Ponzu sauce is one of the ways I like to put a dent in the steady supply of off-beat citrus growing on our patio this time of year. Ponzu is often used in Japanese (and Japanese-influenced) dishes and making your own allows for some citrus-centric experimentation. If you’re aiming to make a better version of a grocery store ponzu sauce you’ll likely hit the citrus note by using lemon, but I love to make it with Meyer lemons, yuzu, makrut lime or oro blanco grapefruit (or a blend). My favorite is ponzu sauce made with Rangpur lime. It’s a bit tangy, plenty salty, perfumed with citrus – perfect in and on so many things.

The Origins of Ponzu

This can be a bit confusing, but let’s dive it. If you want to geek out on ponzu, poke around on the internet a bit, and then read this and this. They’re the most interesting articles I’ve read about ponzu. That said, when you buy ponzu in the U.S. or see it called for in English-language cookbooks, the assumption is that ponzu is made with soy sauce, citrus, vinegar, etc. That’s the recipe on this page, but there is more to know.

According to Sceaphierde’s article, ponzu was introduced by the Dutch to Nagasaki during the Edo period. Nearly every other page about ponzu will deliver a boilerplate about how the word ponzu can be broken down into two parts: pon, related to the Dutch word pons, meaning punch (the beverage); and the Japanese word su meaning vinegar. But what those pages tend to leave out is this – that ponzu was yellow (or not dark). It seems like it may have been a citrus alcohol beverage of the Dutch – no soy sauce. Over time ponzu has evolved. The ponzu you’re likely imagining, or the recipe you’re looking for, is probably more along the lines of “true” ponzu combined with soy sauce – ajipon – flavor (aji) and (pon) ponzu. Or ponzu shoyu – according to Naoko Takei Moore in her Donabe cookbook, “it’s more commonly referred to as ponzu.” That’s what we’re rolling with here.

How To Make Ponzu Sauce

I like to make ponzu using the technique I learned from Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat’s The Japanese Grill (Ten Speed Press 2011). I’ve landed on a ratio of ingredients that I’ve tweaked to my liking over the years. The version you’ll see below tends to be a bit citrus-forward, pulled back on the vinegar a shade. To make ponzu sauce you combine soy sauce, mirin, sake, citrus juice, water, kombu, and shaved bonito flakes (katsuobushi). You allow the ingredients to steep for a period of time. Then strain and bottle.

Vegetarian Ponzu Sauce

To make the vegetarian ponzu sauce we use here at home, I omit the bonito flakes and instead use dried mushrooms. Dried shiitake are the obvious choice here for their sea-forward flavor notes, but I typically reach for dried porcini mushrooms. They’re a powerhouse of flavor, umami, and I feel like they round out the ponzu nicely. Play around to see what you like!

To Cook or Not?

A lot of ponzu sauce recipes you’ll see will have you cook all (or most) of the ingredients together. That’s not what you’ll see here and it’s part of what I’ve always liked about the approach Harris and Tadashi take. The only ingredients you cook together are the sake and mirin. The two ingredients cool to room temperature before they are combined with the citrus juice, vinegar, seaweed, etc. It results in a ponzu with clean lines and a directness that can be muddled with a cooked version. Imagine hot, cooked orange or lemon juice compared to freshly squeezed – they’re just different beasts altogether. So I stick with this version, not hot plus an overnight steeping. You can, of course, play around – do a gentle steeping with a warmed version, etc. Or cook everything and hold back the citrus until late. And you can, of course, experiment with how long you leave the ingredients to co-mingle. I like to go overnight.

Ways to Use Ponzu

Ponzu can be used in so many dishes – imagine tart, tangy, and salt accents all at play together. It makes a great marinade for tofu and mushrooms. Splashed over noodles or rice is a no-brainer. I also love it as a component in salad dressings, skip the salt and add ponzu to taste to your favorite vinaigrette.

Continue reading Homemade Ponzu Sauce on 101 Cookbooks

We spent the past week on the west shore of Lake Tahoe not far from where my family would stay each summer when I was young. The cabins along the lake are larger now, the water low. Teens fling themselves from piers into the clear, icy, waist-deep water. When the sky is cloudless, it’s the bluest place imaginable. The first thing I made once we were settled into our camp was a spicy coconut dressing (sauce?) that would go on *everything* throughout the week. It’s a variation on other spicy coconut milk dressings I’ve made in the past, but this version has a lot going on with grilled peppers and minced onions. You can see how I used it here, tossed with rice flake noodles, grilled tofu and whatever needed to be used up in the cooler – roasted tomatoes, cilantro, and lemon.

