Wood Fired Recipes Community Cookbook
smoky tomato sauce

Classic Dough And Smoky Tomato Sauce

Sep 19, 2014Posted by Chef BartPrint

I am thrilled to be a part of the Forno Bravo community, and I am excited to share recipes, techniques, videos, photos and musings through the lens of a professional chef. My first post, of course, has to be pizza. However, I promise that I will keep you on your toes with different dishes and cooking methods to show off the versatility of the Forno Bravo oven.

My first dough is adapted from, Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast, The fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza by Ken Forkish.

Hope you enjoy, until next week – feast well!

smoky tomato sauce

Classic Dough And Smoky Tomato Sauce

Course Pizza
Servings 5 dough balls

Ingredients
  

Dough

  • 7 ¾ cups Caputo “00” Soft White Flour
  • 3 cups water 90-95 degrees F
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • ¾ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp yeast

Smoky Tomato Sauce

  • 6-8 tomatoes medium size
  • 2-3 cloves garlic sliced
  • 8-10 each basil leaves fresh
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 pinch red chili flakes
  • sea salt/black pepper

Instructions
 

Dough

  • Hydrate the yeast with 3 tablespoons of the 3 cups of water.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the flour and remaining water together with a wood spoon or hands until incorporated. Let the water-flour mix sit for 30 minutes.
  • Sprinkle dough with salt and yeast mixture and using damp hands make quarter folds in the dough until the yeast and salt are fully incorporated. Cover and set aside, let the dough rest for an hour. From the corners, fold the dough in on itself one time, cover and let rest at room temperature for 5-6 hours.
  • After dough has rested and doubled in size, divide into 5 – 340 gram dough balls. Dough will be slightly tacking, use a bit of extra flour for your hands and work surface as needed. Dough is ready for the oven.
  • This dough is 70% hydration and yields a traditional Neapolitan pizza. The crust will produce a crisp bite with a great chew, soft fermentation flavors with medium to large air pockets.
  • I would never argue against the use of San Marzano tomatoes for your sauce, but every so often I crave a little more depth and zip from my tomato sauce. Here is what has become the family favorite.

Smoky Tomato Sauce

  • Core tomatoes, slice in half lengthwise and score the bottom with an “x” cross cut.
  • Place tomatoes in a roasting pan, drizzle olive oil over the top and season liberally with salt and pepper. Add basil and chili flakes and place into the wood oven. I typically roast the tomatoes when the oven is warming up to capture the smoke flavor and a lower heat of 350-400. If planning ahead roast when the fire has died off and the pizzas are done for the day for your next cooking session.
  • Roast the tomatoes for 10-15 minutes, the skin should blister and the tomatoes should begin to break down and release some of their juice. Remove the tomatoes from the oven, using tongs pull off and discard the skins and transfer the contents to a small saucepot. Reduce the sauce by 2/3 over medium-low heat. During the cooking process, use a whisk to break up the larger pieces of tomato or use a food mill to break down to a smooth consistency. Remove from heat, taste, adjust seasoning if needed. Let sauce cool. Sauce can be stored covered in the refrigerator for 3-5 days our divide equally into ice trays and freeze to use later. One to two cubes equal the equivalent portion for one pizza.

Notes

crust-margherita dough-copy
 

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