Pizza Bianca with Caramelized Onions and Gruyere
By America's Test KitchenPublished on October 27, 2011
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Dough
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces/425 grams)1 ⅔ cups water (13½ ounces/383 grams), room temperature1 ¼ teaspoons table salt 1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast 1 ¼ teaspoons sugar 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 8 ounces (227 grams) Gruyère cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leavesCaramelized Onions
1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 tablespoon vegetable oil ½ teaspoon table salt 1 teaspoon light brown sugar 2 pounds onions (4 medium), halved pole to pole, peeled, and sliced ¼ inch thick across the grain1 tablespoon water Ground black pepperBefore You Begin
Serve the pizza by itself as a snack or with soup or salad as a light meal. Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4 of the recipe. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and walk on the counter. Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times while mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick further. This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used but, because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.
Instructions
- Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)
- Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
- Heat butter and oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat; when foam subsides, stir in salt and sugar. Add onions and stir to coat; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to soften and release some moisture, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are deeply browned and slightly sticky, about 40 minutes longer. (If onions are sizzling or scorching, reduce heat. If onions are not browning after 15 to 20 minutes, raise heat.) Off heat, stir in water; season to taste with pepper. Transfer to large plate and cool to room temperature.
- One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Coat rimmed baking sheet with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again). Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Bake until spotty brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove pizza from oven, spread onions evenly over surface, and sprinkle with Gruyère and thyme. Return pizza to oven and continue to bake until cheese begins to brown in spots, 5 to 10 minutes longer.
for the dough
for the onions
Yield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Dough
Caramelized Onions
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Dough
Caramelized Onions
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Dough
Caramelized Onions
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
The challenge of devising a pizza bianca recipe for the home cook was to figure out how to handle the super-hydrated dough. Forming the dough required both a 20-minute resting time and 10 minutes of machine kneading at high speed. Rather than rolling it, we pressed the dough onto a baking sheet and placed the sheet on top of a preheated pizza stone on the middle rack of a 450-degree oven. Following these steps gave us a superbly crisp, chewy crust.
Before You Begin
Serve the pizza by itself as a snack or with soup or salad as a light meal. Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4 of the recipe. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and walk on the counter. Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times while mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick further. This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used but, because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.
Instructions
- Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)
- Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
- Heat butter and oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat; when foam subsides, stir in salt and sugar. Add onions and stir to coat; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to soften and release some moisture, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are deeply browned and slightly sticky, about 40 minutes longer. (If onions are sizzling or scorching, reduce heat. If onions are not browning after 15 to 20 minutes, raise heat.) Off heat, stir in water; season to taste with pepper. Transfer to large plate and cool to room temperature.
- One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Coat rimmed baking sheet with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again). Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Bake until spotty brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove pizza from oven, spread onions evenly over surface, and sprinkle with Gruyère and thyme. Return pizza to oven and continue to bake until cheese begins to brown in spots, 5 to 10 minutes longer.
for the dough
for the onions
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