Here’s a view of the lake. Amazing blue overload. It never gets old.

The key to this dressing is blistering chiles before chopping and adding them to the rest of the ingredients. It takes the flavor from bright and green to something deeper and less sharp – still spicy though. You can see serrano chiles and Padron peppers below in a wide skillet. I really like to try to get color on all sides if possible.

The super-creamy coconut base of this dressing is seasoned with lemon juice and spiked with spicy, blistered chiles. Next, more depth and dimension are added, coming from chopping lots of scallions and onions into juicy oblivion and stirring them in.

Spicy Coconut Milk Dressing: What It’s Good On

So, let’s free-style about all the ways to use it. This recipe makes a good amount of dressing. You can use it as a finishing touch on tacos. It’s perfect tossed with just about any noodle or pasta. It’s a game-changer the next time you make potato salad dressing – use the potatoes plus this dressing and build from there. Bonus points if the potatoes are grilled or cooked in a fire. I love the spicy coconut drizzled over corn and grilled vegetables. And it’s great on a structured salad. Last night I put a few dollops in a classic red pasta sauce for a bit of je ne sais quoi and didn’t regret it one bit.

Ingredient: Vegan Fish Sauce

For the salty component in this dressing I call for vegan fish sauce. I’ve been making a homemade version of it lately, using a recipe from Andrea Nguyen’s forthcoming Ever-Green Vietnamese cookbook. I’ve made other versions in the past, but her recipe is the best vegan fish sauce I’ve made. Now 100% my go-to. When the book is out you should absolutely give the recipe a try. In the meantime, there are some good vegan and vegetarian fish sauces available for purchase, including this Ocean’s Halo vegan fish sauce. Or, if you want to make the dressing pronto, swap in soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos for the fish sauce, if that is what you have on hand. Just add it as the last ingredient in the dressing, and add it to taste.

Let me know if you give this dressing a try. Even better, let me know what you use it on! 
If you’re looking for more salad inspiration, here’s where you can browse all the salad recipes. I’m going to use this dressing on this this favorite heirloom apple salad this Fall. Or on this Grilled Wedge Salad as we wind down grilling season.

Continue reading The Spicy Coconut Milk Dressing I Love on Everything Lately on 101 Cookbooks

When you pair a hot grill with great pizza dough plus a handful of seasonal toppings, your meal game is going to be next level. Grilled pizza season is on and this post covers everything you need to know to about how to get it right.

How to Grill Pizza: The Basics

To grill great pizza start with a hot grill that has been cleaned well with a brush. Also key, it helps to be organized. Have your dough and all toppings ready. Like, right next to the grill. Once you put pizza dough onto the grill, the next steps come in rapid succession whether you’re ready or not. Brush one side of the pizza dough with olive oil and cook that side first, flip it, brush the grilled side with sauce and toppings, and then finish cooking. If you’re a bit on the slow side arranging toppings, you’ll want to pull the pizza off the grill for this step, to avoid the potential for burning. Return the topped pizza to the grill for final cooking. Happens in a flash!

General Grilled Pizza Tips

• Start with a good pizza dough foundation. This is my go-to pizza dough, and it works well on the grill.
• Similar to baking pizza in an oven, you want to achieve high heat here. Pre-heat the grill as long as possible and check the temperature before starting the pizza. I aim for 450-500F-ish. You can go hotter if you’re baking your pizza on an upper grill rack, but run the risk of scorchy (burnt) grill marks if it’s in a more direct spot. If you’re using a pizza stone, ignore this and get your grill hot hot hot.
• Pizza on the grill differs from baking pizza in the oven in that with grilled pizza you generally flip the dough once before adding toppings.
• Consider pre-cooking any veggies or other toppings, if needed, knowing they aren’t going to spend as much time in heat as they would in an oven.
• Use a bit of olive oil on the pizza dough to prevent the first side from sticking to the grill.

