As a New Yorker, I catch a lot of flak when I tell people I like Domino's pizza. Living in a city where some of the best pizza in the country is just around the corner from my apartment, people find it hard to believe that I'd stoop to such a level, not to mention doing so as a person who is deeply passionate about food, cooking, and the quality of ingredients. But I need everyone to hear me out.
It's not that I love Domino's, and that I'd eat anything and everything on their menu. There's one thing in particular that I like from Domino's; one thing and one thing only that makes me confident enough to be able to say, "Yes, I am ordering Domino's for dinner tonight."
That one thing is their thin crust.
The concerning mysteries surrounding the nutrition of the pizza, and, well, some of those judging looks I get every time I admit to eating one, eventually made me want to try to make one at home. I knew it wouldn't be easy, because as I said before, Domino's thin-crust pizza is a distinctively unique dish that only tastes the way it does because it's Domino's, but I decided to give it a try.
I had a little help with my recipe. With research and studying the chemistry of dough and baking, I was able to determine how to get that thin, cracker crust. The sauce, though, is less about structure and more about taste, and when I was doing my research, I learned that our friend Todd Wilbur, expert recipe cloner, had already done some of the legwork for me. Wilbur replicated a Domino's pizza on his show Top Secret Recipe, and to do this he visited Domino's headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich., and developed a recipe with the help of a food scientist from University of Michigan. In the end, he won the challenge, and fooled one judge in a blind taste test. Luckily for me, he agreed to share his recipe.
It still doesn't taste like Domino's, though - I mean, how can it? - but I'm not too sure that's such a bad thing.
Domino's Thin-Crust Pizza Recipe
INGREDIENTS
For the sauce:
1/2 cup canned, crushed tomatoes
1 cup tomato purée
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 tablespoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground oregano
1/8 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram
Pinch of ground cayenne
For the pizza dough:
2 cups high-gluten bread flour
3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, plus more if needed
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
DIRECTIONS
For the sauce:
Make the sauce by combining the crushed tomatoes with tomato purée in a blender. Blend on medium speed for 30 seconds. Combine tomato sauce with other sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool, then chill in a covered container until you make your pizza.
For the pizza dough:
Mix the dough together and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees an hour before you begin assembling the pizza.
Bring the dough to room temperature and roll it out into a very thin, round crust. Dock the dough but using a dough docker or poking it with holes using a fork. Bake the crust for 4 minutes before topping with the rest of the ingredients.
Mix together the cheese and dried herbs. Place on top of sauce and bake the pizza for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.
Recipe Details
Servings: 8
Total time: 24 hours
Cuisine: American
Notes and Substitutions:
Special thanks to Todd Wilbur of Top Secret Recipes for his pizza sauce recipe, and Emily Jacobs of Sage Recipes for helping test this recipe.
No comments:
Post a Comment