Sourdough Pizza from Brooklyn
Pizza from Roberta’s in Brooklyn will always hold a special place in my heart. My sister Shannon, who was an amazing chef, lived across the street from the restaurant for a few years, and it was our go-to place to meet and catch up. Being an upper west sider, Brooklyn was always a days long journey, but it was always worth it to meet with my baby sister and talk food, tv and the usual family “what the heck’s”.
One of the last times I saw her before she passed away, she gave me the Roberta’s cookbook. The following recipe is adapted from Anthony Falco, a renowned pizza expert and former chef at Roberta’s. This is his recipe for Neopolitin-ish pizza dough that I divided (original recipe is for 7 balls of dough) and added a little more detail into the recipe instructions. It’s by far the best pizza I’ve ever made and it brings me back to the days at Roberta’s trading kitchen secrets with my best friend chef for life. Love you Shannon this is for you.
Sourdough Pizza (adapted from neopolitin-ish pizza dough byAnthony Falco)
Makes 3 290-Gram Balls of Dough
Ingredients:
250 grams Bread Flour (Strong Flour)
250 grams 00 Flour (soft flour)
315 grams room temp water (68-72F) divided (hold back 10 grams for salt incorporation)
75 grams of ripe (fed) starter
10 grams extra virgin olive oil
15 grams kosher or sea salt
Ok so…
In a medium bowl, combine the starter and 305 grams of water and squeeze the starter into the water until fully incorporated. In a separate larger bowl, combine the bread flour and 00 flour and create a well in the middle. Add the starter and water mixture and using your hands in a claw shape, slowly incorporate the flour into the water until almost fully incorporated. Add the olive oil and continue to squeeze the dough to incorporate the rest of the flour and olive oil. Once incorporated cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add the reserved 10 grams of water, and slowly incorporate the salt by squeezing it into the dough until you don’t feel any salt anymore. Form the dough into a ball and place in an oiled container or bowl and let rest for 5 hours, doing a stretch and fold halfway through.
After 5 hours, divide the dough into 3 equal balls about 290 grams each. Form the ball by folding the dough into the middle of itself to form a ball, then gently cup the dough and drag it while slowly turning it on the counter. It will help to gently stretch the gluten across the top of the dough and form a tight ball.
Place all three balls of dough on a floured sheet tray, dust the tops with flour and then cover lightly with plastic wrap and then covered with an upside down sheet tray. At this point you can let them rest overnight for 12-18 hours and then shape and bake, or place in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours.
If you choose to refrigerate, let the dough come to room temp before baking.
When ready to make pizza, preheat your oven along with a baking or pizza stone to 550F or as high as it will go. Dust the top of the dough with flour and use a bowl scraper to transfer the dough to a floured surface. Using your fingertips, gently and patiently press the dough from the inside out leaving a the outer circle alone (the crust). Gently stretch the dough as you go until you form an 11-12inch circle, it should take about 5 minutes.
Place onto a floured pizza peel and quickly add toppings. Check if your dough will easily slide off by giving your peel a gentle shake, use a spatula and more flour if it’s sticking at all. Then slide it onto the pizza peel for 7-8 minutes or until crust is charred and bubbly.
