Best Christian Petronis Pizza Dough Recipes

CHRISTIAN PETRONI'S MARGHERITA PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to the highest temperature possible with a pizza stone on the upper rack, for 1 hour.
• Stretch pizza dough with your fingers, working in a circular motion, with your fingers positioned between the center of the dough and the edge, forming a rough disk that will gradually become thiner as you proceed. Then toss dough between the palms of your hands, allowing gravity to stretch it, and the center becomes thinner. Use your fists to move the dough in a circular motion to further stretch it, until it is about 12 inches in diameter, with the edge being slightly thicker. Place dough on a pizza peel lightly sprinkled with semolina to ensure it won't stick.
• Using a small ladle, evenly spread tomato sauce over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Distribute mozzarella uniformly over sauce; garnish with basil leaves. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano, and drizzle with one tablespoon olive oil.
• When transferring pizza to the heated pizza stone in the oven, use one continuous, but quick, jerking motion. Once in the oven, turn the oven off, and turn broiler to high, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Serve drizzled with remaining tablespoon of olive oil.

GRILLED PIZZA

Steps:

• For the pizza dough: Place the all-purpose flour, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and water; once added, continue mixing for 1 minute.
• Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead until smooth.
• Divide the dough into 3 even pieces and form into balls. Spray with cooking oil and then place in a large resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days for best flavor. (See Cook's Note.)
• When ready to bake, transfer each dough ball to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and set aside until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Make the pizza pies: Preheat a gas grill to 500 degrees F or get a charcoal grill as hot as you can. Lightly dust a work surface with all-purpose flour.
• For each pizza: Gently flatten a piece of dough with the palm of your hand and then roll it into a 10- to 11-inch round, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Don't worry if it's not perfectly or even barely round; just make sure it's of uniform thickness (even if it's the shape of a beaver tail!).
• Sprinkle a pizza peel with semolina flour and transfer the stretched dough to the peel. (If you don't have a peel, use the back of an upturned sheet pan instead.) Slide the dough directly onto the grill. Cook until golden grill marks appear, about 1 minute per side; use tongs to flip.
• For the white pizza: In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta and fontina cheeses along with the thyme, rosemary, honey and some salt and pepper. Brush a grilled crust with olive oil. Spread with the cheese mixture in an even layer. Use the peel to return the pizza to the grill. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes, until the cheese is completely melted and the crust is fully browned. Remove from the grill and top with the prosciutto and arugula.
• For the margherita pizza: Brush a grilled crust with olive oil and spread evenly with the marinara sauce. Top with the torn mozzarella and sprinkle with the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Use the peel to transfer the pizza to the grill. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. Remove from grill and top with torn basil.

TENDERONI PIZZA

Steps:

• For the pizza dough: Heat 3 1/4 cups water to 95 degrees F. Dissolve the yeast in the water and transfer to the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; add all the flour. Run the mixer on the lowest speed until it comes together, about 2 minutes. Add all the salt and olive oil.
• Continue mixing until the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl and all of the ingredients are fully incorporated, an additional 6 to 7 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rest and proof at room temperature for 8 hours or up to overnight. Punch down the dough and divide into 4 portions. Place on a flour-dusted baking sheet, then cover lightly and let proof at room temperature for another 2 hours.
• For the pizza topping: Preheat a pizza stone in a 450 degrees F oven for at least 30 minutes.
• Run the tomatoes through a food mill into a small bowl, then season with salt to taste. Add the olive oil. Combine the chile paste and honey in another small bowl.
• Lightly dust a pizza peel with flour. Evenly roll a dough ball with a rolling pin to approximately 12 inches in diameter.
• Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella over the sauce and top with a quarter of the pepperoni slices. Slide the pizza onto the hot pizza stone and bake until crisp and deep golden brown on the crust, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and drizzle the chile honey over the top. Repeat with the remaining pizza dough and ingredients and serve.

TENDERONI GRILLED PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat half of a grill to medium-high heat. Mix together the honey and chile paste in a small bowl and set aside.
• Dust work surface with flour. Press the pizza dough into a 10- to 12-inch round, using a rolling pin to ensure the dough is an even thickness. Place dough on grill over direct heat and grill until lightly charred and dough is still soft and pliable, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from grill.
• Drizzle the crushed tomatoes with some olive oil. Evenly spread the tomatoes over the grilled pizza crust, then top with mozzarella, pepperoni, Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. Place pizza back on the indirect heat (cold) side of the grill and close grill. Let cook until the cheese is melted and bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes. Drizzle the pizza with the chile honey and sprinkle with basil leaves.

CHRISTIAN PETRONI'S TENDERONI PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to the highest temperature possible with a pizza stone on the upper rack, for 1 hour.
• Stretch pizza dough with your fingers, working in a circular motion, with your fingers positioned between the center of the dough and the edge, forming a rough disk that will gradually become thinner as you proceed. Then toss dough between the palms of your hands, allowing gravity to stretch it, and the center becomes thinner. Use your fists to move the dough in a circular motion to further stretch it, until it is about 12 inches in diameter, with the edge being slightly thicker. Place dough on a pizza peel lightly sprinkled with semolina to ensure it won't stick.
• Using a small ladle, evenly spread tomato sauce over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1/2-ich border. Distribute mozzarella uniformly over sauce; top with soppressata. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano, and drizzle with chili oil.
• When transferring pizza to the heated pizza stone in the oven, use one continuous, but quick, jerking motion. Once in the oven, turn the oven off, and turn broiler to high, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Serve drizzled with chili honey.

CHRISTIAN PETRONI'S PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine the water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir to dissolve. Add the flour all at once, and mix, using the dough hook on the lowest setting, for two minutes.
• Add the salt and continue mixing on medium-low speed for 6 to 7 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 24 hours. It should doubled in size.
• Turn dough out onto work surface and divide into eight 8-ounce portions. Form each portion into a ball with lightly oiled hands. Divide the shaped dough among two sheet pans lined with non-stick baking mats or lightly brushed with oil. Lightly brush dough with oil and cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for another 24 hours.
• Bring dough to room temperature one hour before shaping dough for pizza.