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***MY STANDARD PIZZA DOUGH, MAKES ENOUGH FOR 4 PIZZAS***
2 1/4 cups (530 ml) warm water
1 tbsp sugar (12g) sugar
1 tbsp (9g) active dry yeast
2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
1 tbsp (18 g) kosher salt
5 cups (600g) bread flour, plus more for working the dough
Combine all the dough ingredients. The flour quantity is just a baseline — keep kneading in more until the dough the dough is as sticky as you want it. I think stickier (wetter) doughs taste better but they're more delicate and harder to work with.
Divide the dough into four equal balls. Seal each one in its own oiled container to rise — either about two hours at room temperature, or 1-7 days in the fridge. If you do a quick rise, consider putting it in the fridge for a bit before you bake — it's easier to work cold. Extra dough can be frozen.
***SAUCE/TOPPING RECIPE, MAKES ONE ~13" PIZZA***
One large onion (I used a sweet variety, but you can add a pinch of sugar to any onion)
3-4 garlic cloves
a deglazing liquid (water, stock, wine, or some combination thereof — beef stock makes it really taste like French onion soup)
vinegar (only necessary if you don't deglaze with wine)
oil
grated parmesan
~4 ounces (113g) gruyère
~4 ounces mozzarella (I use whole milk, low moisture sticks by Galbani)
fresh herb for garnish (I used thyme)
If you're baking the pizza on a stone or steel, get it heading with your oven as high as it'll go before you start prepping anything else. If you want to use my oven-rack grilling method instead, keep reading.
Peel and chop the garlic and set it aside. Peel the onion and dice it as finely as you can. Get a wide pan over high heat, put in a little oil, and cook the onions, stirring constantly. After about five minutes you'll probably see some edges and/or brown stuff at the bottom of the pan threatening to burn. Deglaze with just enough liquid of your choice and keep stirring. When stuff again seems on the verge of burning, deglaze a little more and repeat the cycle until the onion pieces are all silky-soft and amber — it took me about 15 minutes, total.
Turn off the heat and stir in the garlic so it can cook just a little bit. If you didn't use white wine or another acidic liquid for deglazing, it the onion with a little splash of vinegar and maybe a pinch of sugar if your onion isn't a sweet variety. You might season it with pepper, but be careful about using salt if you deglazed with a salty broth. (There's probably enough salt in your cheese and dough, anyway.) Stir in a last dose of liquid to make sure the onion has a spreadable consistency.
Grate or chop the gruyère and mozzarella — it's always good to have a little more cheese than you'll think you need, just in case. Toss the two cheeses together.
If you're using my oven grate method, this is for you. Right before you start shaping your risen dough, make sure you have a clean oven rack positioned near the top and turn your top element (broiler, grill) on full blast. Get the dough out of the fridge, flour it liberally and use a rolling pin to get it to an evenly thin oblong that's a little wider than you want it. Make sure the dough and pin are well-floured before rolling the dough around the tip of the pin, like a scroll.
Use the pin to unroll the dough out onto your hot top grate. Make sure the ends aren't dangling too far down — hook them around the adjacent bar (remember the bars are hot). Close the oven and let the top side of dough brown under the broiler. If any huge bubbles puff up, I recommend reaching in with tongs and popping them — they're likely to burn really bad before the rest of the dough gets any color.
When things just start to burn (a little burning on the bottom of pizza is good, imho), slide the grate out a little and flip the dough. Onto the comparatively raw side, smear your caramelized onions in a very thin layer. Dust on some grated parmesan, then put on your other cheeses. Slide the rack back in, close the door, and bake until the top is brown to your liking. Use tongs to pull the pizza straight out onto a cooling rack. Tear on your fresh herbs.
