Foolproof Pan Pizza

Ingredients

Dough

• 400 g bread flour (14 oz, about 2½ cups), plus more for dusting
• 10 g kosher salt (0.35 oz, about 2 teaspoons), plus more for sprinkling
• 4 g instant yeast (0.15 oz, about 1 teaspoon)
• 275 g water (9.5 oz, about 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons)
• 8 g extra-virgin olive oil (0.25 oz, about 2 teaspoons), plus more for the pans and for drizzling

Topping

• 1½ cups pizza sauce
• 12 ounces grated full-fat, low-moisture mozzarella
• Toppings as desired
• Small handful torn fresh basil leaves (optional)
• 2 ounces grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the flour, salt, yeast, water and oil in a large bowl. Mix by hand or with a wooden spoon until no dry flour is left. Use a bowl four to six times the volume of the dough — it rises a long way.
2. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, sealing the edges well, and leave it at cool room temperature — no warmer than 75°F — for 8 to 24 hours. It should rise dramatically and fill the bowl. In a warm kitchen it can overproof toward the end of that range.
3. Dust the top of the dough with flour and turn it out onto a well-floured surface. Divide it in two and shape each half into a tight ball, tucking the dough under itself with floured hands and rotating as you go.
4. Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil into each of two 10-inch cast iron skillets or round cake pans. Put a ball of dough in each and turn it to coat. With a flat palm, press the dough outward, flattening it slightly and spreading the oil across the bottom and up the sides. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for 2 hours — less if your kitchen runs above 75°F, more if it’s below 65°F.
5. An hour into that rise, set an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 550°F.
6. At the two-hour mark the dough should almost fill each pan. Press it into the corners with your fingertips, popping any large bubbles. Lift one edge to let trapped air escape, then work around the dough until none is left underneath and it sits evenly in the pan.
7. Spread ¾ cup of sauce over each round, right out to the edge, using the back of a spoon. Scatter the mozzarella evenly, also to the edges, and season with salt. Add any other toppings, drizzle with olive oil, and scatter torn basil over the top if you’re using it.
8. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling and the bottom is golden and crisp when you lift it with a thin spatula. Sprinkle with the Parmesan or Pecorino straight out of the oven, if using.
9. Lift an edge and look underneath. If the bottom isn’t as crisp as you want, set the pan over a burner on medium and move it around for 1 to 3 minutes.
10. Turn the pizzas out onto a cutting board, cut each into 6 slices, and serve right away.

Notes

• Makes two 10-inch pizzas, 6 slices each.
• It’s a one-day recipe, not an overnight one: mix the dough in the morning, split it and get it into the pans in the afternoon, bake in the evening.
• Cast iron gives the best bottom crust.