Ingredients
- 1/2 recipe pizza dough (recipe follows)
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 ounce fresh goat cheese, crumbled
- 2/3 cup pitted niçoise olives, roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, for garnish
- 1/2 recipe pizza dough (recipe follows)
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 ounce fresh goat cheese, crumbled
- 2/3 cup pitted niçoise olives, roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, for garnish
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces) warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
- 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast or 1 3/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 cup (8 ounces) water
- 3 tablespoon (1 1/2 ounces) olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons for coating bowl
- 3 1/4 cup (16 1/4 ounces) bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Preparation
Baking Directions:
Place a pizza stone in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Allow 30 minutes to 1 hour for the stone to fully heat.
Place the dough (see below) on a sheet of parchment paper cut to fit the pizza stone.
Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour, then press down with your fingers or a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a disk about 12 inches in diameter directly on the parchment paper.
Brush any excess flour from the surface of the dough.
Set the dough round on the parchment paper in the center of a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet.
Brush the 1/4 cup olive oil over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the edges.
Scatter the goat cheese and olives over the dough.
Open the oven door and set the front edge of the peel or baking sheet at the back of the baking stone.
With a quick jerk, remove the peel and allow the flatbread and parchment paper to settle on the stone.
Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, until the dough is golden brown at the edges and across the bottom, rotating the flatbread and parchment paper to brown evenly.
Slip the peel or baking sheet under the parchment paper to remove it from the oven and transfer to a cutting board.
Brush the edge of the flatbread with the tablespoon of olive oil to give the golden crust a shine.
To serve, garnish pizza with fresh thyme leaves and orange zest.
Season with coarse salt and pepper.
Use a pizza cutter or chef's knife to cut the pizza into 8 wedges and serve immediately.
For pizza dough:To prepare the dough, pour the warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Add the yeast, whisk by hand to blend and allow the mixture to sit for 5 to 10 minutes until the yeast is activated and looks creamy.
Add the 1 cup water and the 3 tablespoons olive oil and whisk by hand to blend.
Add the flour and salt.
Knead the dough on low speed for 2 minutes or until the dough comes together in a cohesive mass.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp, lint-free cotton towel and let the dough rest for 20 minutes to allow it to fully hydrate before further kneading.
Turn the mixer to medium-low and continue to knead until the dough is firm, elastic and smooth, 3 to 6 minutes.
Lightly oil a large mixing bowl and scrape the dough into the bowl, turning to lightly coat the surface of the dough with a little oil.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature until doubled, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
Press down on the dough firmly to expel some of the air bubbles, but don't knead the dough again or it will be too springy and difficult to shape.
If this happens, cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp, lint-free cotton towel and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes to give the gluten time to relax.
Divide the dough in half, or quarters if making smaller individual pizzas.
At this point, you can refrigerate or freeze all or some of the dough for later use.
Tips:
To save time, you can buy the pizza dough
