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Legend! I'm gonna give this a shot this weekend. I'll let you know how I go.
Edit: No need for oil in the dough mixture?
birofunk-
No probs! You're gonna love it...
Nah, no need for oil in the dough, I used ot use it to help create air pockets once rolled but its prob not even needed for that, just over doing it.
Oil is added to NY style pizzas and it gives a bit of crunch but anyone who knows pizza or New York will know NY pizzas are nothing that special, its just New Yorkers are such massive bores who believe everything NY is great, when in fact it isn't, they just bang on about it so much everyone believes them/forgets to fact check.
chrisbmx116
When I was doing a lot of pan pizza's this was how I rolled... (bit of a copy and paste from a write up I did)
Dough
500g Tipo '00' flour
1.5g yeast
300 luke warm water
15 g salt
Teaspoon of brown sugar.
Sauce
Ciro Passata (Sieved Tomatoes)
Dash of Olive Oil (DOP)
Dash of Balsamic (DOP)
Coulee of Basil Leaves
Pinch of Chili Flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method
The way I mix it is to combine the flour and salt and mix, put the yeast in a bowl with the sugar (which feeds and dissolves it) and mix until liquid, then I add the water to the yeast/sugar mix and add to flour. Kneed for 20-30 mins, roll into 4 balls and using (olive) oiled hands cover each ball (this results in better air bubbles later when you knock them back (I usually have to knock them back once or twice) then leave for at least 24 hours to slow prove (I usually leave outside of the fridge until I go to bed).
Sauce wise, I tired quite a few techniques, varying from simple to practically a pasta sauce and settled for something quite simple, but the key is good ingredients. In the UK the best tomatoes you can get from supermarkets are Cirio. I use their passata, add a dash of olive oil (DOP), a dash of balsamic vinegar (DOP) a couple of basil leaves, a pinch of chilli flakes and some salt and pepper then simmer for 20-30 mins to take the edge off it slightly, all very subjective, others may prefer not to cook it at all.
The big game change was the cooking...
The reason those air bubbles develop is the intense heat that hits the dough (usually from a pizza oven) and cooks the outside in seconds sealing in the dough's air bubbles making them rise and expand internally. The only way to achieve this at home (temps above 400 degrees) is with a heavy frying pan and a grill. Heat the frying pan until it smokes, not until its quite hot, until it is smoking... dangerous heat. Chuck your base into the pan and top quickly. By the time you have topped it will be ready to go under the grill (which also needs to be heated to dangerous levels). Shove the pan under the grill as close as possible and cook the top for the same amount of time (it'll be about 1-2 mins).