Jim Laheys Sullivan Street Bakery Pizza Bianca Recipes

JIM LAHEY'S PIZZA BIANCA ALLA ROMANA

Steps:

• Place dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low for 15 seconds to combine. Add water, and mix, increasing speed to medium-high. Beat for 5 minutes, or until dough pulls away from the bowl.
• Transfer dough to another bowl and let rise until doubled, about 3 hours.
• Place a baking stone in the oven and preheat to 450°F.
• Turn out the dough onto a well-floured work surface. Fold in half to form a half-circle shape. Cut into 2 quarter circles and fold the corners in, overlapping to shape the dough. Pick up and gently flip each dough ball onto a piece of parchment.
• Drizzle and spread about a teaspoon of olive oil on top. Sprinkle with kosher salt and top with rosemary leaves.
• Immediately prior to baking, use your fingers to press the dough down in spots to make a dimpled surface. Transfer to the baking stone using a pizza peel.
• Bake 15-18 minutes, or until puffed and browned.
• Cool on a wire rack.

JIM LAHEY'S NO-KNEAD BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and mix with a spoon or your hand until you have a shaggy, sticky dough. This should take roughly 30 seconds. You want it to be a little sticky. (Many people who bake this bread find the dough to be sticker than other bread doughs they've worked with. Even though it's not what you're accustomed to handling, it's perfectly fine.)
• Cover the bowl with a plate, towel, or plastic wrap and set it aside to rest at warm room temperature (but not in direct sunlight) for at least 12 hours and preferably about 18 hours. (Ideally, you want the room to be about 72°F. In the dead of winter, when the dough will tend to rise more slowly, as long as 24 hours may be necessary.) You'll know the dough is properly fermented and ready because its surface will be dotted with bubbles. This long, slow fermentation is what yields the bread's rich flavor.
• Generously flour your work surface. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to turn the dough onto the surface in one blob. The dough will cling to the bowl in long, thread-like strands and it will be quite loose and sticky. This is exactly what you want. Do not add more flour. Instead use lightly floured hands to gently and quickly lift the edges of the dough in toward the center, effectively folding the dough over onto itself. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round. That's it. Don't knead the dough.
• Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal. Place the dough, seam side down, on the towel and dust the surface with a little more flour, bran, or cornmeal. Cover the dough with another cotton towel and let it rise for about 2 hours. When it's ready, the dough will be double in size and will hold the impression of your fingertip when you poke it lightly, making an indentation. If the dough readily springs back when you poke it, let it rise for another 15 minutes.
• A half hour before the dough is done with its second rise, preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and place a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot and its lid (whether cast iron or enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats.
• When the dough is done with its second rise, carefully remove the pot from the oven and uncover it. Also, uncover the dough. Lift up the dough and quickly but gently turn it over into the pot, seam side up, being very careful not to touch the pot. The blob of dough may look like a mess, but trust us, everything is O.K. Cover the pot with its lid and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove the lid and bake until the loaf is beautifully browned to a deep chestnut color, 15 to 30 minutes more. Use a heatproof spatula or pot holders to carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a wire rack. Don't slice or tear into it until it has cooled, which usually takes at least an hour.

JIM LAHEY'S (SULLIVAN STREET BAKERY) PIZZA BIANCA

Steps:

• Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer, and slowly add 1 cup cold water.
• With dough hook (or mix by hand) mix on low speed until ingredients begin to combine, increase speed to medium-high, and continue to mix for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and cleanly pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.
• Place dough in an oiled bowl, and allow to rest for 2 to 4 hours until it has doubled in size.
• Split the dough into halves, and form each into a log.
• Place each log on a generously floured surface, and allow it to rest until the formed dough doubles in size again, at least 1 hour.
• Put dough on a lightly floured baker's peel.
• Dimple dough by pressing it down with your fingertips.
• Work the dough outward toward the edges of the peel until you reach your desired size and thickness, about 1/4 inch.
• Drizzle with remaining olive oil, rosemary and sprinkle with remaining salt.
• Place a baking stone, sometimes known as a pizza stone, in the oven.
• Set oven to broil, about 520 degrees (or in my case on high).
• Slide pizza onto the preheated baking stone with the baker's peel.
• Bake until the bubbles range from golden to deep brown in color, (Jim says 10 to 12 minutes but in my case it was about 5-6 minutes,l guess mine was pretty thin) . . . suggest moving rack to the bottom of the oven).
• Serve immediately!

JIM'S POTATO PIZZA

Steps:

• Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer, and slowly add 1 3/4 cups cold water. Mix on low speed until ingredients begin to combine. Increase speed to medium high, and continue to mix for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic and cleanly pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.
• Place dough in an oiled bowl, and allow to rest for 2 to 4 hours until it has doubled in size.
• While the dough rests, prepare the potato topping. Slice potatoes very thin using a knife or a mandoline. Then soak them in several changes of ice water to remove excess starch and prevent discoloration. Drain slices in a colander, toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt, and set aside for 10 minutes. Drain any accumulated water. In a medium bowl, combine potatoes, onions, and 1 tablespoon olive oil, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 440 degrees. Prepare two rimmed baking sheets with vegetable oil. Divide dough in half. Place each piece on its own baking sheet. Using the palms of your hands, flatten dough out to the edges of the pan. Evenly spread potatoes over the surface of the dough up to the very edge, or about 1 inch from the edge if you desire a crust on your pizza. Season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil.
• Bake potato pizza until it has shrunk away from the edges of a pan and the bottom is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool slightly; slice into pieces, and serve. Potato pizza is also delicious served at room temperature.

PIZZA BIANCA BREAD

Steps:

• Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer, and slowly add 1 3/4 cups cold water. Mix on low speed until ingredients begin to combine, increase speed to medium-high, and continue to mix for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and cleanly pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.
• Place dough in an oiled bowl, and allow to rest for 2 to 4 hours until it has doubled in size. Split the dough into halves, and form each into a log. Place each log on a generously floured surface, and allow it to rest until the formed dough doubles in size again, at least 1 hour.
• Put dough on a lightly floured baker's peel. Dimple dough by pressing it down with your fingertips. Work the dough outward toward the edges of the peel until you reach your desired size and thickness, about 1/4 inch. Drizzle with remaining olive oil, and sprinkle with remaining salt.
• Place a baking stone, sometimes known as a pizza stone, in the oven. Set oven to broil, about 520 degrees. Slide pizza onto baking stone with the baker's peel. Bake until the bubbles range from golden to deep brown in color, 10 to 12 minutes.