Slice of Bonci’s

Directions

• Combine bread flour, tapioca flour, dry yeast and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk to evenly mix together. Add the water and stir with a wooden spoon until a lumpy dough forms. Do not over-stir. It is OK that the dough is unevenly mixed at this point. Then add the salt and olive oil, and stir to combine again.
• The dough should be fairly sticky at this point. If not (like in the winter when it’s cold and dry), add 1 tbsp more of water. Scrape the dough onto a working surface. DO NOT KNEAD IT. Lift one side of the dough up and fold it over itself like folding paper. Turn it 90 degrees and fold again. Cover it with plastic wrap to rest for 15 min, then repeat. Let rest for 15 min again, then repeat folding. Do this 3~4 times until the dough is springy and not lumpy.
• Place the dough in a large bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let it proof in the fridge for 24 hours.
• 1 hour before baking, take the dough out of the fridge. Scrape it carefully onto a well dusted working surface without flattening the air bubbles inside. Fold the dough once or twice, then cut the dough into 2 equal parts (or leave it whole if you have an oven big enough for a huge pie). Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest and come back completely to room temperature, approx 1 hour.
• 30 min before baking, place a large flat cast-iron pan/pizza stone in the oven on the middle rack and preheat it to 500ºF/230ºC. I suspect most people out there don’t have a pizza stone sitting around which includes me. I just use a round SHALLOW cast-iron pan and it works BEAUTIFULLY.
• Once the oven is preheated, you can start preparing the dough.
• Take 1 piece of dough and dust it well with semolina flour. Start pressing the dough down GENTLY WITHOUT breaking or tearing it. Unless you have giant, fat, sausage-like fingers with virtually no nails (which punctures the dough), I’d suggest holding your hands into a fist and use your knuckles to press the dough down. Start with gently pressing around the edges of the dough, then work from the center outward towards the edge. The intention is as much about shaping the dough as re-distributing the air bubbles throughout. Flip the dough over and repeat. Don’t work it too much. At any given moment if the dough is getting resistant and springing back to its previous shape, DO NOT FORCE IT. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 min then come back to it. This will take practice and you will never be able to get the dough to be as thin as most pizzas, and that’s OK. We are not aiming for thin-crust. You should have small, loose air bubbles throughout the dough when you are done.
• Once you are happy with the shape of the dough, hold out your forearm over the dough then flip the dough onto your forearm so it “hangs”, and lift the dough up that way. Gently shake your arm to release excess flour on the dough and place the dough lightly down onto a sheet of parchment paper (or a pizza pan). Drizzle approx 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil evenly on top and dust with sea salt (I shaved a little parmigiano on top but you don’t have to). Then lift the parchment paper to transfer the dough into the cast-iron pan/pizza stone.
• Bake in the oven for 10 min or until puffed and golden brown. If you are using a rectangular pizza pan, place the pan onto the bottom of the oven for 15 min until a bottom crust forms (preferably using bottom heat), then move it to middle rack until it’s golden brown on the top (preferably using top heat). You can prepare the other half of the dough during this time.
• Then you are only limited by your imagination to what goes on top. Today it’s as simple as whole-milk ricotta, baby arugula and shaved parmigiano cheese with a few drops of balsamic vinegar.

• Print