bowl and a wooden spoon. How cool is that?
Ingredients
800 g 00 flour (plus 100 g for dusting)
472 g water, room temperature
1,5 g active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar or raw honey (optional)
1 Tbs olive oil (optional)
20 g salt
Method
In a large bowl, whisk together 10% of the flour along with all of the water, yeast and sugar. Then slowly add in the remaining flour, followed by oil and salt and mix with a wooden spoon until all of the flour is incorporated. The dough will be sticky but that’s exactly how it is supposed to be as this is a highly hydrated dough. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it rise at room temperature for 30 minutes;
Scrape the dough out onto a slightly floured work surface and use a knife to divide it in half. Shape each piece of dough by folding its four sides toward the center, then turn it upside down and use the palm of your hands to pinch and bring the bottom sides of the dough together until you form a ball. If the dough feels sticky, dust it with flour, but try to avoid touching it with the tips of your fingers and use the palms of your hands instead. That should prevent you from having to incorporate more flour;
Cover the formed dough balls with a damp towel and let them rest at room temperature for 10/12 hours (you may as well place the balls in separate zip-lock bags and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months);
When ready to bake, preheat your oven to its max temperature (in my case: 240 C fan). Place the dough onto a slightly oiled pizza tray and gently stretch it using the palm of your hands. Top it with tomato sauce and bake it for 8 minutes on the lower side of your oven. Then top it with mozzarella cheese and bake for an additional 8 minutes in the upper middle rack. If you like your cheese to be slightly grilled you may broil it for a couple more minutes. Buon appetito!
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