Grandma Pizza

Ingredients

4	tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
¾	cup water
1½	cups bread flour (I use 254g flour)
2¼	teaspoons instant yeast
1	teaspoon sugar
1	teaspoon of salt, divided
1	28oz. can diced tomatoes, drained (Canned tomatoes are too raw for my taste, I use 16oz pasta sauce, which I thicken near to a paste.)
2	cloves of garlic, minced
1	teaspoon dried oregano
8	oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
¼	cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2	tablespoons chopped basil

Directions

1. Using brush, coat a half sheet baking pan (18"x13"x1") with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
2. Combine ¾ cup water and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a measuring cup.
3. In the bowl of a mixer equipped with a dough hook, combine 1½ cups bread flour, 2¼ teaspoons yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¾ teaspoon salt. Mix together quickly with a spoon.
4. Set mixer on low and add water/oil mixture gradually until dough starts to come together, about 1 minute.
5. Increase mixer speed to medium low and mix for about 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and has come away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be sticky.
6. Transfer the dough to oiled half sheet pan. Turn dough once to coat with oil and pat it out into a 10"x6" rectangle in the center of the half sheet pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap and let dough rise until bubbly and doubled, 1 to 1½ hour.
7. Pat dough out the rest of the way to the edges of the half sheet pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap again and let dough rise for an additional 45 minutes, until bubbly.
8. Place oven rack in lowest possible position and preheat oven to 500°.
9. In a bowl, combine drained diced tomatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
10. In another bowl, combine the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
11. Sprinkle cheese mixture evenly over pizza dough, leaving ½" border around the edges.
12. Sprinkle diced tomato mixture evenly on top of cheese layer, again leaving a ½" border around the edges.
13. Place pan in oven and bake until pizza is bubbling and the crust is crisp, about 15 minutes.
14. Remove the pan from oven. Use a large spatula to seperate the pizza crust from the pan and transfer/slide pizza on to a wire cooling rack. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
15. While cooling, sprinkle basil evenly over top of pizza, allowing it to absorb the heat of the pizza.
16. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board, cut into squares with a pizza cutter, and serve. Makes 12 pieces roughly 4½"x4".

Source

Cook’s Country by America’s Test Kitchen, Season 6 Episode 5.
Inspired by the Grandma Pizza made by King Umberto’s pizzeria in Brooklyn, NY.