Lauren’s Pizza Bianca
Leading Lady Spotlight: Lauren Partch is one of the greatest people I know. She’s got a smile that lights up a room, the greatest sense of humor, she’s everyone’s biggest cheerleader, she’s a phenomenal storyteller, and she’s got both drive and endurance for her dreams that will inspire anyone. I’m so lucky our paths crossed through ManifestHer, when she joined for one of our goal setting programs in August 2019. At that time, she had just begun working on film concept — a satirical film about body dysmorphia. Today, her feature film, My Little Renaissance Girl, is not just out and in the world, but is so good that it was accepted at multiple film festivals and received nominations and awards for best picture. This Pizza Bianca is her go-to for girls-night-in or date-night-in. Lauren recommends that for your pizza toppings, you always measure with your heart. Enjoy!
Downloadable recipe card: here
Prep time: 90 mins
Serves: 6 individual pizzas
What You’ll Need
A big towel (you’ll wrap the dough bowl while it rises)
12oz (ish) water cup (or Pyrex measuring glass)
Pizza slicer (we love our Oxo)
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
3 lbs all purpose flour (~6 small pizzas)
2 cups water
1 1/2 tbs active dry yeast
2 tbs olive oil
Salt, to taste
4 tbs cornmeal
Pizza Toppings
6 tbs olive oil
12 cloves garlic, finely grated (Lauren says you can never have too much!)
18 oz fresh mozzarella (measure with your heart)
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan, freshly grated
Fresh basil leaves, chopped finely (garnish)
Instructions
Note: For this recipe, you’ll make the dough first, and let it rise for about an hour. During this time, preheat your oven and Pizza Stone to 475°F. Once dough has risen, and oven is hot, you’re ready to rock.
The Dough
First, let’s prepare to make our dough
Fill Pyrex liquid measuring glass with 2 cups of warm-ish water. Add active dry yeast and olive oil. Let sit for about 5 minutes. While that’s sitting, add flour salt to mixing bowl, using your wooden spoon to combine.
Now you’ll mix your dough
Add yeast/water/olive oil mix to flour mixture, stirring until you start to form dough. You don’t want your dough too dry, and you don’t want your dough too wet, so if your original water mixture doesn’t seem enough, add additional water little by little until your dough is ready. Your dough is ready when it looks a little shaggy and lumpy.
Let the dough rise
Cover your shaggy, lumpy dough with saran wrap, and wrap your bowl in a big towel, ensuring the bowl is fully enveloped by the towel. Set dough aside, covered, for an hour to rise.
Now it’s time to knead the dough
On a large, clean countertop, sprinkle flour to give yourself a work space for kneading the dough. Remove dough from mixing bowl and place onto freshly floured surface. Knead the dough with hands, taking it from shaggy and lumpy to just smooth and slightly tacky. If your dough holds it shape when you hold it up, that's a good sign it’s ready. You don’t want to under-work your dough, but you don’t want to over-work your dough either.
The Pizza
Note: By the time you’re at this point in the recipe, it’s been more than an hour since you made your dough, your dough is kneaded and ready, and your pizza oven is heated up to 475°F.
With your kneaded dough ready, cut apart into six dough balls
From your large, kneaded dough ball. cut into 6 equal dough balls, these will be your pizza crusts. (Pro-tip: Make pizzas one at a time. Cool dough holds its shape better, making getting it in and out of the oven far easier. So, while tempting, to prep all 6 pizzas at the same time, don’t do this).
With one dough ball, prepare your pizza crust
Sprinkle flour on countertop, press (or roll) dough ball into a pizza shape, flipping it one-to-three times until it takes a shape you like. Then, sprinkle cornmeal on your pizza peel to make it easy for your dough to slide off the pizza peel into the oven. Lift pizza crust dough off counter and onto the cornmeal-ed pizza peel.
Make-a-the-pizza
Brush the surface of the dough with the extra-virgin olive oil. Evenly distribute the finely grated garlic over the top, making sure it’s spread out to cover the entire pizza base. Sprinkle the kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper over the garlic and olive oil. Add cheese over the top -- begin by tearing the fresh mozzarella into small pieces and distributing them evenly across the pizza. Follow this with dollops of ricotta cheese, spacing them evenly around the pizza. Finally, sprinkle the freshly grated Parmesan over the top.
Get your pizza in the oven
Carefully slide the pizza onto your preheated pizza stone. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheeses are melted and bubbly.
Garnish and Serve!
Once the pizza is out of the oven, immediately transfer cutting board, sprinkle fresh chopped basil leaves over the top. Slice the pizza and serve hot. Repeat until you’re full or out of dough!
Enjoy!
