Tony Gemignani’s Cracker-Thin with Fennel Sausage

Cracker-Thin with Fennel Sausage
Makes one 13-inch pizza; 16 small squares

This is a nice, straight-ahead choice for your first crack at cracker-thin. My homemade fennel sausage makes all the difference, but of course, if you're short on time, you can use store-bought.
INGREDIENTS
1 (10-ounce/280-gram) ball Cracker-Thin Dough (see accompanying recipe)
Medium-grind cornmeal, for dusting
1/3 cup (85 grams) Cracker-Thin Tomato Sauce (see accompanying recipe), at room temperature
1 teaspoon (3 grams) finely chopped garlic
1 ounce (30 grams) provolone cheese, sliced (1 slice)
6 ounces (170 grams) part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (1-1/2 cups)
4 ounces (115 grams) Sweet Fennel Sausage (see accompanying recipe)
Grated Pecorino Romano cheese, for dusting
Dried oregano, for dusting
Red pepper flakes, for dusting (optional)
Garlic Oil (see accompanying recipe), for drizzling

INSTRUCTIONS
Remove the dough ball from the refrigerator and leave wrapped at room temperature until the dough warms to 60°F to 65°F. Meanwhile, set up the oven with two pizza stones or baking steels and preheat to 500°F for 1 hour.
Dust the work surface with a generous amount of cornmeal, then transfer the dough to the surface and dust the top with cornmeal.
Sprinkle a wooden peel with cornmeal. Roll out the dough into a thin round 13 to 15 inches in diameter. (After you make your first cracker-thin pizza, you will be able to determine how thin you like your crust.) Using a pizza wheel, trim the dough to a 13-round. Press the edges gently to flatten them, then dock the surface of the dough.
Move the dough to the peel. As you work, shake the peel forward and backward to ensure the dough isn't sticking.
Spoon the tomato sauce onto the center of the dough. Then, using the back of the spoon in a circular motion and working outward from the center, spread the sauce evenly over the surface, leaving a 1/4-inch border. The sauce will weigh down the dough, keeping it flat as it bakes.
The dough may have contracted as it was moved, so pull the edges as necessary to restretch it to its original diameter. Baking the crust without the cheese will make for a crispier crust.
Slide the pizza onto the top stone. Bake for 3 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven and place
it on a cutting board (or work directly on the peel if there is room to set it on the work surface).
Sprinkle with the garlic. Break the provolone into several small pieces and scatter them evenly over the pizza. Mound the mozzarella in the center of the pizza and use your fingertips to spread it out evenly from the center to the edge of the sauce. Pinch nickel-size pieces of the sausage and distribute them evenly around the pizza.
Lift the pizza with the peel (if on a cutting board), rotate it 180 degrees, and transfer it to the bottom stone. Bake for 3 minutes, lift it onto the peel, rotate 180 degrees, and return it to the bottom stone. Continue to bake for 4 minutes. Move the pizza to the top stone for a final 1 minute to crisp the bottom.
Transfer the pizza to the cutting board. Make 3 evenly spaced cuts through the pizza in one direction (to make 4 strips of equal width), rotate the pizza 90 degrees, and repeat in the other direction, to make 16 squares.
Finish with a light dusting of pecorino, oregano, and pepper flakes and a drizzle of garlic oil.

Cracker-Thin Dough
Makes 30 ounces (840 grams), enough for 3 cracker-thin pizzas
INGREDIENTS
2.3 grams (3/4 teaspoon) active dry yeast
70 grams (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) warm water (80°F to 85°F)
430 grams (3-1/2 cups) all-purpose flour with 12 percent protein, preferably Ceresota
23 grams (2-1/2 tablespoons) medium-grind cornmeal
10 grams (1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon) diastatic malt
210 grams (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) ice water, or more as needed
90 grams Poolish (see sidebar)
10 grams (2 teaspoons) fine sea salt
Put the yeast in a small bowl, add the warm water, and whisk vigorously for 30 seconds. The yeast should dissolve in the water and the mixture should foam. If it doesn't and the yeast granules float, the yeast is "dead" and should be discarded. Begin again with a fresh amount of yeast and water.
Combine the flour, cornmeal, and malt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. With the mixer running on the lowest speed, pour in most of the ice water, reserving about 2 tablespoons, followed by the yeast-water mixture. Pour the reserved water into the yeast bowl, swirl it around to dislodge any bits of yeast stuck to the bowl, and add it to the mixer. Mix for about 15 seconds, stop the mixer, and add the poolish.
Continue to mix the dough at the lowest speed for about 1 minute, until most of the dough comes together around the hook. Stop the mixer. Use your fingers to pull away any dough that clings to the hook, and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a bowl scraper or rubber spatula.
Add the salt and mix for 3 more minutes. At this point, all of the water will be absorbed but the dough may not be completely smooth.
Check the bottom of the bowl for any unincorporated flour. Turn the dough over and press it into the bottom of the bowl to pick up any stray pieces.
Use a bowl scraper to transfer the dough to an unfloured work surface, then knead it for 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth. Cover the dough with a damp dish towel and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Use your dough cutter to loosen the dough and to cut it into thirds. Weigh each piece, adjusting the quantity to give you three 10-ounce (280-gram) pieces. Discard any remaining dough.
Form the dough into balls. Set the balls on a half sheet pan, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Or, if you will be baking the balls on different days, place them on separate quarter sheet pans. Wrap the pan(s) airtight with a double layer of plastic wrap, sealing the wrap well under the pan(s). Put the pan(s) in a level spot in the refrigerator and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.
POOLISH

