Recipe: White Pizza (using ricotta cheese) and pizza dough

PIZZA DOUGH
rec.food.recipes/Edward S. Zuckerman

2 cups +/- high gluten* or bread flour
1 pkg yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup warm water

*high gluten flour is the secret to good pizza... It makes a more structural dough, which can be aggressively worked with without easily tearing. It also gives you a chewier crust. Bread flour, as far as I know, is the same thing. All purpose flour, although it can be used, IS NOT the same stuff!!!!

Mix yeast, sugar, salt and one cup flour in a bowl. Add oil and warm water. Mix thoroughly. Add the remainder of the flour 1/4 cup at a time during the 8-10 minute kneading process until the dough comes together. The dough should be tacky, but not totally sticky. Too much flour will give a harder dough, hence a harder crust! (I prefer to divide the dough into two pieces for two medium sized pies, but you may decide to have one big dough for a large pie). Roll dough ball(s) into a smooth ball. Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes or so, preferably with a cloth over it. With the palm of your hand, flatten dough ball slightly, about an inch high. Place in a large Tupperware container that has been generously oiled. Let rise in a warm place for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until it has doubled in volume. If your house is colder, the dough will take longer to rise. Refrigerate dough until you're ready to use. (Will last for days although I prefer fresh dough!)

PIZZA PREP:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Carefully take the dough out of the Tupperware container and place it oiled side down onto a generously floured countertop (or large dish). You are essentially trying to dry up the oil so you can easily form the dough. Forming the crust is an art. I first form the crust edge with my fingers. Then, with outstretched fingers, I press the middle of the dough flat. I flip the dough over, reform the crust edge again, and flatten the middle again. Now comes the process of stretching the dough out to the final pie shape. I call this stage "throwing out" the dough because I do it by throwing it back and forth between hands, whilst giving it a twist every throw. You can stretch it out carefully without the dough ever leaving the floured countertop! You could also toss it in the air like a real pizza dude (if you want to spend your next few hours cleaning up!).

I was recently given a pizza grill thing which works great. It's black
enamel, circular, with a zillion holes on it, and two handles. You can also use a pizza stone (if you preheat it for at least an hour). You could use a regular baking sheet too, but I don't guarantee the results.

If using the pizza grill thing, place the dough right on it! If using the pizza stone, you'll have to assemble your pizza on a wooden pizza piel, which must be brought to the hot stone.

Anyway... from here, you have a zillion options! I will describe a white pizza. If you want regular pizza, simply substitute pizza sauce for the ricotta. Everything else is the same.

BASIC WHITE PIZZA
Spread a generous layer of ricotta cheese directly on the dough. I'd say about 1/2-inch thick. It'll be tough to get it perfectly smooth, especially if it's cold. It doesn't matter if it isn't smooth. I always use part-skim ricotta.

Next, top with a thick layer of grated mozzarella cheese. I don't even spend the time grating it, actually! I just chop it into the tiniest cubes I can...it'll melt! Don't cut yourself! Part-skim mozzarella works fine for me.

Sprinkle grated cheese on it. If you want to do it right, buy Romano Locattelli (found near the gourmet cheese section) and grate it yourself!

VARIATIONS: You can add veggies and meats ad nauseum. If using canned things like black olives or mushrooms, drain and SQUEEZE DRY! The added water will make a mushy pie. Fresh Onions, Peppers, spinach, cauliflower or broccoli work well too, as long as they are cut reasonably small. Be careful with meats. Pork & beef ought to be cooked first. Pepperoni doesn't have too as long as it's thinly sliced. After all the stuff is added, it's nice to toss a thin top layer of mozzarella just for looks. You can get really weird here. Try pineapple disks and ham for a Hawaiian pie. You could go to town with nothing but Mexican ingredients too.

Toss into the 400 deg. oven until the cheese melts and the crust starts to get browned sufficiently, (spin the whole pie once during the cooking process to get an even browning-you have temp. variations in your oven). Towards the end of the cooking process, I'll lift the crust slightly with a wooden spatula just to see if I've got complete browning. If you find your "bottoms" are not browning but the tops are getting burnt, consider using different equipment next time. It's a trial and error thing.

Pull it out and serve immediately with all the usual pizza condiments.