Yield

2 pizzas

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 3 1/4 cups unbleached flour (ideally pizza flour or ‘doppio zero’ as it is known)
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions

Sir the yeast into 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water. Let sit 10 minutes, and then add 1 cup of flour, and stir with a wooden spoon, or mix on low speed using paddle attachment of a stand mixer. Continue adding 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup more flour. Stir to combine. Keep adding the remaining flour and water in batches, but only add enough flour to end up in a soft dough, tacky but not too sticky. You’ll want it looser rather than firmer.

Knead the dough for 10 minutes until it becomes somewhat stretchy. Pat into a round shape, place in a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and let rise until doubled. Once doubled, punch it down. At this point, you can place in a plastic bag, close tightly, and refrigerate for a day or so before using.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees, and place a baking stone on the bottom shelf. Cut the dough in half, and shape into a ball. Form into a 12-14″ disc, either using a rolling pin, or by spreading it with your fingers. Sprinkle a pizza peel with cornmeal or flour, place the disk on top, and add toppings as you like. In general, place sauce and cheese underneath other toppings, and you can pre-bake the pizza with sauce and cheese before adding very wet toppings (like squash) to keep it from getting soggy.Place the pizza on the stone and bake 3-5 minutes, or until it’s done. You can test doneness by rapping the bottom of the pizza and testing to make sure it sounds hollow.

Yield

8 normal size buns, 12-16 slider-sized buns

Ingredients

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 3 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. instant yeast
• 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tsp water
• sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

Place the lukewarm water in the bowl of a standing mixer with a dough hook attachment and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let stand 10 minutes. Cream the butter and mix with the egg. Stir into the yeast mixture.

Turn the mixer to low and add the salt and sugar to the liquids. Slowly add the flour in batches, only until the mixture clears the sides is still attached to the bottom of the bowl. It should be soft and somewhat sticky. Place into a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise until doubled, 1-2 hours.

Once risen, punch down the dough, remove from the bowl and cut into 8-16 equal pieces. Form into balls, and place onto well-greased cookie sheet, spaced several inches apart. Cover with a loose cloth and let rise until doubled and puffy, 30-45 minutes.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Once the dough has risen a second time, brush the tops with the egg mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and let cool before slicing in half.