Potato Pizza

Jim Lahey's Pizza Patate from "My Bread"

Basic Pizza Dough: enough dough for two pies baked in 13x18-inch rimmed baking sheets

1.      In a bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add the water, and using a spoon, your hand, or a baker's plastic bench scraper, mix together until blended - about a minute. You don't want to mix or knead this dough too much, or else the gluten will develop and you won't be able to shape it in the pan. But you want to mix in all the lumps of flour. In the end, you'll arrive at a stiff dough.

2.      Cover the dough and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours.

3.      Dump out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut it in half. Use both pieces, or save one in the refrigerator (I use a zip lock bag) for up to 1 day.

4.      Oil a 13x18 inch rimmed baking sheet liberally with good extra virgin olive oil. Then gently plop the dough on the pan and stretch and press it out to the edges. If it springs back (that's the gluten working), wait 5 minutes and then proceed. I found the gluten weak enough to spread it fully over the pan. The dough is very thin. If it tears, piece it back together.

5.      Add topping.

PIZZA PATATE: Soak the potatoes in salted water first to extracts about 20 percent of their moisture. That causes them to cook more quickly and makes them firmer. 

Yield: One 13-by-18-inch pie; 8 slices; Equipment: A mandoline

1 quart (800 g) lukewarm water 
4 tsp (24 g) table salt 
6 to 8 (1 kg) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled 
1 cup (100 g) diced yellow onion 
1/2 teaspoon (2 g) freshly ground black pepper 
About 1⁄2 cup (80 g) extra virgin olive oil 
1/2 recipe (400 g) Basic Pizza Dough 
(About 1 tablespoon (2 g) fresh rosemary leaves)

1.      Preheat the oven to 500 F (260 C) with a rack in the middle

2.      In a medium bowl, combine the water and salt, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Use a knife or mandoline to slice the peeled potatoes very thin (1/16th inch thick), and put the slices directly into the salted water so they don’t oxidize and turn brown. Let soak in the brine for 1-1/2 hour (or refrigerate and soak for up to 12 hours), until the slices are wilted and no longer crisp.

3.      Drain the potatoes in a colander and use your hands to press out as much water as possible, then pat dry. In a medium bowl, toss together the potato slices, onion, pepper, and olive oil.

4.      Spread the potato mixture evenly over the dough, going all the way to the edges of the pan; put a bit more of the topping around the edges of the pie, as the outside tends to cook more quickly. (Sprinkle evenly with the rosemary.)

5.      Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the topping is starting to turn golden brown and the crust is pulling away from the sides of the pan. Serve the pizza hot or at room temperature. It's delicious with Boston market cremed spinach on top.