Tony Gemignani shares his Grandma Pizza Recipe
Editor’s Note: For many years now, the one and only Tony Gemignani has contributed a recipe each month to this page. As you might suspect, Tony is a very busy human being. He’s going to write some longer feature-length articles for us in the future, and we also have him doing a lot at Pizza Expo. As such, it’s time for something new on this page. Next month we will unveil “On Deck,†a new monthly recipe page authored by Chris Decker, managing partner of Metro Pizza in Las Vegas.
But before we get to that: we asked our Editor-in-Chief, Jeremy White, to choose his personal favorite recipe that Tony has contributed to this page. He selected Tony’s Grandma Pie. Here it is. Thank you for all the great recipes, Tony! Stay tuned for On Deck next month.
- 8-ounce dough ball
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1¼ cups hand-crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
- Dried oregano for seasoning and sprinkling
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 8 ounces fresh, whole-milk mozzarella
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
- Grated Pecorino-Romano cheese for dusting
- Garlic oil for drizzling
- It’s best to work with the dough at about 65 F for this pizza.
- Pour the olive oil in the center of a 12-inch by18-inch steel Sicilian pan.
- Place the dough in the pan and flip it over to coat both sides with the oil. Use flat, fully extended fingers to press the dough outward in all directions. Make an even layer.
- Let sit, uncovered, in a warm spot for 30 minutes to rest. After resting, push the dough outward again a second time. Be light with the dough, careful not to degas it. Get the thickness as uniform as possible.
- In a bowl, toss the crushed tomatoes with the garlic and a pinch of oregano, salt and pepper.
- Tear the fresh mozzarella in 16 irregular chunks and arrange them on the pizza.
- Sprinkle the cheese lightly with salt.
- Next, spoon the tomatoes evenly on top of the cheese (it won’t cover the entire surface) and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 8 minutes at 500 F.
- Rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 7 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the bottom is richly browned and crisp.
- Cut into 12 squares.
- Finish with a dusting of Pecorino and oregano and a drizzle of garlic oil.
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