Grilled Pizza: Dough & Grill Temperature

Start with the right dough: As I mentioned up above, you need to start with a pizza dough that is on your team. I love this pizza dough. It is the one you see in the pictures here. You can read all about why I like it, in short: the flavor is great, it’s easy to work with, you don’t need a mixer, and there is no need to proof the yeast you’re using. Great in an oven or on a grill. It’s super flex and adaptable. Alternately, you can experiment with doughs purchased from local pizza spots or stores.

Temperature: the second pillar after good dough? Controlling the grill temperature is key to your success – and, I’ll be honest, there can be a bit of a leaning curve. If you’re having trouble with pizza dough sticking to the grill, dial up the heat. And when using a gas grill, the lid is your friend. Use the lid to control the heat, and to get the hot air circulating all the way around the dough. If you need your toppings to cook/melt more quickly – slap the lid on for a bit. Keep in mind, you have to be particularly vigilant with pizzas you’ve pulled parchment thin – they’ll burn through in a flash. If you’re worried about burning pizzas, you can move them to the upper rack if your grill has one.

Broadly speaking, whatever type of outdoor oven/grill I’m using I obsessively check the bottom and top of the dough and let it tell me what it needs – more time, more heat, a flip, etc. If you have a grill with dual burners, or a way to set up a hot zone, and a not-so-hot zone, moving the dough around can also be helpful.

The parchment technique: When grilling pizzas I prefer to pull the dough out and shape it on a sheet of parchment paper that has been spritzed or rubbed with a bit of olive oil. You can then gently flip the dough onto the grill with the parchment providing a nice amount of structure (see below). Peel the parchment paper away and proceed.

Do you need a Pizza Stone to Grill Pizza?

If you have and use a pizza stone in your oven, you can use it on the grill. That said, you don’t need a pizza stone to grill pizza.

Best Toppings for Grilled Pizza

So, the rule of thumb here is: use toppings that really sing after a just a couple minutes on the grill. This means you might want to pre-cook (or pre-grill) any toppings that would take longer than that. Use flavor-packed, fast cooking ingredients that have a tendency to melt (or cook) quickly for your toppings. Don’t go overboard, thoughtfully curate each pizza so the flavors of each ingredient have room to speak. Some favorites include…

• Vegetables: corn, thin asparagus, roasted cherry tomatoes, peas, roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, olives, fava beans, citrus zests, grilled artichoke hearts, sautéed thinly sliced potatoes.
• Cheeses: ricotta, mozzarella, gruyere, feta, freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino
• Finishing touches: lemon olive oil, tangerine olive oil, makrut lime oil, chives and chive flowers, hot honey

• Topping Combinations:
  – tomato sauce, mozzarella, crushed kale chips, lemon oil (pictured)
  – mozzarella, roasted corn, pickled serrano chiles, chive flowers, pine nuts (pictured)
  – caramelized fennel & olives
  – spinach/pea & ricotta pesto, potatoes & smoke chile sauce
  – tomato & roasted red peppers with goat cheese
  – a while back I also compiled this page of A+ grilled pizza topping ideas
  – And, here’s a page where I’ve listed a lot of recent favorite pizza combinations

Thick or Thin Pizzas?

Play around with how thick or thin you pull your pizza dough. You’ll get widely varying results. As far as the thick or thin debate goes, I tend to lean into thin. That being said, leaving the dough a bit thicker yields a pizza with a different personality, still delicious – try both to see what you like.

Make-Ahead Crusts

You can pre-grill pizza crusts up to a few hours ahead of time. For example, if you’re feeding a crowd and want to get a bit of a jump start. Lightly grill both sides and then allow to cool on a rack. The key is to go light, knowing they will be going back on the grill later. When you’re ready for prime time, sauce and top each pizza and do the final grilling.

If you’ve never tried this, give it a go! It’s fun to set up for a small crowd because everyone can take a turn making their own custom pizza. Let me know your favorite topping combos in the comments.

Continue reading Grilled Pizza on 101 Cookbooks

I thought we could do a dive into compound butters today. Compound butters are a lazy cook’s secret weapon. They’re a way to add intense flavor to preparations without a whole lot of extra effort. They also freeze really well, earning them bonus points as far as I’m concerned. Thaw, stir, and you’ve got a powerful flavor accent at your disposal. To make a compound butter you incorporate ingredients into a butter base. As much as I love good butter, I also can’t help but constantly ask myself – what can I add to this butter to make it extra awesome? I’ve included a few recent favorites here, and I’ll also mention a few things to think about for when you set out to try out your own ideas.

