Recipe from Rick Easton
Adapted by Mark Bittman
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus rising
- Rating
- 4(155)
- Notes
- Read community notes
In order to bring out all their flavor and sweetness, you must sauté bell peppers before putting them on this variation of the Pittsburgh-based baker and cook Rick Easton's pizza; but that’s hardly any work at all. (If you like, add a couple of semihot peppers to the mix.) The mozzarella is a nice touch, as is the rosemary, but almost any herb will work beautifully here. Don’t skimp on the olive oil, and don’t underbake the pie; it should be good and brown on the bottom. —Mark Bittman
Featured in: A Slice of Heaven in Pittsburgh
Learn: How to Make Pizza
or to save this recipe.
Print Options
Include recipe photo
Advertisem*nt
Ingredients
Yield:1 pizza
- ¾teaspoon (2 grams) yeast
- 1⅞cups lukewarm water
- 3½cups or 500 grams bread flour, plus more for dusting
- 3teaspoons or 8 grams kosher or sea salt
- 4tablespoons or 40 grams extra-virgin olive oil
- 5bell peppers of varying colors
- 8ounces fresh mozzarella, torn into small pieces
- 1tablespoon chopped rosemary leaves
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- ½teaspoon salt
- Pepper to taste
Pizza Dough
Toppings
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
In a comfortably large, preferably rectangular plastic container, dissolve the yeast into 1¾ cups of lukewarm water. Mix in the flour with your hand, squishing it together, just until the flour is absorbed. The dough will be very wet and shaggy. Remove what stuck to your fingers, and mix into the dough. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap, and rest for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Step
2
Dissolve the salt in remaining ⅛ cup of water, and mix with your hand into the dough. Don’t worry if it doesn’t all mix in. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap, and rest for another 20 minutes at room temperature.
With wet hands, release the dough from the sides of the container. Coat the top of the dough with 1 tablespoon of oil, and make a trifold or letter fold by lifting up the dough one-third of the way through and letting the end drop and fold underneath. Repeat this action on the other side so that the seam is on the bottom. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap, and rest for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Repeat this process two more times. After the third fold, rest the dough in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. Sometime halfway through resting, repeat the trifold with oil one last time.
Step
4
If you have a pizza stone, slide it on the lowest rack or on the floor of your oven, and heat oven to 500. Heat for at least 30 minutes and preferably longer before baking. Slice the bell peppers thinly, and sauté, stirring frequently, over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and salt until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Step
5
Lightly grease an 18-by-13-inch jellyroll pan with olive oil. (A cookie sheet of a similar size makes a good alternative.) Wipe the pan clean with a dry paper towel; it’s important not to bake the pizza on too much oil. Flip the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently press out into a rectangle ½-to-¾-inch thick, being careful not to deflate the dough too much. Place one forearm over the dough, and use the other hand to flip the dough over the forearm and then into the pan, leaving the floured side up. Rearrange the dough on the pan, again pressing only lightly.
Step
6
Spread the topping evenly across the dough, drizzle generously with oil and bake on the pizza stone (or directly on the bottom of the oven or lowest rack) for 5 minutes. Move the pizza to the middle rack in the oven, and continue to bake for 10 to 15 more minutes or until golden brown.
Step
7
Using a bench scraper or metal spatula, scoop under the pizza, and scrape to release it from the pan. This may take some blind faith and a bit of elbow grease. Slide out onto a cutting board, and slice into pieces using a chef’s knife, scissors or pizza cutter. Serve immediately or at room temperature, or reheat.
Variations
Step
8
Rick Easton creates new variations seasonally, and so can you. Some of his current favorites are:
Step
9
Bake topped only with extra-virgin olive oil, then, when warm, top with Gorgonzola cheese, sautéed onions, grilled pear, fried sage, salt and pepper.
Step
10
Bake with roast puréed pumpkin and fresh mozzarella, then top with walnuts and fresh arugula, olive oil, a light squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Step
11
Bake with braised leeks and sautéed apples, then top with thinly sliced lonzino (cured pork loin), or other cured meats like dry coppa, bresaola or prosciutto, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
Ratings
4
out of 5
155
user ratings
Your rating
or to rate this recipe.
Have you cooked this?
or to mark this recipe as cooked.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Ronnie Ross
Dear Mark Bittman,
You (and your column) are the only reason I continued to get the New York Times for all these years. Your recipes have been sensible, straightforward, and delicious; your articles interesting and informative, and I will miss you!
Ferguson
This was fabulous and really easy. Instead of flipping the dough over my arm and either getting dough on my clothes or stuck in my arm hair I patted out the rectangle on a floured cloth and used that to transfer it.
