Recipe: The Prescott-style homemade pizza

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“You’ve never had Prescott pizza?” my friend Judy asked. I hadn’t and by her facial expression it was obviously a huge, gaping hole in my culinary education.

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And what seemed like only minutes later, we entered the restaurant side of The Prescott Hotel on Preston Street in Ottawa, serving ladies and escorts, and gentlemen, since 1934.

The lighting was bright and the linoleum floor was shiny, dotted with formica topped tables and somewhat matching chairs. We walked to the window in the back to order. There were two types of pizza, with pepperoni and without. I’ve tried to remember if there were vegetables on the non-pepperoni pizza and if there were, it was probably mushrooms and green peppers.

The pizza itself was a huge rectangular slab. The counter man cleaved off a portion and heated it in the oven. He slid it onto the counter, cut it into squares and stacked them on a Melmac plate.

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Two of the things that bugged me the most about round pizza in a cardboard box was a soggy, undercooked centre or dry, overcooked cheese. The crust on the Prescott pizza was thick, crisp on the bottom, cooked all the way through and the cheese was soft and melty. This pizza was genius, delicious and, as I discovered later, Sicilian style.

The last time I had such a profound pizza experience was in Grade 8 “Home Ec.” class. The members of each kitchen brought in a pizza topping and I brought in breakfast sausages. We made a crust with tea-biscuit dough, added the toppings and baked it while cleaning up. I thought it was sublime.

A move to Toronto in 1981 left The Prescott pizza behind. When Italian food became popular there, I remembered my friend The Prescott and set out to emulate it.

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There were challenges, especially with getting a crisp crust in a home oven. Wet toppings equal a wet crust. To counteract this, I placed the sauce and toppings on the dough then baked it without the cheese until the dough was set. I added the cheese, then transferred it from the pan directly onto the oven rack where the crust became beautifully crisp and the cheese flowed like lava.

This type of pizza has not been as popular since the rise of the Neapolitan-style, 00 flour super-hydrated dough with the bubbly charred circumference. I’m not knocking it; it’s great pizza. Sometimes, though, you just want to indulge in the comfort of a thick chewy crust and a creamy, molten mouthful of cheese. There is room for both in your “pizzasphere.”

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Pizza pointers

This pizza was designed to give you a great pizza without a baking stone, peel, baking steel, 00 flour or pizza oven. It does require an 18 x 13-inch (46 x 33 cm) rimmed baking sheet, but it can also be baked in two 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) metal baking pans. The dough is not kneaded, it develops gluten during its long rise. The time is mostly unattended but you do have to plan ahead. After the dough proofs, count on three-and-a-half hours from the first stretching of the dough to when you eat. For a good, chewy crust, use bread flour.

Everyone has their favourite toppings. I use these two on a regular basis:

• 3 oz (90 g) thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces, 1/2 cup (125 ml) pitted black olives and 1 small onion, thinly sliced.

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• 8 oz (225 g) cooked Italian or chorizo sausage, crumbled, 1/2 cup (125 ml) pitted green olives and 1 lb (500 g) sliced, sautéed mushrooms.

If you’re using fresh mushrooms, slice them thickly and sauté them beforehand. I think a quick sauté of green and red peppers also helps the texture.

Mozzarella doesn’t always have to be the default cheese and truthfully, I rarely use it. My favourite cheese for pizza is Friulano. I like the slight tang and the way it melts. Fontina, Havarti and even brick cheese are all good. I avoid pre-shredded and low-fat cheese, as I think they melt terribly.

There are many good tomato sauces available — use one of your favourite ones or make your own. If you like oregano and your sauce does not contain it, add 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) rubbed oregano to the sauce.

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The Prescott-style pizza

3 1/2 cups (500 g) bread flour

1 tsp (6 g) salt

1 1/2 tsp (6 g) instant or rapid-rise yeast

4 tbsp (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups (375 ml/g) tepid water

1 cup (250 ml) tomato sauce

toppings as desired

3/4 lb (340 g) Friulano cheese, shredded

Combine flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add half of the olive oil and water. Stir until a soft and sticky dough forms, incorporating all the flour. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and rest in a cool spot at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.

Spread the remaining oil over the bottom and sides of a 18 x 13-inch (46 x 33 cm) rimmed baking sheet or two 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) metal baking pans. Transfer dough to the baking sheet, turning it over to cover with the oil. Spread the dough out with your hands until it resists. Cover and rest for 2 hours. Gently, to avoid collapsing the dough, press from the centre and stretch the edges until the dough reaches the edges of the pan. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

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Adjust one oven rack to the lowest position and another one to the middle. Heat the oven to 500 F (250 C). Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the dough and evenly sprinkle with the toppings. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the cheese. Turn the broiler to 450 F (225 C) and place the pizza on the middle rack. Broil for 5-7 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the crust is browned. Serve immediately.

Makes 4-6 servings.

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