Recipe: No-Knead Homemade Pizza

So remember how I went on a little baking tear once I found out about the No-Knead method?

Well from no-knead naan it was only a hop, skip and jump to No-Knead Pizza.

This is honestly the easiest and most delicious homemade pizza I’ve EVER made.  EVER.  EVER, EVER, EVER.

Behold:

Is your mouth watering?  Yeah kids, and you know that I am no wonder baker.  If I can do it, you can do it!

 

Ingredients:

CRUST:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon coarse (Kosher) salt
¼ teaspoon dry yeast
¾ cup water
1 teaspoon olive oil

SAUCE:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 small can crushed tomatoes (or pureed tomatoes if you want your sauce perfectly smooth)
Favorite Italian herbs:  I like oregano and basil (I just sprinkle in to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste.

TOPPINGS:
Fresh mozzarella *
Fresh basil *
Pitted olives *
Prosciutto *
Mushrooms
Artichokes
Peppers
Feta cheese
Goat Cheese

* This is the combo of toppings I used


Method:

First the crust:
In a medium to large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients with a fork till well blended.  Add the water and oil and mix quickly with a rubber spatula, scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Mix just till all the ingredients are blended and you have no flour pockets.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise 18-24 hours.

Now the sauce:
Slowly saute the garlic in the olive oil till soft and fragrant, but not browned at all.  Add the crushed tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper.  Turn your sauce down and let it simmer down, down, down till it is a nice, thick consistency (you don't want it watery because it will make your crust soggy.)

Preheat your oven as hot as it will go (in the 500F/260C range).

Take cookie (biscuit) sheet and oil it with ¼ tsp. olive oil.  Using rubber spatula, scrape risen dough onto the cookie sheet.  The pizza dough will be very wet and sticky – fear not!  Dust the top liberally with flour as well as your hands.  Press the dough out to cover the cookie sheet, adding more flour to your hands or the top of the dough as necessary.  Once the dough is flattened out, leave to rest for ½ hour or so (which is how long the oven will need to preheat.)

Once the oven is hot, put the pizza crust in (on the middle rack) for approximately 5  minutes, till “set” but not brown.  Take the pizza crust out of the oven.

Flip the crust over with a spatula (it should lift off the cookie sheet very easily) spread sauce on top (what was the bottom) and add your toppings.  Put pizza back in and bake until edges of crust are golden and cheese is bubbly and melting – from 5 to 8 minutes. 

Let it cool a bit once it comes out of the oven, cut and ... DEVOUR!