Grandma Pizza

4.99 from 58 votes

The Grandma pizza consists of a sheet pan style pizza baked with mozzarella, plum tomatoes, fresh garlic, Pecorino Romano, and oregano.

Prep Time3

Cook Time20

Cold fermenting time1

Total Time1 3 20

Course: pizza

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: pieces

Author: James Delmage and Tara

Ingredients

For the dough

406 grams bread flour or 3 1/4 cups
2 grams instant yeast or half teaspoon
8 grams fine sea salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons
4 grams sugar or 1 teaspoon
260 grams cold water 9 ounces
14 grams olive oil or 1 tablespoon

For the Grandma pizza

1 ~24 ounce dough ball from above
1 28 ounce can San Marzano plum tomatoes hand crushed and completely drained of liquid
12-16 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese weight will vary, but use enough to cover the pizza completely
3 tablespoons Pecorino Romano grated
3/4 cup olive oil divided
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Sicilian oregano or Italian

Instructions

For the dough

Place water in a bowl large enough to hold both the water and all the dry ingredients and still have room to spare. Mix together dry ingredients in another bowl.
Add dry ingredients to water a bit at a time and mix thoroughly to form a dry rough mass.
Pour the oil over the dough, mix again to scrape off any dough residue stuck to side of the bowl, and place the rough shaggy dough onto a work surface.
Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, place a clean bowl inverted over the dough and wait 30 minutes before resuming. Return to kneading (just make sure to knead for at least a total of 5 minutes).
Place the bowl over the dough once more and let sit for 30-40 minutes to warm up before forming the dough ball.
After 40 minutes pull the dough towards its end repeatedly to form a smooth ball. Pinch the seam side and place the dough ball seam side down into an oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before using.

For the Grandma pizza

Take the dough out of the fridge 2 hours prior to using. Do not uncover the bowl. Oil the bottom of a 12 by 16 sheet pan (or standard half sheet pan) with 3/8's cup of olive oil. You need to use a lot of oil!
Remove the dough from the bowl and place it into the pan. With your fingertips begin pressing the dough into the corners of the pan. You will not be able to do this in one attempt. Place plastic over the pan and let the dough warm up.
After 45 minutes remove the plastic and try to stretch it again to the size of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and repeat process one more time until the dough has completely filled the pan. Cover the dough one more time and set aside. Preheat oven to 450f and set one rack to the lowest level of the oven and one to the highest.
Hand crush the plum tomatoes and drain the juice. Save the juice for another use. Add a ½ teaspoon of kosher salt to the tomatoes and set aside.
Mince the garlic and add to a bowl with a ¼ cup of olive oil.
Remove the plastic from the pan and if required press the dough into the edges. Right away layer the mozzarella cheese in an overlapping shingle pattern, leaving the outside 1/4 to 1/2 inch uncovered. Start with a corner. By pressing the dough down slightly you can lock the dough into the corner. Make sure the dough is layered completely with the mozzarella slices.
Next, add the drained plum tomatoes to the pizza. You can use 45 degree lines or spoon the sauce all over. Leave some open areas. Don’t coat it all. Take the garlic oil and drizzle 3 tablespoons of the oil and garlic pieces all over the pizza.
Place the pizza onto the lowest rack and cook for 12 minutes rotating the pan 180 degrees after 6 minutes.
After 12 minutes remove the pizza from oven and check the bottom for browning. If the pizza is well-browned, bake on top rack for 6 more minutes. Otherwise, leave the pizza on the bottom rack for 6 more minutes.
After 18 minutes of baking remove the pizza and sprinkle with the oregano and Pecorino Romano cheese. Bake for 2 minutes more on top oven rack.
If the Grandma pizza is not crisp enough on top, you can broil for 30-60 seconds. Watch very carefully though!
The total cooking time will be approximately 20-22 minutes. Let the pizza sit for 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

The dough can be cold fermented for as little as 12 hours in the fridge, to as long as 72 hours.
If refrigerating the dough ball in a metal bowl use a bit more oil to coat. The metal bowls tend to stick more than plastic.
Cooking time will vary depending on the exact oven temp. After 12 minutes of cooking on the lowest rack the pizza should be very brown and crisp. If it's completely blond the pizza should be cooked for the remaining 8-10 minutes on the lowest rack.
The Grandma pizza needs a lot of oil. More than you think! The oil helps develop the amazing crispy bottom, so please use enough of it.
Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days and the pizza can be reheated at 350f on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet until hot. About 10 minutes.

Bakers Percentages: 64% hydration, .4% yeast, 2% salt, 3.4% oil, 1.2% sugar

Thickness Factor (TF): .127

Nutrition