Compound Butter Ideas & Variations

The range of possible compound butters is limited only by your imagination. Here are a few past favorites to get you thinking, but please think of them as jumping off points! Have fun and experiment.

Roasted Strawberry Ginger Compound Butter

Roasted Strawberry Ginger Compound Butter:
Let’s kick things off with a sweet compound butter. I make it on occasion during strawberry season using strawberries I’ve roasted and cooled. Use a food processor to whip 1 stick (4 oz.) of room temperature unsalted butter until fluffy. Transfer to a bowl and old in 1/8 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, 3 tablespoons chopped candied ginger, 15 chopped candied pecans, and a couple teaspoons of runny honey. Stir until everything comes together and then loosely fold in about 1/4 cup roasted strawberries. Great with: brunch.

Lemon Miso Compound Butter

Lemon Miso Compound Butter:
Use a food processor to whip 1 stick (4 oz.) of room temperature unsalted butter until fluffy. Pulse in 1 tablespoon miso, zest of one lemon (or yuzu), 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon ground toasted cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Taste and adjust if needed. Fold in 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds. Great on: brown rice bowls, roasted delicate squash, sautéed vegetables, baked potatoes, roasted tomatoes.

Saffron Date Compound Butter

Saffron Date Compound Butter:
Add 1 pinch of saffron threads in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, allow to sit for five minutes. Use a food processor to whip 1 stick (4 oz.) of room temperature unsalted butter until fluffy. Pulse in 1 tablespoon honey, and 1/8 teaspoon fine grain sea salt. Add the saffron-almond extract mixture, scraping down the sides of the processor bowl regularly. Pulse in five plump dates, leaving them a bit chunky. Great on: hot oatmeal, flatbreads, sautéed greens.

Green Garlic Olive Compound Butter

Garlic Green Olive Compound Butter:
Use a food processor to whip 1 stick (4 oz.) of room temperature unsalted butter until fluffy. Pulse in 1 large clove of peeled garlic, and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Start with 1/8 teaspoon, but add more if you like. Pulse in a dozen plump green olives that you have pitted, rinsed, and dried in a clean towel. I like to squeeze the olives between my palms to rid them of as much olive water as possible before pulsing them in. Great on: pasta, polenta, a wide range of vegetables, it’s easy magic.

Scallion Dill Compound Butter

Scallion Dill Compound Butter:
Use a food processor to whip 1 stick (4 oz.) of room temperature unsalted butter until fluffy. Pulse in a scant 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, a large clove of garlic (or 1 head of trimmed green garlic), 2 scallions, and a handful of fresh dill you’ve de-stemmed. Pulse well here, until everything blends together into a vibrant, electric green butter. Great on: just about everything – grilled asparagus, to finish sautéed mushrooms, perfect on corn later in the year, or cornbread. Also, biscuits, polenta, rice bowls, potatoes, egg salad. It’s incredibly versatile.

More Compound Butter Recipes!

Dry Desert Lime Compound Butter: I’ve been playing around quite a bit lately using tea as a seasoning. Many times I’ll grind up tea leaves in a mortar and pestle and use it the way you might use a pepper. The fragrance that comes off the ground leaves is wonderful and brings an unexpected element to many preparations. Depending on the tea I am using this can range from smoky to floral to fresh and bright. In this case I choose a dried lime tisane (or herbal tea) instead. There is something haunting, vibrant and ancient in the taste of dried lime and I thought it might lend itself nicely to a compound butter for use on a range of foods like: sweet potatoes (mashed/roasted), grilled corn, or as a spread on sandwiches, etc. To make: 4 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, room temperature 1 or 2 Numi Desert Lime tea bags (depending on how strong you want it), cut open and the contents ground in a mortar and pestle 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt. Combine in a small bowl and refrigerate.

