Crisp Thin-Crust Tavern Pizza with Peppers, Onion and Fennel Tomato Sauce
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and Serious Eats.
A cracker-crisp thin crust, dried overnight for extra crunch, topped edge to edge with a fennel-scented tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan, green pepper and onion. Cut into small squares.
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Method
- 1
Make the dough. Between 1 and 3 days ahead, mix the flour, sugar, salt and yeast, add the cold water and oil and mix on low to a shaggy ball. Rest for 10 minutes, then mix on medium-low for 5 minutes, or knead for 8 minutes, until silky. The rest hydrates the flour so the dough smooths out quickly.
- 2
Divide and chill. Divide the dough in two, about 240g each, shape into balls, oil lightly and refrigerate in containers for 1-3 days, until slightly puffy. The slow cold rest builds flavour and relaxes the dough for rolling.
- 3
Roll and dry. The day before baking, roll each ball on a semolina-dusted surface into a very thin 35cm round, resting it for 20 minutes if it keeps shrinking. Lay each on baking paper and refrigerate uncovered overnight, for 8-24 hours, until the surface feels dry and leathery. Drying out the surface is what makes the crust cracker-crisp.
- 4
Blend the sauce. Drain the tomatoes in the sieve for 10 minutes and discard the juice, then blend them with the tomato paste, oil, garlic, oregano, fennel, chilli and salt until smooth. Crushing the fennel seeds first releases their sweet, aniseed aroma into the sauce.
- 5
Preheat the stone. Put the stone or steel on the lower-middle shelf and heat the oven to 260°C (fan 240°C), or its maximum, for at least 45 minutes. A fully heated stone gives the thin crust a crisp, browned base.
- 6
Top the base. Put one dough round dry side down on the semolina-dusted peel and peel off the paper, then prick it all over with a fork. Spread half the sauce thinly right to the edges, then add half the Parmesan, half the mozzarella, also to the edges, and half the pepper and onion. Taking everything to the edge gives the crisp, cheesy rim this style is known for.
- 7
Bake and cut. Slide onto the stone and bake for 9-12 minutes, until browned and bubbling with lightly charred edges; lift with the peel to check the underside is deep golden. Rest for 3 minutes, then cut into 4-5cm squares. Let the oven reheat for 10 minutes before baking the second pizza.
Storage
Cool leftovers within 2 hours and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat in a hot oven or a dry frying pan until piping hot (74°C).
Equipment
- stand mixer with dough hook, or a large bowl
- 2 lidded containers or freezer bags
- rolling pin
- 2 sheets of baking paper
- pizza stone or baking steel (or a heavy baking tray turned upside down)
- pizza peel or rimless baking sheet
- fork
- sieve
- stick blender and jug
- pizza wheel
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 610 kcal |
| Protein | 25.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 66 g |
| of which sugars | 6 g |
| of which free sugars | 1.5 g |
| Fat | 27.2 g |
| of which saturates | 11 g |
| Fibre | 4.5 g |
| Salt | 2.4 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
4.1 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
