Pizza With a Twist

By Marylee

Pizza Sorrentina
Hands-On Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 10½-12½ hours Serves: 3

This recipe was adapted from one used at Kesté Pizza & Vino in New York. It is hard for home cooks to recreate the kind of charred and blistered crust and smoky flavor that comes from a 950-degree pizza oven, but this recipe gets you close. The elements are simple and widely available, but it is worth going a little bit out of your way when it comes to the flour: Kesté's chef uses only imported 00 (double zero) Caputo flour—available on Amazon and at many Whole Foods locations—instead of the all-purpose variety, because it yields a softer, puffier crust. Makes three 8-inch rounds.

Ingredients

• Dough:
• 1 1/4 cups very warm water
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 1/2 cups 00 Caputo flour, plus more for dusting the board
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Topping:
• 18 thin lemon slices (about 3 lemons' worth)
• 9 ounces smoked fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 15 large leaves fresh basil

Preparation

Step 1

What To Do
1. Place water in a large bowl. Stir in yeast, salt and sugar and let sit 5 minutes until mixture begins to bubble. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour until a ball of dough forms; it will be sticky. Turn out dough onto a floured board. Knead 5 minutes. Transfer dough to a large clean bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Keep in a warm place for 8 to 12 hours.

2. When dough has doubled in size, turn out onto board. Using floured hands, divide dough into 3 pieces (about 7½ ounces each). Knead each piece for 1 minute, then again, lightly, with a little oil. Place on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Keep in a warm place for 2 hours or until again doubled in size.

3. Heat oven to 550 degrees or as high as your oven will go and keep it at that temperature for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, soak lemon slices in water for 15 minutes, then pat dry.

4. Flour your hands and press one ball of dough into a flat disk. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and stretch, using your fingers, until it is approximately 8 inches in diameter. Distribute 3 ounces cheese over the surface, leaving a 1-inch rim. Arrange 6 lemon slices over cheese and tuck in 5 basil leaves, then drizzle everything lightly with oil, including the rim. Place on highest rack in the oven and bake until puffy, about 6 minutes; then turn on the broiler and broil until the crust takes on some color, 30-60 seconds. Remove pizza from oven and serve. Repeat with remaining dough.

A version of this article appeared October 12, 2012, on page D7 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Pizza With A Twist.