No pizza peel, no problem
One of things I love best about our approach to pizza in “365” is how low-tech it is. Our Pizzas and Flatbreads chapter offers two alternatives to the pizza peel, which I love, as I’m loathe to waste cabinet space on single-use kitchen tools. The alternatives are an inverted baking sheet or a rimless one—I opted to use a rimless sheet to slide my prepped pie on to a pizza stone, and it worked really well. (If you are looking to invest in a great baking steel or pizza stone, which are useful for crisping up bread and baked goods too, I recommend this one or this one.)
Plan ahead—and have a smoke alarm plan
The rub with this recipe is the timing. There are only 45 minutes of working time, but you’re looking at least 30 hours of inactive prep, almost all of which go into letting your pizza dough proof—the long, slow proof is the key to developing deep, complex flavor. The lengthy rise gives the yeast lots of time to eat the sugar in the dough and digest it, releasing gas and slowly expanding the dough.
Also, never once have I made pizza, which cooks at 500 degrees Fahrenheit in a conventional oven, at home without setting off my fire alarm (sorry, neighbors). Don’t let that stop you; just be aware that you might need to crack a window.
Don’t cook your sauce
The tomatoes here are lightly chopped in a food processor and drained of most of their moisture, providing bright acidity where cooked sauces might feel more muted. I look forward to trying this technique on other pizzas and flatbreads, too.
Spice your ricotta
Stirring spices into ricotta? Genius. When I first read the ingredient list, I was nervous that the spices would burn in such a hot oven if sprinkled on to the pie before baking, or that they’d taste chalky if added after the pie is too cool. Mixing the oregano, salt, pepper, sumac and za’atar into the ricotta is a smart solution. The spices soften and meld with the creamy cheese and still taste bright and pleasant.
Dress only half of your arugula at once
The finishing touch on this pizza is a heap of olive-oil dressed, lemony arugula. Don’t dress it until you’re ready to add the greens to your pie and serve. The arugula will absorb too much of the lemon juice and olive oil and begin to wilt and darken.
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