Freeze-Dried Strawberry Compound Butter: Freeze-dried fruit is quite common now. You can get strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and pineapple. Crush and chop these strawberries, whip them into butter and you get a textured, color-flecked spread perfect for pancakes, toast, muffins and the like. The strawberries are on the very tart side of sweet so I sweetened this one up with a bit of sugar – I used Florida Crystals because I didn’t want a browner sugar to impact its bright color. To make:  4 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, room temperature 1 tablespoon organic cane sugar, 1/3 cup dehydrated organic strawberries, minced. Combine in a small bowl and refrigerate.

Raw Serrano Compound Butter: This one is for the cornbreads of the world. It has a little heat and a lot of flavor. I used 2 medium serrano chiles, but you can scale up or down on the chile scale depending on your tastes. A pretty pale green butter flecked with dark green freckles I’m also love it on crepes, and grilled corn, and to toss fresh summer shell beans, and for pasta. I think a great variation on this one would be to add roasted garlic and pan-toast the chiles before blending them in. To make: 4 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, room temperature 2 serrano chiles, deveined and seeded, loosely chopped plus 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt. Combine in a small bowl and puree with a hand blender until the chiles are fully incorporated. Refrigerate.

Smoked Paprika Compound Butter: Fragrant, delicious, and a stunning rusty-orange color a little of this butter goes the distance. It will lend itself nicely to brown rice, certain kabobs, sandwiches, corn soup, toasted artisan breads, and zucchini muffins. To make: 4 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, room temperature 1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika plus 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt Combine in a small bowl and refrigerate.

Let me know if you come up with any special butters we should know about. Keep in mind, compound butters are a great way to use up smaller quantities of herbs, spices, the odd clove of garlic, the bottom of the jar of sun-dried tomatoes, or capers. Melted, many are great on your favorite pancakes or homemade popcorn. They also freeze really well. I recommend freezing in small quantities, so you can easily pull just enough for a couple of days use. One other tip – concentrated ingredients with little moisture work best. For example, roasted strawberries versus fresh strawberries. Orange zest versus orange segments. Have fun! -h

Continue reading Compound Butters – Adding Things to Butter to Make it Extra Awesome on 101 Cookbooks

Summer is corn salad season. And this is a good one. I lugged a big sack of corn home from the market the other day thinking I would throw together a picnic salad to take on a hike out to the coast. The plan was to use raw corn kernels along with a vinaigrette I’ve been on hooked lately. If you can imagine a lemonade vinaigrette made with a bit of brown sugar, you’d be in the ballpark. The tart-sweet lemon dressing goes great with corn. Beyond that, the salad gets tossed with a ton of toasted seeds for crunch, and a generous showering of Mexican oregano to bring things back to Earth.

Summer Corn Salad: The Key Ingredients

• Corn: The key here is buying great corn. The sweeter the better. This corn salad has just a handful of ingredients, and the corn is the all-star. You’re not grilling it (although you could), and you’re not cooking it, so there’s really no where to hide if your corn is starchy. White corn or yellow corn is fine here. 
• Oregano: I call for dried Mexican oregano, but whatever you have on hand (within reason) is fine. That said, if all you have is dusty, neglected oregano, consider using whatever other fresh herbs you might have.

Variations

Yes! You can absolutely do a grilled version of this salad if you like. It’s equally good, although I do make a couple little tweaks. After grilling your corn allow it to cool enough to handle, then shave the kernels from each ear. I like to add some minced serrano peppers to the grilled version on this salad for a little kick. Like the tiniest flecks. Really chop the chile(s) small and then season the salad to taste with those.

One More Corn Salad – Cooked + Coconut

If one corn salad isn’t enough this summer, or if you’re looking to switch it up a bit. This is another of my all-time favorite corn salad recipes. It uses a skillet approach and five ears of corn shaved in quick fashion, then sautéed in a bit of butter or olive oil. I trick it out with thyme, red onions, toasted almonds and coconut. Simple. Delicious. or if you’re on the the quest for salad inspiration in general, here’s where you can browse all the salad recipes. 

I hope you enjoy the corn salad if you try it. It’s a breeze to throw together, and it travels well in an over-sized jar. You can toss the corn and shallots ahead of time, just leave enough room to throw the seeds and oregano in just before serving/eating. Enjoy & happy summer! -h

Continue reading Summer Corn Salad on 101 Cookbooks

I can make a mean pizza, but it took me a while to learn how. Exceptional pizza starts with great dough and for the better part of the past decade my pizza dough approach stuck close to Peter Reinhart’s Napoletana pizza dough recipe. It makes a beautiful, flavorful crust using a delayed fermentation method. But, in recent years I wanted to ditch the stand mixer and simplify wherever possible. So, things have evolved in a good way!

