Hello Pizza Friends,
Late last night I mixed up three batches of the Neapolitanish pizza dough from Pizza Night. I’m teaching a class in Hillsdale on Sunday morning and needed to get the dough prepped ahead of time*.
This morning I awoke to find the dough nearly busting off the lids of each of the three bowls. Two weeks ago, the dough would have still been making its slow ascent. Until it cools down a bit, the days of long, leisurely rises have passed.
With yeast leavened dough, there isn’t too much to worry about. Had my dough over-proofed slightly? Yes. Will it matter? No. I portioned and balled up all of the dough, and it felt great: strong and elastic.
Had this been a batch of sourdough Neapolitanish pizza dough, it would have been a different story. When sourdough overferments during the bulk fermentation, there’s no salvaging** it as far as pizza goes.
As the temperatures continue to climb, here are two things to keep in mind:
With yeast leavened dough, consider reducing the yeast: with all of the recipes in Pizza Night, you could use 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) of instant yeast, which will allow for a longer, slower rise and give you more time should you want it.
With sourdough, use your refrigerator as needed: if your dough is the middle of the bulk fermentation but you need to go to bed or leave the house for an extended period of time, stick it in the fridge; then pick up where you left off in the morning. You can do this with yeast-leavened doughs as well.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Today I’m sharing one of the salads from Pizza Night: Classic Chopped Salad. Loaded with chickpeas, provolone, salami, and lots of vegetables, this salad alone has been dinner for my family two nights in a row this week. With the dressing already made, I’m making it again tonight to serve alongside our pizza.
While the salad itself requires a bit of prep — dressing making, veggie dicing, meat and cheese slicing — it all can be done ahead of time, and it can be tossed just before serving. I find this salad so satisfying — like impossible-to-stop-eating satisfying — and I hope you do, too.
*Remember: time = better flavor + improved browning. More details here: Tip #5.
**You could make crackers.
PS: The recording from my Baking Steel Pizza Hang with Andris is available. I made the White Pizza with Arugula, Pistachios, and Honey from Pizza Night and this Zeneli-inpired one with pesto and prosciutto.
The Recipe: Classic Chopped Salad
First, you’ll gather your fresh ingredients, which of course can be tailored to your tastes/preferences/seasonal availability, etc:
You’ll also need salami (or not if you are vegetarian), provolone (or other cheese), chickpeas, and Italian dressing (recipe included with salad), which takes no time to whisk together. Obviously, you can use canned chickpeas, but if you have a slow cooker, I can’t recommend this method enough — no soaking required.
Slice, dice, and halve away!
Combine everything in a large bowl… I love this very large one.
Toss to combine, add the dressing, toss again, taste, and adjust with salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer to a serving bowl…
… and serve!
Love pizza and salad? Find 52 of each in Pizza Night 🍕🍕🥗🥗
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-a-Million | Bookshop.org | Hudson Booksellers | Walmart
Hi Ali. I used your calculations for a lower hydration Jim Lahey dough for my outdoor oven along with your tip of rice flour for the peel (brilliant) and the pizzas were great. Just the outdoor dough I was looking for. Thank you very much.
I absolutely love your cookbook! Such a great resource and it’s a mainstay in my weekly menu planning