Sheet-Pan Pizza with 'Nduja, Ricotta, and Cherry Peppers
By Matthew FairmanPublished on June 21, 2022
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour 20 minutes rising
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Dough
3 cups (15 ounces/425 grams) all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast 2 teaspoons sugar 1⅓ cups water 1 teaspoon table salt ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oilSauce and 'Nduja
¾ cup room-temperature 'nduja, divided½ cup whole-milk ricotta cheese 1¼ cups canned crushed tomatoes 2 garlic cloves, minced1½ teaspoons dried oregano 1 teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus extra for sprinkling½ teaspoon table saltPizza
1 ounce (28 grams) Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (½ cup), plus extra for sprinkling12 ounces (340 grams) whole-milk block mozzarella cheese, shredded (3 cups)⅓ cup shredded fresh basil ⅓ cup thinly sliced jarred hot cherry peppersBefore You Begin
If you don't have a pizza steel, you can use a pizza stone or an overturned heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet. We developed this recipe using our winning rimmed baking sheet, the Nordic Ware Baker's Half Sheet. Avoid preshredded cheese; it contains added starch, which gives the melted cheese a drier, chewier texture.
Instructions
- Whisk flour, yeast, and sugar together in bowl of stand mixer. Fit mixer with dough hook. Mix flour mixture on low speed while slowly adding water until dough forms and no dry flour remains, 2 to 4 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Add salt and mix on medium speed until dough forms satiny, sticky ball that clears sides of bowl, 6 to 8 minutes. Lightly spray rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil spray. Rub bottom and sides of sheet with olive oil. Using dough scraper or your greased hands, transfer dough to oiled sheet and turn to coat. With your greased hands, stretch dough into rough 12 by 8-inch rectangle of even thickness. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until puffed and nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place pizza steel on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees.
- FOR THE SAUCE AND ' Pulse ½ cup 'nduja with ricotta cheese in food processor until smooth, about 15 pulses; set aside at room temperature. Combine tomatoes, garlic, oregano, sugar, pepper flakes, salt, and remaining ¼ cup 'nduja in bowl. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
- Using your greased hands, gently stretch dough to corners of pan, pressing lightly with your fingertips to deflate dough and carefully lifting corners and edges of dough to pull toward edges of sheet. (It's OK if dough shrinks back slightly from corners of sheet at this point.) Cover loosely with plastic and let rise in warm place until slightly puffed, about 20 minutes.
- Using your greased hands, press dough all the way to edges and corners of sheet. Using your fingertips, pinch edges of dough against sides of sheet to form small lip.
- Using bottom of ½-cup dry measuring cup or large spoon, spread sauce into thin layer over surface of dough, leaving ½-inch border. Sprinkle Pecorino evenly over sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella over entire surface of dough, making sure some cheese sits on edges of dough against sheet.
- Bake until cheese is bubbly and well browned, about 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Run knife around edge of sheet to loosen pizza and transfer pizza to wire rack. Let cool for 5 minutes. Drop rough 2-teaspoon-size dollops of 'nduja-ricotta mixture evenly over baked pizza and smear lightly with back of spoon. Garnish with basil and cherry peppers. Slice and serve, sprinkled with extra Pecorino and pepper flakes as desired.
for the dough
nduja
for the pizza
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour 20 minutes risingYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Dough
Sauce and 'Nduja
Pizza
Ingredients
Dough
Sauce and 'Nduja
Pizza
Ingredients
Dough
Sauce and 'Nduja
Pizza
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted a stunning, easy-to-make sheet-pan pizza with a crisp, airy, focaccia-like crust. We started with a simple, highly hydrated dough, which yielded a light, tender crumb. Briefly resting the dough before adding salt (salt inhibits flour hydration) allowed the flour to fully hydrate, strengthening the gluten and making it better able to trap carbon dioxide during rising. Then we simply transferred the sticky dough straight to a well-oiled rimmed baking sheet, eliminating the need for extended handling or rolling of the dough and helping to yield a rich, unfailingly crisp crust. Greasing the pan with both olive oil and vegetable oil spray ensured that the dough never stuck during the process. After topping the pie with a potent stir-together 'nduja tomato sauce and generous amounts of fresh mozzarella (all the way to the sides for crispy lacy edges), we baked it at 500 degrees on a pizza steel that had been preheated in the oven for a full hour on the bottom rack (closest to the heating element). The hot oven and constant direct heat of the steel resulted in a strong oven spring and exceptional browning. A final smattering of a creamy 'nduja-ricotta mixture, bracing hot cherry peppers, and shredded fresh basil added the crowning glory.
Before You Begin
If you don't have a pizza steel, you can use a pizza stone or an overturned heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet. We developed this recipe using our winning rimmed baking sheet, the Nordic Ware Baker's Half Sheet. Avoid preshredded cheese; it contains added starch, which gives the melted cheese a drier, chewier texture.
Instructions
- Whisk flour, yeast, and sugar together in bowl of stand mixer. Fit mixer with dough hook. Mix flour mixture on low speed while slowly adding water until dough forms and no dry flour remains, 2 to 4 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Add salt and mix on medium speed until dough forms satiny, sticky ball that clears sides of bowl, 6 to 8 minutes. Lightly spray rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil spray. Rub bottom and sides of sheet with olive oil. Using dough scraper or your greased hands, transfer dough to oiled sheet and turn to coat. With your greased hands, stretch dough into rough 12 by 8-inch rectangle of even thickness. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until puffed and nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place pizza steel on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees.
- FOR THE SAUCE AND ' Pulse ½ cup 'nduja with ricotta cheese in food processor until smooth, about 15 pulses; set aside at room temperature. Combine tomatoes, garlic, oregano, sugar, pepper flakes, salt, and remaining ¼ cup 'nduja in bowl. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
- Using your greased hands, gently stretch dough to corners of pan, pressing lightly with your fingertips to deflate dough and carefully lifting corners and edges of dough to pull toward edges of sheet. (It's OK if dough shrinks back slightly from corners of sheet at this point.) Cover loosely with plastic and let rise in warm place until slightly puffed, about 20 minutes.
- Using your greased hands, press dough all the way to edges and corners of sheet. Using your fingertips, pinch edges of dough against sides of sheet to form small lip.
- Using bottom of ½-cup dry measuring cup or large spoon, spread sauce into thin layer over surface of dough, leaving ½-inch border. Sprinkle Pecorino evenly over sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella over entire surface of dough, making sure some cheese sits on edges of dough against sheet.
- Bake until cheese is bubbly and well browned, about 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Run knife around edge of sheet to loosen pizza and transfer pizza to wire rack. Let cool for 5 minutes. Drop rough 2-teaspoon-size dollops of 'nduja-ricotta mixture evenly over baked pizza and smear lightly with back of spoon. Garnish with basil and cherry peppers. Slice and serve, sprinkled with extra Pecorino and pepper flakes as desired.
for the dough
nduja
for the pizza
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