RECIPE - Skillet Pizza

Yesterday, I decided to try out J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's recipe for homemade Neapolitan-style dough. I've been wanting to find a good dough recipe, and following Mr. Food Lab's advice is almost always a good place to start.

The recipe itself is ridiculously simple. I cut it in half for my first go:

2 cups flour. (Almost all serious pizzaioli will recommend '00' flour, which is much more finely ground than what most of us have on hand, but even regular all-purpose flour (which I used) is just fine.)

1 1/8 t. salt. (I used sea salt; Kenji calls for kosher.)

1/2 t. active dry yeast.

1 t. sugar.

6 oz. water.  

Combine dry ingredients and add water until the dough just comes together. You can do this with a mixer or by hand. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then knead it again for 10 minutes. You can add a little more flour or water if you need to; the dough should almost be sticking to the bowl, but will keep together. At this point, you can put the dough in plastic bags on in covered bowls and keep it in the refrigerator. I let mine sit in a plastic bag for a day in the fridge.

When you're ready, portion the dough. Use whatever method you like to stretch the skins, but make sure to handle the edge as little as possible; you want to keep it slightly thicker than the rest of the dough. You should also prep your toppings; I cooked a can of diced tomatoes down with a little salt and fresh basil, sliced fresh mozzarella, and picked more basil leaves. Move your oven racks as high as you can while still leaving room for your widest, thickest, heaviest, oven-safe skillet. Dust the inside of the skillet with flour, making sure to tap out the excess, and heat the skillet under the broiler. Kenji recommends heating until the skillet is just smoking. This will go quickly.

Being very careful from here on, remove the skillet (always, always use a hot pad or thick towel. Even that handle you're so used to grabbing is going to be very hot.) Place a skin of dough in the skillet; ideally, you'll want the dough to take up the entire base of the skillet but not climb the walls. Quickly add sauce and toppings, then return to the broiler.

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Your pizza will cook very quickly; probably no more than five minutes and probably less than three. Again, be very careful when handling the skillet. Remove the skillet from the oven and slide the pizza onto a plate or peel. Drizzle with olive oil and add last minute toppings, then serve. Bonus points for serving the pizza whole, arming your guests only with scissors to cut slices from the pie. Re-flour/re-heat your skillet for the next pizza. It's that simple!

Margherita.

Mozzarella and Egg.

Casanova Pizzeria - Boise

Casanova Pizzeria is situated in a large corner building off Vista Ave. in Boise, Idaho. It's a big space with surprisingly few tables, but it somehow still doesn't feel very spacious. The interior is decorated with a nice minimalist style, and huge windows lining the front of the restaurant let sunlight flood in. The restaurant describes itself as 'neo-Neapolitan', and the New Haven style pizzas come through with big flavor and crazy good crust.

Before getting into the pizzas, the antipasti offerings are really worth looking into. Really good salads are big enough for a meal, but I was most impressed by the Pagniotielli, a round of puffed dough that somehow keeps it's internal air bubble and hole structure even when it's torn open. (Pro tip: save half the pagniotielle, take it home and eat it the next morning for breakfast with butter.)

Everyone will find a pizza at Casanova that hits them right in their comfort zone. Vegetarian pizzas don't feel tacked onto the menu as vegetarian options; meat pizzas aren't there just for salty, fatty overindulgence. The pizza menu is surprisingly huge, from the Clam Bacon (to the right) to the Medusa (gorgonzola, pineapple, and fig.) My favorites are the Clam Bacon, with huge chunks of thick, salty bacon and sweet clams that are happy at home on the crispy-chewy crust, and the Juno, a red sauce pie with prosciutto and arugula. 

The crust at Casanova is something special to behold. Thin and crisp but with a great chewy pull that isn't too dense, it's a great canvas for the pies to take shape on. The cornicone has good hole structure and a uniform golden glow. While the upskirt might look a little pale, don't be fooled; that's a perfectly timed bake. The only tip sag comes from the sheer weight of the toppings; the pies are perfectly balanced and not overwhelming, but these are not minimalist pies. This is one of the best pizzerias you've never heard of, and you should not miss it if you're in Idaho.

Louis Prima Suprima
(Sausage, Meatball, Pepperoni, Bacon)

Eggplant
(Roasted Eggplant and Basil)