The Delancey pizza dough recipe is proprietary, but Pettit gave
his approval of this recipe I adapted from Tim Artz. In fact, Pettit
has no problem with the home cook using a store-bought pizza
dough. He’s less concerned with the recipe itself than he is that
you treat your pizza dough properly. That means letting it rise for
the requisite amount of time so the flavors can develop. That also
means stretching it as thin as you can so you don’t get a big
bready blob when you bake it. To know if the dough is going to be
flavorful, do what Pettit does: taste it raw. Its level of saltiness
and sourness will dictate how to flavor what you top it with.
½ teaspoon dried yeast
2½ cups water, slightly warmer than room temperature
2 to 2½ cups all-purpose or double-zero pizza flour, plus 2½
to 3 cups for later (plus more, as necessary)
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
The night before you plan to make the pizza, mix the yeast and
the water together in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk
attachment on medium speed until the mixture is fluffy, about 1
minute. On medium speed, mix in 2 to 2½ cups of flour until the
mixture is slightly thicker than pancake batter (this is called your
“sponge”). Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit at room
temperature overnight.
The next morning, add the salt and olive oil to the sponge and,
with the mixer on medium-low speed (and using the dough hook