In Italy, pizza dough is something you can pick up at nearly any grocery store. If you're a regular at a local bakery where you buy your bread, they may hand some over too, provided they know you. The dough recipe below is the one I've relied on since I first began making pizzas alongside my father. A close friend of his, a well-known pizza maker in Florence, gave it to us, and now I'm passing it along.
It's straightforward and dependable, but keep your local shops in mind, because making dough from scratch isn't strictly necessary. Should you choose to make your own, it freezes well for later use.
Info
- Prep time: 30 minutes
- Cook time: 1 hour
- Total time: 4 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 pizzas (roughly 32 slices)
Ingredients
Dough for Pizza or Schiacciata
- 4 cups bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast (one 1/4-ounce packet)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for the bowl
Carpaccio
- 1 1/2 pounds eye of round beef, as fresh as possible, with fat and sinew trimmed away
To Finish the Pizza
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Fine sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- 3 rosemary sprigs, leaves stripped and kept whole
- 4 ounces micro arugula or baby arugula
- 5 lemons, each cut into 8 wedges
Instructions
- Start the dough. Put 1/2 cup of the bread flour, the lukewarm water and the yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix thoroughly, then leave it until it turns bubbly, roughly 30 minutes.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining 3 1/2 cups bread flour with the salt so the salt is spread evenly.
- Build the dough. When the yeast mixture is foamy and resembles beer froth, stir in 3/4 cup cold water and the olive oil. Fit the mixer with a dough hook, switch it on and add the flour a little at a time.
- Knead in the mixer. Keep mixing until the dough climbs the hook and pulls away from the bowl's sides, about 5 minutes.
- First rise. Lightly oil a large bowl with olive oil, put the dough in and turn it so every side is coated. Cover the bowl loosely with a clean tea towel and let the dough rise until it has doubled, about 2 hours.
- Second rise. Deflate the dough with your fist, then let it rise for another hour.
- Shape the rounds. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Dust a work surface lightly with flour, then stretch each piece into a 10- to 12-inch round using your fingers, the heels of your hands, or a rolling pin if you like. Prick the surface lightly with your fingertips to "dock" it. Do the same with the other 3 pieces.
- Heat the oven. Set the oven to 550 degrees F.
- Chill the beef. Place the beef in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Slice the carpaccio. With a very sharp knife, cut the beef thinly against the grain; you should end up with close to 40 slices. Time this for about 1 hour before the meat is eaten, otherwise it will lose its color and look unappetizing. (A butcher can also do it on a professional meat slicer, but you'll need to plan the timing so you're home in time to bake the pizzas.) Keep the slices in a single layer on waxed paper in the refrigerator until needed, for up to 1 hour. Stacking the waxed paper layers will cause the lower slices to discolor and turn gray, so a single layer is best.
- Top the dough. Working one round at a time, drizzle with olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper and scatter fresh rosemary over the surface.
- Bake. Slide the dough onto a baking sheet and bake on the center rack until the edges are slightly charred and the pizza is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes (less if you're using a grill). Turn the pizza in the oven or on the grill as needed so it doesn't burn.
- Repeat. Take the pizza out, let it cool slightly and bake the remaining rounds the same way.
- Assemble and serve. Cut each pizza into 8 to 10 slices with a pizza wheel or sharp knife. Place 1 to 2 carpaccio slices on top of each slice, scatter the micro arugula over everything and season with salt and pepper. Put a lemon wedge alongside. Repeat with the other pizzas.
- Eat right away. Squeeze the lemon wedge over the meat and enjoy immediately.
Notes
If you slice the carpaccio by hand, aim for the thinnest slices you can manage. If they're still too thick, lay them flat on a board, cover with plastic wrap and pound them gently with a meat pounder or a wine bottle to flatten them further.
