Following my last post, I thought I’d write a little treatise on everyone’s favorite bread: Pizza. Just as a warning, this will be the first of two posts, which is good because great pizza (and most bread, for that matter) takes time. However, work and expenses are surprisingly low (all ingredients are available at Weshop).

As a starting point, the ultimate synthesis of ease and sublimity are entombed in this recipe I recently found. This dough is incredible. You can follow the rest of the recipe as well if you like, but I’ll talk more about it in my next post.

As you will see, this recipe calls for letting the dough rise for 3 days. Yes, this is a large time investment, but all it requires is a little planning, and I promise you will taste the difference. In almost all cases, less yeast and more time equals exponentially better bread. Remember this. Dough can be aged for up to six days. The reasoning behind this is complicated (involving biochemistry etc.), but the results are easy to see. Your pizza will taste more like bread and less like yeast. Plus, the pizza will have a slight acidic twang (almost like sourdough) and crackly crust. If you look up close you will see tiny bubbles on the surface of the crust. Crack it open and you will see a complex and large bubble structure, like you might see in a good baguette. For an example of this, go to Illiano’s on Washington Street; it is obvious that they age their dough. For the opposite, visit Empire Pizza; it is obvious that their dough is made of plaster.

This recipe makes six dough portions, each making one personal-ish sized pizza, though most people can eat two of these. If you are using a sheet pan, you probably want that to include 2 portions or more. When you remove the dough from the refrigerator, divide the dough into as many equal pieces as you have determined you need. Now, grab one and find the smoothest side. With your thumbs on top, push the sides under with your fingers, making a ball. Put the ball down on the table and continue to push the sides under; try not to stretch it so much that you tear the membrane. As a finishing touch, cup your hands loosely on either side of the ball, and rotate, sliding your handing in a big circle using your arms. The ball should receive pressure from the table on either side as you rotate, tightening it into a ball the stands high and round. We do this procedure so that when you stretch the dough, it will be smooth and uniform, and can be easily made into a circle or rectangle. When you are finished, lightly oil each ball and get ready to bake.

Next time, I’ll continue and talk about topping and baking a good pizza.

PS: Again, remember to salt your dough.