Makes 90 grams

INGREDIENTS
0.12 gram (one-third of 1/8 teaspoon) active dry yeast or 0.36 gram fresh yeast, broken into small pieces
47 grams (3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) cold tap water
47 grams (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) flour used in dough recipe

Put the yeast in a small bowl, add the water, and whisk vigorously for 30 seconds. The mixture should bubble on top. If it doesn't and the yeast granules float, the yeast is "dead" and should be discarded. Begin again with a fresh amount of yeast and water.

Add the flour and stir well with a rubber spatula to combine. The consistency will be quite thick, resembling a thick pancake batter.


Cracker-Thin Tomato Sauce
Makes a generous 1-3/4 cups (455 grams)
INGREDIENTS
12 ounces (340 grams/1-1/2 cups) ground tomatoes, preferably 7/11 or DiNapoli
4 ounces (115 grams/1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons) tomato paste, preferably Saporito Super Heavy Pizza Sauce
1 teaspoon (.6 grams) dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) fine sea salt
1 teaspoon (5 grams) extra virgin olive oil
2 fresh basil leaves, torn
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the ground tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, salt, and oil in a deep bowl or other deep container and puree with an immersion blender. Stir in the basil leaves.
The sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days before using.

Sweet Fennel Sausage
Makes 2 pounds (910 grams)
Along with my Calabrese Honey Sausage, this one gets used throughout my menus and all through this book. Both are flavored with a bit of honey, which adds a subtle sweetness and also helps keep the meat juicy as it cooks. Buy medium-grind pork, or even better, buy pork shoulder and ask the butcher to double grind it, first through a 1/2-inch die and then through a 3/8-inch die. Many people, including a lot of professionals, are surprised when I tell them that I never use cooked sausage in a pizza (unless it's a sliced cooked link). Raw sausage, when added in the quantity and piece size I call for, cooks perfectly in the time allotted.
INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 tablespoons (9 grams) fennel seeds
1-1/2 tablespoons (9 grams) anise seeds
1 teaspoon (4.5 grams) fine sea salt
2 teaspoons (4.5 grams) freshly ground black pepper
2-1/2 tablespoons (37 grams) cold water
2 pounds (910 grams) medium-grind pork shoulder
2 tablespoons (42 grams) honey
INSTRUCTIONS
Grind the fennel seeds lightly in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle, leaving some texture. Transfer them to a small bowl. Repeat with the anise seeds but grind them a bit finer, then add to the bowl.
Neither spice should be ground to a powder. Add the salt and pepper and stir in the water. Adding water will help to incorporate the spices evenly into the pork.
Put the pork into a large bowl and top with the spice mixture. Using your hands, work the spices evenly into the meat. Add the honey and mix again.
Cook a small amount of the sausage in a small skillet or a microwave and taste. Adjust the seasonings to your taste. Cover the meat with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours, until cold, or for up to 2 days before using.
For longer storage, wrap the sausage airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before using.


GARLIC OIL
Makes 1/4 cup (60 grams)
Garlic oil is one of my favorite "secret ingredients" for finishing pizzas. It's quick and easy to make, but it's best made at least an hour in advance. The longer you leave it, the more the garlic flavor infuses into the oil, so I recommend making it a day ahead, at the same time you make your sauce.
INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 teaspoons (5 grams) minced garlic
1/4 cup (55 grams) extra virgin olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the garlic and oil in a small bowl. Cover and store in the refrigerator for a day or two.