Lauren
This crust works and is delicious. I replaced 1 cup bread flour with 1 cup wheat, used only 1 tsp salt, took the dough out of the refrigerator 3 hours before baking, and set the oven to 450 rather than 500 (a lot of pans tell you not to go above 450), but this lengthy dough-making process really works. The end result is a flavorful crust that rises beautifully and is full of air pockets. I baked mine on a nonstick Williams & Sonoma pan, which I preheated for maximum crispiness.
Roberta Schwartz
Dear Mark Bittman,
Glad you ended your column with a nod to Pittsburgh, my hometown, one without pretension and with plenty of eccentricity (i.e., the sloppy sandwich with french fries and coleslaw). I haven't made this pizza yet, but I plan to do so later this morning. Thanks for your writing and your recipes, which have strengthened my cooking and kept my family members together for dinner. Good luck with the Purple Carrot and please keep those recipes online!
Mrs. MacGreco
This was delicious. It reminded my husband of his Italian grandmother's pizza. Rather than sauteing the peppers, I roasted them on a sheet pan along with some onions and halved grape tomatoes. I made the dough in my Kitchen Aid, then did the 3 folds. Then I transferred the dough to my well-oiled sheet pan (Grandma Phyllis would NOT have skimped on the oil) and let it rise there (covered). I let the dough rise at room temp all day and baked in the evening instead of waiting 24 hrs.
Susan-Jane
I believe that its 1 3/4 (one and three fourth )
TJ
Used a premade dough (hooray for Trader Joe’s!), came out wonderfully. I only used two bell peppers, maybe mine were just very large because I still had extras! Will be using this method and the alternate recipes for sure.
Patsy
Love this!
Jonathan
Is the idea here to laminate the dough with the oil? Otherwise I can't see why we don't just mix the oil in with the dough from the start.
Sam's Version
I’m going to top it with more mozzarella than he uses, add the sauce I use for pan pizza, and swap pepperoni for the peppers. A
J Cohen
This is similar to what we call Detroit style pizza here in Michigan. We bake it in blue steel pans (a nod to its Motor City origins) and top it with warmed red sauce after it comes out of the oven. I can't wait to try your topping variations!
Mrs. MacGreco
This was delicious. It reminded my husband of his Italian grandmother's pizza. Rather than sauteing the peppers, I roasted them on a sheet pan along with some onions and halved grape tomatoes. I made the dough in my Kitchen Aid, then did the 3 folds. Then I transferred the dough to my well-oiled sheet pan (Grandma Phyllis would NOT have skimped on the oil) and let it rise there (covered). I let the dough rise at room temp all day and baked in the evening instead of waiting 24 hrs.
Jackie
Crust was a bust. Tasty but must have done something wrong with the dough. Will use another dough recipe next time. Topping was delish.
Gerry
Too much oil, too intricate. Trying elements of Hamelman Ciabatta, Focaccia methods and doughs, also adapting Roberta’s dough (NYT Sifton) for pizza, with bread flour and 00 1:1, baked in olive oiled cake pan. See Field notes.
Gerry
Sometimes, Bittman’s slap-dash “no-recipe’s” work to good effect, but not here. Easton trained in the kitchen of Gabrielle Bonci, Rome’s pizza chef supreme, and a master of the pan pizza. Easton’s pizza’s are great because of his knowledge of baking, his attention to every detail; right down to where to bake them in the oven, and even the selection of the type of baking pan (Easton imports his from Puglia). Don’t buy this recipe unless you are an expert- a bad one.
Tom Ames
Instead of the “blind faith and elbow grease,” can you lay down parchment paper between the pan and the dough? Asking for a friend :)
Jean
Added cacio cavallo cheese, kalmata olives, pepperocini, and basil. Used whole wheat in crust.
Lisa
1/2 tsp salt worked okay in the dough (loved one is very salt restricted) and the ‘arm flip’ was the most exciting part of my day! Excited to riff on the toppings, but the red pepper rosemary is delicious.
Susan
The directions for the dough are so overwhelming that you may miss the direction to sauté the bell peppers, as I did the one of two times I’ve made this recipe. Sautéing is an essential step, otherwise water from the bell peppers will make the result soggy. When not soggy this is an excellent pizza.
Katie
This was... okay. It wasn't so flavorful, and we wished we'd used tomato sauce.
Matt B
You can also do roasted peppers, blistering the skin till they are blackened, put in a plastic bag for an hour and peel them. The missus loves roasted peppers on pizza!
Private notes are only visible to you.
