Pizza
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[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Note: For best results, bake pizza using a KettlePizza and Baking Steel setup.

About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook.

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About This Recipe

Yield: Makes four 10- to 12-inch pizzas, serving 4
Active time: 45 minutes
Total time: 3 hours
Special equipment: Wood and metal pizza peels, Baking Steel, pizza cutter (see note above)

Ingredients

  • 1 recipe Neapolitan Pizza Dough, or 2 pounds store-bought pizza dough
  • 12 ounces fresh mozzarella, torn into rough chunks and drained
  • 20 ripe figs, cut into quarters
  • 8 ounces goat's milk feta cheese
  • Kosher salt
  • 24 fresh basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup honey

Procedures

  1. Divide dough into four even parts and place each in a covered quart-sized deli container or in a zipper-lock freezer bag. Allow to rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours before baking.

  2. Adjust oven rack to 6 inches under broiler and place stone or steel on rack. Preheat oven to highest possible temperature (500 or 550°F) for at least 45 minutes. Alternatively, use Kettle Pizza and Baking Steel grill insert.

  3. When ready to bake, turn single dough ball out onto lightly flour surface. Gently press out dough into rough 8-inch circle, leaving outer 1-inch higher than the rest. Gently stretch dough into a 10 to 12-inch circle about 1/4-inch thick by draping over knuckles and gently stretching. Transfer to floured wooden pizza peel.

  4. Preheat broiler to high. Spread 1/4 of mozzarella over pizza, followed by 1/4 of figs and 1/4 of goat's milk feta. Sprinkle lightly with salt, add 6 basil leaves, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil.

  5. Transfer pizza to hot stone or steel and broil until edges are puffed and lightly charred and bottom is crisp, rotating regularly for even cooking, 3 to 6 minutes total. Retrieve pizza with a metal peel and transfer to a cutting board. Allow to rest 1 minute. Meanwhile, switch oven back to 550°F to reheat stone for remaining pizzas.

  6. Drizzle hot pizza with 1 tablespoon honey. Slice and serve immediately.

  7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for remaining pizzas.