Boston-Style Pizza
Also called New England Greek pizza, Greek pizza, pan pizza
Pan pizza with a plush, bready crumb, lots of sauce and a mix of sharp white cheddar and aged mozzarella, baked in cast iron for a crisp, almost fried bottom.
- Makes
- two 12-inch pizzas
Ingredients
Amounts are for the recipe. Sizes, times and temperatures in the method are not scaled.
Dough
Sauce
Cheese and toppings
For the pans
Amounts worked out from the other system are rounded.
Method
Dough, a day ahead
Mix and rest. Combine the bread flour (495 g4¼ cups), sugar (10 g2½ tsp) and yeast (3 g¾ tsp) in a stand mixer with the dough hook and mix on low for 30 seconds. Add the milk (305 g1¼ cups) and olive oil (50 g¼ cup) and mix on low until a uniform dough forms and no dry flour remains, 2 to 4 minutes. Cover and rest 20 minutes.
Knead. Add the kosher salt (9 g1½ tsp) and knead on medium speed until smooth, elastic and pulling from the sides of the bowl, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 30 seconds. Divide into 2 balls of 425 g each and shape each one tight and even.
Cold proof. Put each ball seam side down in a lightly oiled bowl. Drizzle ½ tsp olive oil over each and spread to coat. Cover and refrigerate 18 to 36 hours.
Sauce
Combine the olive oil (21 g1½ tbsp), the kosher salt (2.5 g½ tsp), the garlic, the anchovy if using, the oregano (1 g1¼ tsp) and the red pepper flakes in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sizzling and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste (42 g2½ tbsp) and stir constantly for 1 minute, until it darkens slightly.
Add 400 g of the blended tomatoes and the sugar (6 g1½ tsp) and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook 50 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
Stir in the remaining 200 g of raw blended tomatoes. Season with salt and sugar to taste. Cool to room temperature.
Assemble and bake
Prepare the pans. Spread about 12 g of shortening over the bottom and sides of each 12-inch cast-iron skillet.
Pan the dough. Put each cold dough ball seam side down in the center of a pan. Press gently into a 6-inch disk, flip it, then press evenly toward the edges. Cover loosely with parchment.
Final proof. Proof at warm room temperature, about 75°F, until puffy and doubled, 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Heat the oven. 30 minutes before baking, set a baking steel or stone on the lower-middle rack and heat the oven to 550°F, or as high as it goes.
Top. Working from the center outward, gently compress the dough with your fingertips, leaving a ½-inch raised rim. Spread sauce over the compressed area. Top each pizza with 60 g cheddar, 60 g mozzarella, ¼ tsp oregano and a drizzle of 1 tsp olive oil.
Bake. Put the pans in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 450°F. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until the bottom crust is evenly browned and the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.
Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a thin spatula around the edge to release, move to a cutting board and cut into 8 wedges.
Notes
- Cheese. Grate it yourself. Pre-grated cheese won't melt or brown properly.
- Tomatoes. A 28 oz can holds more than the 600 g used here.
- Anchovy. It dissolves completely and adds depth without tasting of anchovy.
- Shortening. It coats the pan evenly and doesn't slide around under the dough the way olive oil does.
- Baking one at a time. When the first pizza has been in for 12 minutes, press out and top the second. Put it in as soon as the first comes out; there is no need to reheat the oven to 550°F in between.
- Stone. With a baking stone in place of a steel, preheat for 1 hour.
- The sauce keeps up to 3 days in the fridge.