I vowed at the end of my last Pittsburgh Square Pizza Tour that I would attempt to discover the formula for these types of tray pizzas. After doing some research, I took my first shot. The conclusion was very encouraging, but more work is needed.

The key to that pizza seems to be lots of yeast, a warm dough temperature and two nice faraway rise periods. Here’s the recipe:

2 Packets of IDY dissolved into
1 cup hot water
allow yeast to activate and double in volume

1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups high gluten flour

The dough mixed in my bread machine for 10 minutes until smooth and I allowed it to have it’s first rise in the machine for 20 minutes. Fill the bottom of a cookie sheet with olive oil, abundant to eventually deep fry the crust. Wipe some on the sides of the tray as well. Next, remove the dough and loosely style it into the shape the cookie sheet. I found it helpful to stretch it on the counter soon after place it into the tray. It should nearly touch the edges. Lightly spray the top of

the dough with oil to avoid letting it dry out.

Next, I allowed it to rise a second day for about 15 minutes in a warm dark place. I typically turn my oven on the lowest setting while the dough mixes thereupon turn it off when I place the dough in for a rise period. It should be around 100 degrees and moist.

Once the dough rises to fill the tray, it can be topped. I used Neapolitan sauce and placed pepperoni on half on the sheet pie. The pie baked for 15 minutes at 450 degrees and turned golden brown. The bottom gets nice and crisp while the rest of the slice has a nice soft bite.

This pizza was not poor at all for the first attempt. I should have let it rise for much longer the second day, and additionally should have baked it longer. These changes should manufacture a huge difference in the overall flavor. I was very encouraged by the texture and taste of the pizza. It’s not very comparable to the ones I had in Pittsburgh, but it’s definitely on the right track! Stay tuned as I work that one out.

UPDATE: Extending the rise date and a longer bake made that pizza turn out much better. Read more about tray pizza round two.

Original post by PizzaBill