My first and very exciting Daring Bakers Challenge was PIZZA!

Pizza had to be the greatest challenge for this first time Daring Baker! I can't remember the last time my husband and I had so much fun cooking! We have been trying to perfect the homemade pizza, although usually we cook them on the grill, for a few years now with many, many failures. This is it, the dough we have been looking for, a real pizza dough that reminds us of the great pizzas we have had in Italy. The crust is tender and chewy, easy to manipulate, and even easier to toss into the perfect personal sized pie. This recipe is from Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice". A two day process to produce this perfect dough that looks complicated but is, in reality, super easy. I think the only drawback to this recipe is the fact you have to think ahead, which can sometimes be a downer when you want a pizza NOW!

We tried our dough with 3 different types of flour; Unbleached All Purpose Flour, Unbleached Bread Flour, and Italian Tipo "00" just to see which would produce the best crust (yes, we mean business when it comes to pizza). To our surprise the dough with the best flavor was the All Purpose! It was also the easiest to manipulate and produced the chewiest crust.

Our first masterpiece was a Pizza Contadina, inspired by my summer long search for the best Contadina(contadina means farmer in Italian) in Brindisi. On the tossed dough we sprinkled Fleur De Sel and Extra Virgin Olive Oil and baked per instructions. Once crisp and slightly golden we added Arugula, mini Mozzarella balls, Heirloom Cherry tomatoes, Prosciutto Crudo, and then drizzled the whole thing with another dose of olive oil. This was beyond our expectations and made us start to think maybe the best pizza joint in town is at our house!

Our second pie was Al Quattro Formaggi (Four Cheeses), there is something so comforting about this pizza and it is even more special when it comes straight from your very own oven. This pizza was sprinkled with Fleur De Sel around the outer edge then topped with a fresh Salsa Crudo (raw tomato sauce), Gorgonzola, Mozzarella, Fontina, and a liberal dusting of Parmesan. As you can see it truly was divine.

Our third and final pizza was a knock off of my favorite pizza from Masullo's Pizzeria in Sacramento. I am absolutely in love with the combination of ingredients here. Here we sprinkled Fleur DE Sel around the outer edges and then topped this pizza with the salsa crudo, Copa, thinly sliced fennel, thinly sliced red onions, and a sprinkling of red chili flakes. This was heaven!

This whole experience was so rewarding and much fun, even my husband had to get in on the

action. He wouldn't let me post a photo of him tossing the dough like a real pizzaiolo so, you will just have to take the photo of his calzone as proof of his good work. Here he stuffed a calzone with salsa crudo, salame picante, mortadella, prosciutto crudo, and mozzarella, it was a great ending to a wonderful day.

Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled

1 3/4 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Instant yeast

1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil

1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold

DAY ONE Method:

1. Stir together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough.

3. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

**NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water. The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F or 10°-13° C.

4. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.
5. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).
**NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

6. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.
**NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

7. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

8. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

**NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespoons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO:

1. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

2. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

**NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.
3. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

4. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

5. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

**NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

6. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.

**NOTE: If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.

7. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Buon Appetito!