Today, I’m going to share my go-to pizza dough recipe. It’s the simplest recipe I know and delivers beautiful, reliable results whether I’m baking in my kitchen oven, the little Airstream oven(!), or an outdoor pizza oven. No mixer is needed and you don’t need to proof any yeast. It’s such an easy pizza dough recipe and completely delivers.

Pizza Dough Inspiration

Let’s talk about this recipe. In addition to Peter’s Napoletana pizza dough recipe I’ve tried a lot of approaches to pizza dough over the years. One of the recipes I liked (for a lot of reasons) is the Roberta’s recipe that ran in the New York Times. You mix it by hand for a few minutes, rest, mix again, divide, and refrigerate. It’s dead simple. That said, I like the flavor development in Peter Reinhart’s overnight, cold, slow-fermentation. So I now use a bit of a hybrid of the two recipes as my starting point for pizza making. I’m going share where I’ve landed related to making dough, and then talk you through a lot of the details, because a great pizza dough is just the start. Beyond that, pizza making is almost entirely about approach, technique, and adaptability.

Pizza Dough Ingredients

There are only a handful of ingredients in pizza dough and I’m going to talk through them. There are some easy mistakes to make on the flour and yeast front, and to avoid making them my main advice is to start by carefully checking your labels.

Let’s Talk about Yeast

What kind of yeast should you use in your pizza dough? The Roberta’s + NYT recipe calls for active dry yeast. I’ve come to prefer using instant yeast for a dough like this one. Anthony Falco’s quote in his book Pizza Czar left an impression. He says, “active dry yeast is subjected to high temperatures, so most cells are dead. It’s a ghost ship of yeast cells. Hard pass on active dry.” You can see why proofing active dry yeast is so important. Ghost ship! Not so with instant yeast. I call for instant yeast in the recipe below.

What is the Best Flour for Making Homemade Pizza Dough?

The best flour to make pizza dough with is the flour you have in your kitchen right now. Just go for it. Ideally it would be bread flour, but don’t be detoured if all-purpose flour is what you’ve got. If you think you want to go down a serious pizza-making rabbit hole, grab a bag of bread flour, make a few pies. And then compare those to ones made with some “00” pizza flour. Experimenting is half the fun.

• Bread Flour: With a higher percentage of protein compared to all-purpose flour, this is the flour I’d recommend starting with for a great crust. Bread flour is widely available, and you’ll get fantastic results.
• “00” Pizza Flour – A lot of people swear by a pizza dough made with a percentage of “00” flour. I sometimes go the extra mile and source this flour, but more times than not I’m out of it. I’m here to tell you, it’s okay, bread flour works really well on its own. Also, here’s the deal, there are multiple types of “00” flour. So you need to be extra careful. You’re looking for “00” pizza flour. Not the “00” for pasta. All the “00” flours are ground powder-fine, but you want one specifically for pizza. I include instructions below if you want to experiment in “00” world.
• Unbleached All-Purpose Flour: You can make really good pizza dough with all-purpose flour. In fact, the pizza dough recipe in my 1984 edition of Chez Panisse: Pasta, Pizza, and Calzone calls for unbleached all-purpose flour. You’ll likely prefer results when using a flour with higher protein content – bread flour, and/or “00” pizza flour – but there are still a lot of APF fans out there.

How To Make Homemade Pizza Dough

There are a lot of variables, and a lot of questions related to the details of making dough at home. I’m going to talk through a bunch of them here. The main objective with this recipe was to create an easy-going pizza dough that is simple to make and easy to shape and handle. I wanted the resulting pizza crust to be a bit rustic, with some bubbles and topography and good texture when baking – even when pulled quite thin. I’ll give you the ingredients as weight, so a basic kitchen scale is needed. I’m not requiring it to be difficult, it dials in your dough in accurately. You can really feel the difference if your flour or water are off.

Can this Pizza Dough be Used in a Pizza Oven?

