Tavern Style Pizza

This is a really interesting style of pizza which is very easy to make at home and get good results.  It is a pizza with a cracker thin dough which is crunchy rather than chewy.  My recipe is based on one I originally saw on America's Test Kitchen (called "Chicago Thin Crust Pizza").

It is a low hydration dough (50% hydration with 10% olive oil).  It traditionally uses raw sausage which is cooked on top of the pizza and is intended to be cooked to a dark brown color.  The toppings go to the edge of the pizza and there is little exposed crust.  It is cut into rectangles rather than wedges which is a fun way to eat it.

I have made this pizza several times.  I find that making enough dough for 4 pizza is a good time savings.  I'll typically eat a couple of them soon after making the dough and then I'll freeze the other two.  It is a dough that isn't meant to get much in the way of air bubbles so over proofing isn't a concern with this one - making it a day to a week in advance and then letting it slowly ferment at fridge temperatures is a good way of doing things

Crispy Pizza Crust Cross Section

Recipe Details:

• Dough for 4 pizzas:
• 680g All Purpose Flour
• 340g Spring Water
• 68g Olive Oil
• 2 tsp table salt
• 2 tsp yeast
• 1 tbs sugar
• Sauce for 2 pizza:
• 8 oz seasoned tomato sauce
• 1 tbs tomato paste
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
• Toppings on 1 pizza:
• 6 oz Monterey Jack Cheese
• 6 oz Spicy Italian Sausage

Process Details:

• Mix up the dough (flour, water, oil, salt, sugar, and yeast) - it is a shaggy dough initially

• Kneed the dough in the bowl until it becomes a smooth ball

• Let this ferment for a few hours at room temperature (it will double in size).  This is really more about flavor than it is about formation of air bubbles.

• Flour a work surface, dump the dough, and then cut it into 4 equal pieces (these should be about 270g each which will make 12 inch diameter pizzas)

• Move the pieces of the dough into the fridge until ready to use
• Mix up a batch of sauce.  I think this makes sense to make a day ahead of use as well and then keep it in the fridge
• When it is time to make the pizza, pre-heat the oven with a pizza stone to 500 F.  Probably want to heat the oven for an hour or so before using
• Form the dough into a rough circle with your fingers

• Then roll out the dough to be roughly 12 inch in diameter with a rolling pin.  The pizza will be about 1/8 inch thick when rolled out.  You want to make it even thickness - I don't put much stock in getting a round pizza but you want it to fit on a round pizza stone.  Move the dough to a pizza peel with corn meal to avoid sticking

• Build the pizza.  Add sauce first (I don't measure but it's a fairly restrained amount of sauce), then dime size pieces of sausage, then add cheese

• Make sure there aren't any sticky spots on the peel - add corn meal where it's sticking.  Ease the pizza onto the pizza stone

• Bake the pizza for 10 min and then check to see how dark it is before deciding how much more time to give it.  In my oven, I typically give it another couple minutes.  The cheese should be browned and the pizza will have burned edges

• Take the pizza out of the oven and let it cool for 5 min
• Cut into 2-3 in rectangles
• It is very good