By Paul Suplee, MBA, CEC, PC-3

I did it. I finally did it.

After almost 40 years of trying, I actually made a good pizza crust. And not just good, but nigh perfect.

Of course, I cannot take credit for this, but rather fell across a pizza madman on YouTube named Vito Iacobelli. I highly recommend that you check him out if making pizza is a passion of yours.

Pizza and a good fried chicken have been my nemeses for as long as I can remember. I have the chicken down pat, and now I can rest easy, knowing that pizza is in the bag as well. And it is so simple, that I could kick myself for not perfecting it earlier.

I made this dough with a poolish, which is a preferment that I teach for breadmaking. In fact, I have taught and used poolish for years, yet never thought about using it in pizza dough. Sometimes we truly can’t see the forest for the trees.

So what is poolish? It is a soft and gooey mess that is rich in yeast and that nice, sour smell and flavor. Make sure that you make it a day ahead, as it needs time to ferment in the icebox. That is a critical part of this recipe.

And when the dust (or flour in this case) settles and you make this dough right, the crust will rise, and upon exiting the oven will be at once crispy on the crust and tender in the crumb. It is truly the perfect crust.

One point of interest is how wet and loose this dough is. I have never made a dough this sloppy before, and damn if it doesn’t come together as advertised.

Once you have those beautiful dough balls, they become works of art as you stretch them out and top with your favorite flavors.

One of the tricks that I learned in Chicago a few years ago is to add some white cheddar cheese to your pizza blend.

This helps with the ‘cheese pull’, that magnificent long string of molten goodness that just happens as you pull two pieces of pizza apart. It also adds another note of sour to the pie, complementing the sweet tomato sauce.

In my blend, I use Mozzarella, Parmesan, Provolone, Grana Padano and white cheddar. You don’t want enough cheddar so that it stands out, but just the right amount. But hey, it’s your pizza, so you do you.

It is fascinating working with this dough, as again it is so soft and pliable. It was surprising to me that you really don’t need to throw this dough, and simply pressing the dough flat and outwards from the center, leaving the crust full of air, negates the use of the dough docker.

I went classic cheese tonight, but one of the pizzas in another video is the Fioccho, which I will definitely make soon.

Made with a thick crema or cream, thinly sliced prosciutto, cheese, boiled and riced Yukon gold potatoes and drizzled olive oil, it had me drooling as I watched it come to fruition. I feel like I’m back in school, and that is a good place to be.

A goal of mine is to open another restaurant that is bread-centric, as I have found a taste in baking breads over the last few years.

Next on the docket is a pizza dough made with a biga, like the poolish but a solid dough. Instead of leavening, the purpose of the biga is to undergo fermentation over the day or two in the refrigerator. The flavors added to the finished product are supposed to be magnificent.

But, I almost don’t want to make the next batch with the biga, As I don’t want to sully my newfound doughy love. I will, though, as I want to compare the two. I will keep you posted.

Pizza Dough

makes 4 dough balls

1 batch poolish preferment (recipe follows)

400 ml water

700 g. 00 flour

25 g. Salt

10 g. EV Olive oil

• When the poolish is ready to rock & roll, gather remaining ingredients.

• Combine in a stand mixer. This dough is an incredibly wet one, so do not be surprised.

• Work it until there are no lumps visible. It will still look a mess, but stick with me.

• Cover it and let it rest for one hour. The yeast in the preferment will start to do its magic, and you will see a bit of a rise.

• Knead the dough, or “slap” it on the counter to start developing the gluten

• Eventually the dough will start to resemble, well, pizza dough.

Let it rest for another hour.

• Do a final kneading until the dough is smooth and soft. Divide into four dough balls and cover until ready to use. At this point, you can refrigerate or freeze the dough.

• Reference the videos from Vito Iacopelli for everything from shaping to execution of the finished product. The man is a pizza genius.

Poolish

makes 1 batch

300 ml water

300 g. Fine or 00 flour

6 g. dry yeast

5 g. Granulated sugar

• Combine all ingredients thoroughly

• Let sit at room temperature for an hour or until it has doubled or tripled.

• Place in the refrigerator for 16-24 hours.

• Pull it out one hour before use

—Paul Suplee is a Professor of Culinary Arts
at Wor-Wic Community College and owner
of boxcar40 and boxcar on main.
Visit him at www.boxcar40.com;
www.boxcaronmain.com