Yes! It does great in dedicated pizza ovens, for example – when the weather is good- we use an Ooni 16. I’ve found the best results happen when we pre-heat the oven for 45 minutes on maximum heat. Launch your pizza onto the stone, and then dial back the heat to the lowest possible setting. Turn your pizza using a peel or tongs to avoid burning. It takes some practice, make extra dough when you’re starting out!

Can this Pizza Dough be Used in a Standard Oven?

Yes, flip the convection switch if you have one. If not, no big deal. As far as oven temperatures go – I have great results at 450F degrees (or higher) WITH a pizza stone. Go buy a pizza stone immediately if you are serious about making great pizza at home. They are cheap and make a huge difference in your crust.

How Do I Keep my Pizza Dough from Sticking

I’ve learned this the hard way. First thing, if you’re baking on (or in) a pizza pan, sheet pan or baking sheet (below), you don’t need to worry about starting with a floured surface. Rub a bit of olive oil across the pan, shape the dough in the pan and you’re ready for toppings. Things only get trickier if you’re attempting to prepare a pizza and then transfer it to a pizza oven or onto a pizza stone in your oven which is what we’ll talk about next.

Be nice to your future self. One way to keep pizza dough from sticking to your pizza peel, is to prepare a floured surface. I’ve found that a bit of care and attention at this step pays dividends down the line. It’s a balance, you don’t want your pizza to stick to the pizza peel, because then you can’t get it into the oven. But you also want to keep extra flour or cornmeal to a minimum, because it burns up and can leave off flavors on your pizza. Here’s my approach:

Prepare your pizza peel: Use your fingertips to rub flour into your pizza peel. Like, really rub and work it in. Then tap off most of the extra. Add a small amount of cornmeal, just enough to help the dough a bit separate from the surface of the peel. See all that extra flour and cornmeal around the dough (up above)? Brush it off before attempting to launch your pizza into the oven. In fact, now that I’m looking more closely at that shot, I’d recommend using half the cornmeal you see there. Too much, my bad. I’m sure it burned right up.

Prepare Your Dough: When your dough is ready, and just before you want to bake the pizza here’s what you want to do: place some flour on a plate. Gently, and without over-handling, transfer the dough onto the plate. Flip it and coat the other side of the dough. You want to cover any sticky spots with a light coating of flour. Gently, but working quickly, pick the pizza dough up and begin to work it into a circular shape, dusting off any extra flour while you’re at it. Gingerly stretch and arrange on your prepared pizza peel. Give the peel a bit of a shimmy to make sure the dough isn’t sticking in any spots. Proceed with toppings and get the pizza in the oven sooner rather than later. The longer it stays on the peel, the more likely it is to stick.

What if I Don’t Have a Pizza Peel?

I didn’t use a pizza peel until I bought an outdoor pizza oven. You can grab anything thin and flat (not plastic), flour it and add a bit of cornmeal (see notes above), prepare the pizza, and then launch it onto the pizza stone. A thin bamboo cutting board always did the job well (still use it). The backside of a flat baking sheet can also work, but I go for the one with barely any lip – you want your pizza to sail off the “peel” not drop off a cliff.

Pizza Topping Strategy

I’m going to leave you with my favorite pizza dough recipe, it’s up to you to play around with the toppings. The best advice I can give you is to take it easy on that front – a little goes a long way. One of my favorites is a simple pizza margherita pizza made with this tomato sauce, a few torn up mozzarella balls, and a few pinches of salt before placing the pizza in the oven. And, don’t forget the magic touches. When the pizza is hot from the oven, give it a quick dusting of freshly grated Parmesan, a tiny drizzle of artisan-quality virgin olive oil, and a sprinkling of basil cut into a chiffonade. Serve pronto! Some other topping ideas to follow.

