Ingredients
Sicilian-Style Pizza Dough
- 375 g lukewarm water, max 110℉
- 8 g active dry yeast
- 15 g extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to coat
- 15 g honey
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 10 g fine sea salt
San Marzano Pizza Sauce
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 400 ml can san marzano tomatoes1, crushed by hand or with a food mill
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt, or more to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Pizza Toppings
- 2 cups mozzarella, shredded
- 1-2 pickled banana pepper slices or jalapeños, (optional)
- 1 tbsp red onion, thinly sliced
- 100 g dry pizza pepperoni
- hot honey, drizzled after baking
- fresh basil, thinly sliced or torn
Equipment
Method
Pizza Dough
- Activate the Yeast: In a large bowl, add the warm water, active dry yeast, olive oil, and honey. Whisk to combine and set aside for 5 minutes to activate the yeast. If using instant yeast, you may skip this step.
- Make the Dough: Once the yeast has activated/proofed, add in the flour and salt. Stir with a spatula or fork until the dough comes together into a mass. Cover and set aside to rest. Once 30 minutes has elapsed, perform a few sets of stretch and folds or coil folds until a smooth dough ball remains. Place in a clean, oiled bowl and cover. Let it rise for 1 - 1 ½ hrs.
- Bulk Rise: Place the dough in a clean bowl coated with olive oil. Cover, and set aside for 1 hour at room temperature to rise and double in size.
- Second Rise: Set out a baking tray and coat generously with olive oil. Dump the dough onto the baking tray. Using oiled or wet hands, gently lift the edges of the dough and stretch towards the edges of the pan. Dimple the dough to flatten, and let it rest for another hour. During this time, start the pizza sauce.
- Ready to Add Toppings: Once the dough has rested and risen a bit and appears puffy, use oiled or wet hands to once again coax the dough towards the edges. Lift gently and make sure there's oil under each bit of the dough. Dimple again and make sure the dough fills the pan.
Make the Pizza Sauce
- Preheat a small saucepan or pot over medium-low. Once warm, add the olive oil and let it heat up before adding in the garlic. Cook gently, swirling occasionally until deeply fragrant and lightly golden. Do not burn.
- Add in the tomato paste and stir well with the garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute until the paste darkens in colour.
- Stir in the crushed tomatotes, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes until it's thickened. *While this simmers - preheat the Traeger to 425°F*
Dress the Pizza
- Once the pizza dough completes its second rise and you have shaped it edge to edge, cover the entire surface in shredded mozzarella.
- Either in dollops or in diagonal strips, add the pizza sauce. Top with the spicy peppers, red onion, and any other toppings you desire before you add the pepperoni.
Bake the Pizza
- Add the pizza tray with your prepared pizza to the Traeger. Close the lid and bake, undisturbed, for 7-8 minutes. Rotate the pizza 180° and bake for another 7-8 minutes.
- After 15 minutes total bake time, rotate the pizza 90° and bake another 5 minutes, then rotate 180° and bake another 5 minutes. Always close the lid promptly after rotating.
- Finally, rotate the pizza back to its original position for the last 5 minutes. The dough should be baked at this time, but I prefer to let the cheese brown just a bit more (another 5 minutes). You may take it off at any time.
- Remove from the grill and drizzle with hot honey. Let it cool 5 minutes before adding shredded/torn basil and then slice and serve. Enjoy!