500grams(17 ½ ounces or 3 ¼ cups) all purpose flour, plus more for shaping the dough
1gram(¼ teaspoon) active dry yeast
16grams(2 teaspoons) fine sea salt
350grams(1 ½ cups) water
Caramelized Onions:
75grams(½ small) onion
½gram(⅛ teaspoon) red wine vinegar
1 ¼grams(½ teaspoon) extra-virgin olive oil
Leavesfrom 1 thyme sprig
Pinchfine sea salt
Pizzas:
320grams(1 ⅓ cups) basic tomato sauce
240grams(about 8 ounces) taleggio cheese, rind removedcut into ½-inch cubes
100grams(about 24) pitted alfonso or kalamata oliveshalved
280gramsradicchioabout 2 small heads, sliced into ¼-inch strips
4grams(about 4 teaspoons) fresh thyme leaves
Extra-virgin olive oilfor drizzling
Instructions
To make the dough: To make the dough: In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and, with a wooden spoon or your hands, mix thoroughly.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow it to rise at room temperature (about 72°F) for 18 hours or until it has more than doubled. It will take longer in a chilly room and less time in a very warm one.
Flour a work surface and scrape out the dough. Divide it into 4 equal parts and shape them: For each portion, start with the right side of the dough and pull it toward the center; then do the same with the left, then the top, then the bottom. (The order doesn’t actually matter; what you want is four folds.) Shape each portion into a round and turn seam side down. Mold the dough into a neat circular mound. The mounds should not be sticky; if they are, dust with more flour.
If you don’t intend to use the dough right away, wrap the balls individually in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Return to room temperature by leaving them out on the counter, covered in a damp cloth, for 2 to 3 hours before needed.
To make the caramelized onions: Cut the onions in half and then into ½-inch-thick slices. With your fingers, separate the slices into strips and put them in a small bowl. Toss with the vinegar, oil, and thyme leaves.
Transfer the onions to a small saute pan. Cover and cook, stirring every few minutes, over medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Do not burn. Uncover the pan and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden and soft, about 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with the salt, transfer to a platter, and set aside to cool to room temperature. Use at once or cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
To shape the disk: Take one ball of the dough and generously flour it, your hands, and the work surface. Then press it down and gently stretch it out to 6 to 8 inches. Supporting the disk with your knuckles toward the outer edge and lifting it about the work surface, keep stretching the dough by rotating it with your knuckles, gently pulling it wider and wider until the disk reaches 10 to 12 inches. Set the disk on a well-floured peel. It is now ready to be topped. Alternatively, stretch the dough on the work surface by massaging it into a roundish disk about 10 to 12 inches, but don’t handle it more than necessary.
Put the pizza stone on a rack in a gas* oven about 8 inches from the broiler. Preheat the oven on bake at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Switch to broil for 10 minutes.
With the dough on the peel, spoon ¼ of the tomato sauce over the surface and spread it evenly, leaving about an inch of rim untouched. Distribute ¼ of the cheese and olives evenly over the sauce. Scatter ¼ of the onions and then ¼ of the radicchio over the pie.
With quick, jerking motions, slide the pie onto the stone. Broil for 3 to 3 ½ minutes under gas (somewhat longer with an electric oven), until the top is bubbling and the crust is nicely charred but not burnt.
Use the peel, transfer the pizza to a tray or serving platter. Sprinkle with ¼ of the thyme and drizzle with the oil. Slice and serve immediately.
Notes
*For an electric oven, place the stone 4 inches from the top heating element, and preheat, on bake, at 500 degrees F for the usual 30 minutes. Then, open the oven door a few inches and leave it ajar for about 30 seconds. Some of the ambient heat will escape, but the stone with stay just as hot. Now close the oven door and switch to broil for 10 minutes to heat the surface to the maximum. Open the door and slide the pizza in to broil. Because the stone is so close to the element, you may need to pull the rack out a few inches to get the pie centered on the stone; do it quickly and don’t worry about losing too much heat. With the door closes, broil for roughly 2 minutes longer than specified for gas–until the crust is adequately charred but not burnt and the toppings are bubbling.*For a bottom broiler, start with the stone in the broiler at the lowest level or on the floor of the oven. Preheat on low for about 20 minutes, and then switch to high for another 5 minutes. Slide in the pizza, close the drawer, and broil as instructed by the recipe (most often 3 ½ to 4 minutes), until bubbling and properly charred–checking to be sure it’s not burning.Adapted from My Pizza