Pizza Topping Ideas

I keep a notebook of all the favorite pizza toppings we’ve done in the recent past. Some favorites include:

• Chile Crisp Potato Pizza: I love a potato pizza. This one (above) was a chile crisp oil like the one by Fly By Jing or KariKari, thinly sliced balanced potatoes, ricotta, fava beans, and lemon zest. Finish with lemon olive oil drizzle and chives.
• Artichoke Heart Red Pizza: Tomato sauce, thinly sliced blanched potatoes, sautéed artichoke hearts, goat cheese, lemon zest (picture above prepped on a sheet pan)

• Artichoke Heart Spring Pizza: Olive oil or pesto, sautéed artichoke hearts, mozzarella, shallots, fava beans, lemon drizzle, grated Parmesan. Pictured directly above.
• Chana Masala & Chickpea Pizza: We make this one a lot. Tomato sauce made with lots of caramelized onions and heavily spiced with chana masala spice blend (or sometimes garam masala), chickpeas, dollops of low-fat yogurt (it works better than full-fat here for some reason), tons of crushed nutritional yeast kale chips on top after pizza comes out of oven, drizzle of lemon or basil olive oil when pizza comes out of the oven.
• Cherry Tomato Kosho Pizza: Kosho or other citrus garlic paste, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, chives, and slivered basil with a drizzle of tangerine oil after it comes out of the oven.
• Meyer Lemon Pizza: Inspired by my favorite pizza ever, at Bettina in Santa Barbara, CA. Ricotta cheese dollops, pickled red onion, thinnest slivers of whole Meyer lemon, pistachios.
• Paneer & Pea Pizza: Turmeric-marinated paneer, scallions, chickpeas, sautéed artichoke hearts, tomato sauce, peas, a bit of crumbled goat cheese, serrano chiles, and lots of chopped cilantro after the pizza comes out of the oven.

Same Day Pizza Dough

If you like to wait until the last minute to make pizza dough, here’s what I’d do. Use warm water (115℉) instead of the ice water called for in the recipe. Follow the recipe directions, divide and shape the pizza dough balls, and then allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 3-4 hours. You should be good to go. That said, I strongly prefer the overnight method. You end up with a golden, beautiful crust with the perfect amount of crunch and subtle yeasty undertones.

Favorite Tomato Sauce for Pizza

This is my favorite simple tomato sauce, and I use it on many of my red sauce pizzas. My one pro-tip is to make it ahead of time. Make sure it’s not hot. If the sauce is still warm when you’re topping your pizza, the dough is more likely to stick.

Wildcard: Consider Flavoring your Pizza Dough

Aside from swapping in a percentage of whole grain flour on occasion, I tend to limit my dough ingredients to flour, yeast, salt, water, and a bit of olive oil. That said, sometimes I’ll add ingredients to the dough to bring an added flavor component to the party. Playing around with dough add-ins is a lot of fun. My favorite thing to add is lemon zest. You can also add herbs like thyme or oregano – fresh or dried. You might add chopped olives, or chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Grated cheese is fair game, or even tiny cubes of Gruyere. The directions you can go in are endless.

How to Double your Pizza Dough Recipe

There is sometimes confusion related to scaling up baking recipes. This recipe is very straight-forward. Double all ingredients including the instant yeast.

Pizza Dough Time-saving Tip

If I know I want to make pizza dough, I try to remember to chill water in the refrigerator in preparation ahead of time. It gets the water down to about 40F, cold enough to make the dough, and then I don’t need to mess around with ice cubes.

Pizza Dough Resources

There are an abundance of amazing cookbook and baking books out there covering the topic of pizza dough and pizza making. There are also fantastic bread and sourdough books that delve into the topic of pizza dough. Here are a few of my favorites. Many of them use natural sourdough as a leavener, which we’re not covering today. I’ll do a separate post on sourdough pizzas at some point down the line. If you want to do a deeper dive on the how’s and why’s of pizza dough, here are some great resources:

• The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart
• Pizza Quest: My Never-Ending Search for the Perfect Pizza by Peter Reinhart
• Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson
• Pizza Czar: Recipes and Know-How from a World-Traveling Pizza Chef by Anthony Falco
• Mastering Pizza: The Art and Practice of Handmade, Focaccia, and Calzone by Marc Vetri with David Joachim

How To Freeze Homemade Pizza Dough

If, after mixing up your pizza dough and refrigerating it overnight, you don’t think you’ll be using it in the next couple of days, transfer the dough to the freezer (still in a plastic bag or wrapped tightly with plastic wrap) and use within a month.

How to Thaw Frozen Pizza Dough

To thaw frozen pizza dough transfer the dough to a countertop and allow to thaw completely and then come to room temperature before using.

Have fun, and let me know your favorite pizza toppings in the comments please!

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