“What makes this great to eat is the fermentation time,” says Cowcher. “If you refrigerate the water before making the dough, and add an extra day resting in the fridge, you’ll get a more sourdough-tasting result, so you need to begin this recipe an extra day ahead to prove the dough.”
Ingredients
Pizza dough
Method
1.For dough, combine oil, yeast and 2 tbsp lukewarm water in a bowl to dissolve yeast. Combine flour and 1 tbsp salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add 680ml water and yeast mixture to well and mix with your hands to form a sticky dough (3-4 minutes). Cover with plastic wrap to hydrate (15 minutes), then knead on a lightly floured bench until smooth (2 minutes). Return to bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to ferment (24 hours).
2.Strain tomato (reserve juice for another use; it’s good for Bloody Marys), then press through a colander into a bowl. Add oil, season to taste with salt and stir to combine.
3.Preheat oven to 230°C or highest setting and preheat a pizza stone (see note). Portion dough into six on a lightly floured surface. Working with one piece at a time, place lightly floured hands around the dough and pull it towards you along the bench so the leading edge pulls under. Rotate, tucking edges under, and repeat to form a smooth ball – the aim is to create tension in the dough. Repeat with remaining dough, transfer to a greased tray, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and rest at room temperature until doubled in size (1½-2 hours).
4.In batches, invert dough onto a floured surface. Heavily flour the top, then flatten to a 30cm round, pushing outwards from the centre using your fingers, without pressing on the edge so you get a good crust. If you have a pizza slide, assemble on a well-floured bench; if you don’t, transfer bases to a floured pizza tray with holes to assemble (see note). Brush 2cm around the edge with olive oil for a crisp crust. Spread tomato mixture to reach edge of crust, place salami slices on top, touching but not overlapping, then jalapeños, then scatter with cheese. Transfer to pizza stone with a pizza slide or transfer tray onto stone in oven and bake until puffed and golden brown (10 minutes). Season to taste with salt and olive oil and serve.
At Harley & Rose, the chefs add a small amount of Khorasan (kamut) flour to the dough, it’s available from select health-food stores; if available, substitute for 50gm of the baker’s flour. If you don’t have a pizza stone or a pizza tray, heat a couple of heavy steel baking trays in the oven and you’ll end with a good crisp crust.
Drink suggestion: You can’t go past a crisp Australian lager, such as Napoleone Helles. Drink suggestion by Mark Williamson.
Notes
