My current pizza routine starts with making a sponge mid-morning and completing the dough about 8 hours later. I like a fairly thick crust with lots of toppings. My pan is the 14" round dark pan. Sometimes I use olive oil but find it easier to stretch/pat the dough out on a shortening greased pan. I let the dough rest in the pan about an hour while preparing sauce and toppings. I start with 8 slices of smoked provolone cheese on the dough and then dollop a big spoon of sauce on top of each. I spread it out with the back of the spoon. Next I add a layer of turkey pepperoni that I have pre-crisped. Now I literally dump the remaining toppings on the pizza because they have been combined in a large mixing bowl and are usually 8 oz of freshly shredded mozzarella cheese, onions, bell pepper, green and black olives, mushrooms, a minced garlic clove, a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of oregano and crushed red pepper. Bake on hot stone about 12 minutes. I'm looking for nicely browned not carbonized. I remove from the pan on to a round screen. If the top is too juicy or the bottom of the crust could stand more browning I put the pizza now on screen back on the stone for few minutes.
June 22, 2019 at 1:11pm