Poolish (Pizza Dough Starter)

• Poolish: Combine the water, honey, yeast, and flour in a medium storage container. Let sit uncovered for 15 minutes. Then cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Cover and place in the fridge overnight for 12-24 hours.

Pizza Dough

• Combine the poolish, bread flour, 00 flour, water, and salt. It will be very loose and wet. So much so that you may think you did something wrong – you haven’t. It’s just a very wet dough.
• Work the dough on the counter for 10 minutes. Do not add any more flour. You can add a little olive oil on your hands to help prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. Gather the dough in one hand and, using a flick motion, smack it on the counter, then gather it up again and repeat.
• Let sit for 15 minutes. Then divide the dough in two and shape into two round balls.
• Place each in a large bowl, add a tablespoon of olive oil over the top, and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.

Garlicy Olive Oil Sauce

• This will become the sauce for the pizza. Add the extra virgin olive oil and garlic to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then reduce to low. Let sit on warm while you make the rest of the toppings, or at least 15 minutes.

Hot Honey

• Add the honey and red pepper flakes to a small saucepan on low heat. Do not allow to simmer or boil, as this will cause water content in the honey to evaporate, making the honey thicker and more difficult to drizzle on the pizza.

  The honey should just warm through enough so that when combined with the red pepper flakes, it becomes spicy. Leave on low heat while you work on the rest of the toppings.

Caramelized Onions

• Bring a sauté pan to medium heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and the onions. Stir occasionally for 8-10 minutes until caramelized. Add additional olive oil as needed to prevent the bottom of the pan from becoming dry. Remove and set aside.

Italian Sausage

• Add the sausage, removed from the casings, to the sauté pan at medium heat. Cook, chopping in the pan with a firm spatula until it is cooked through and has started to become caramelized and crispy, about 10-15 minutes. This is best done in a pan that is not non-stick to not damage the non-stick coating.

Add a pizza stone to the middle rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 500°F. Preheat for 30 minutes if possible.

Prep the Dough

• For each ball of pizza dough, lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Use your fingers to press down on the center of the ball of dough to flatten it. Then flip it over and press down in the middle of the dough again.

  Continue pressing the dough by gently working your fingers to the edges of the dough, pressing down as you go, which moves any air in the dough to the edges.

  Pinch the dough at the edges to create the crust. Pinching helps give you those air bubbles in the crust!
• Place the dough over your fists, and use the back of your fists to stretch out the dough, moving your hands in a circular direction as you go.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured pizza peel (you can use flour, whole wheat flour, or cornmeal), so that one edge of the dough hangs off the edge. This helps that part of the crust to “catch” on the pizza stone, which makes it easier to slide the entire pizza off the peel and onto the pizza stone cleanly.

Assemble the Pizza

• Lightly drizzle the garlicy olive oil, including the cloves of garlic, onto the pizza dough and use a brush to spread it over the dough. Do not add too much olive oil, or it will make the pizza soggy and drippy.
• Sprinkle with half of the mozzarella cheese. Top the pizza with half of the caramelized onions, crumbled Italian sausage, salami, and the sliced serrano peppers. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

Bake the Pizza

• Carefully slide the pizza onto the pizza stone using the edge of the crust of the pizza to catch on the back of the stone, and slowly shimmy the pizza onto the pizza stone.

  Bake for 8-12 minutes so that the crust has started to brown and the cheese has fully melted.

  Remove and drizzle with the hot honey. Allow to cool slightly, then slice and serve.