NEVER Make Pizza Crust Like Cardboard Again. Try My Nonna's Old Overnight Dough Trick (For Two)

Your pizza crust turns to cardboard over one rushed step. It was never you. Today I count down seven old tricks for a light, crisp square pan pizza for two, ending with my Nonna's night-before dough. If you're planning pizza for tomorrow night, the dough starts tonight. In your house, was it pepperoni or plain? And growing up, was your pizza round from the pizzeria, or square from a pan at home? Tell me in the comments, and tell me what town you're cooking in tonight. CHAPTERS 0:00 Why your pizza crust turns to cardboard 1:26 What a cardboard crust really is 2:42 Trick 7: A cooling rack, not the pan 4:12 Trick 6: Bake it low, look underneath 5:37 Trick 5: Cheese down first, sauce on top 7:21 Trick 4: Give it two hours in the pan 9:12 Trick 3: Fingers, not a rolling pin 10:21 Trick 2: Oil the pan 11:24 Trick 1: Nonna's night-before dough 14:25 The whole supper, front to back 15:11 Tough, doughy or pale? The fixes 15:42 Leftovers and cooking for one 16:19 The one idea, and all seven tricks 16:49 Your turn SQUARE PAN PIZZA FOR TWO Serves 2. Night before: about 1 hour (10 minutes hands-on). Next day: about 3 hours (20 minutes hands-on). Pan: one 9x13-inch metal baking pan (dark if you have one). Not a glass dish. THE DOUGH (the night before) 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour, spooned into the cup and leveled (bread flour works too and gives a chewier crust) 3/4 tsp table salt 1/2 tsp yeast, instant or active dry 3/4 cup lukewarm water 1 tbsp olive oil THE PAN AND TOPPINGS (the next day) 2 tbsp olive oil for the pan 6 oz shredded whole-milk mozzarella, the firm kind (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 can (14.5 oz) whole peeled tomatoes, a pinch of salt, 1 small garlic clove (minced) and a pinch of dried oregano A little grated Pecorino or Parmesan, a pinch of oregano and a few torn basil leaves METHOD 1. The night before: stir the flour, salt, yeast, water and 1 tbsp oil about 1 minute, until no dry flour is left. It will be shaggy and sticky. Let it sit 5 minutes. 2. With a wet hand, lift one side of the dough and fold it over the top. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat all the way around. That's one round. Do a round every 5 minutes, 4 rounds in all. Cover and leave it 40 minutes. 3. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate at least 12 hours (up to 3 days). Wash your hands, spoon, measuring cups and counter with warm, soapy water, and don't taste the raw dough. 4. About 3 hours before supper: pour 2 tbsp olive oil into the pan and tip it to coat the bottom and a little up the sides. Turn the cold dough over once in the oil and press it toward the corners with your fingertips (no extra flour, no rolling pin). If it springs back, cover it and rest 15 minutes, then press again. 5. Cover and let it rise about 2 hours, until puffy and jiggly when you shake the pan. 6. While it rises, crush the tomatoes with your hands over a strainer and let the juice drain away. Stir in the salt, garlic and oregano. No cooking. Refrigerate leftover tomatoes, covered; use within 3 to 4 days. 7. Half an hour before baking, while the oven is still cold, set one rack in the lowest spot and one near the top. Heat the oven to 450°F for a full half hour. 8. Scatter about three-quarters of the mozzarella right to the edges. Spoon on about 1/2 cup of the tomatoes in little dollops with gaps between them, then the rest of the cheese. 9. Bake on the lowest rack about 18 to 22 minutes, checking from 15. With oven mitts on, slide the rack out a little and lift one corner with a thin spatula: you want the bottom deep golden brown. Still pale? 2 to 4 minutes more on the bottom rack. Bottom golden but top pale? 2 to 4 minutes on the top rack. 10. Set the pan on a burner that's turned off or on a trivet (mitts on). After a minute or two, run a knife around the edge, slide a wide spatula underneath and ease the pizza onto a wire cooling rack. Add the Pecorino, oregano and basil, wait 5 minutes and cut. THE FIXES Tough and dry? The dough was rushed, or it got extra flour or a rolling pin. Thick and doughy in the middle? More time on the bottom rack, or the sauce went on before the cheese. Pale, soft bottom? The oven wasn't fully hot, or the pizza cooled in the pan. Dough won't stretch? Give it another 15-minute rest. LEFTOVERS Refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour on a day over 90°F) and eat within 3 to 4 days. To reheat, heat the oven to 325°F and warm the slice on a baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes, to 165°F in the center (check with a food thermometer). Or freeze slices, wrapped tight, for 3 to 4 months. Food-safety source: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Next time: chicken thighs for two, all in one pan, and why my Nonna never touched them until the skin let go of the pan. About this channel: Ada is a fictional AI presenter, and her family stories are made up. The recipe was checked against published, tested recipes and USDA food-safety guidance. #pizza #italianamerican #cookingfortwo