← Nouns Cooking · American

Ingredients

• 400 g Plain (all-purpose) flour
• 40 g fine yellow cornmeal
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 1½ tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 240 ml lukewarm water
• 60 g unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 40 g unsalted butter, very soft, for laminating and the pan
• 800 g tinned whole plum tomatoes, drained and crushed by hand
• 2 cloves Garlic, grated
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• 1 pinch Sugar
• 340 g low-moisture mozzarella, sliced
• 40 g Parmesan, finely grated
• 225 g Italian sausage, skinned and crumbled (optional)

Method

1. Mix the flour, cornmeal, yeast, salt and sugar in a big bowl. Add the water, melted butter and olive oil and knead for 5 min into a soft, slightly sticky dough. Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled.
2. Roll the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle about 30 x 40 cm. Spread with half the soft butter, roll it up tightly from a long side like a Swiss roll, then coil the log into a snail. Chill for 15 min; these layers make the crust flaky.
3. Meanwhile, simmer the crushed tomatoes with the garlic, oregano, a pinch of sugar and salt for 10–15 min, until thick enough that a spoon leaves a trail. Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, 425°F) and grease a 30 cm cast-iron pan or deep cake tin with the rest of the butter.
4. Roll the dough snail out into a 38 cm round and lift it into the pan, pressing it up the sides to about 4 cm high.
5. Cover the base with the mozzarella slices (and the raw sausage, if using, pressed into a thin layer). Spoon over the tomato sauce and scatter with Parmesan.
6. Bake on a low shelf for 30–35 min, until the crust is deep golden and the sauce has darkened at the edges.
7. Rest for 10 min before cutting so the cheese sets, then lift out the wedges with a cake slice.

Tips

• Adding the optional sausage makes it no longer vegetarian; make sure it reaches 71°C (160°F) in the middle of the pie.
• Parmesan is made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese if that matters to you.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

King Arthur Baking Once Upon a Chef