METHOD

Donatella’s Homemade Pizza Dough

1. Sprinkle yeast over water, combining in a large bowl. Let stand until yeast is creamy, about 1 minute. Stir until yeast dissolves. In another large bowl, add sea salt, then yeast mixture and flour. Stir until a soft dough forms.

2. Transfer dough ball to a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

3. Lightly coat another large bowl with oil. Place dough in bowl, turning it to oil the top. Cover with plastic wrap and store someplace warm. Let rise until it doubles in size, about 6 hours.

4. Cut dough into 9-ounce pieces and shape into balls. Place the balls on a nonstick surface or parchment paper, and then cover with plastic wrap, allowing room for dough to expand. Let dough rise until doubled, 8 – 12 hours.

5. Rest dough in refrigerator for 2 – 4 hours. Your homemade dough is now ready to be baked. Select 1 dough ball per personal pie. (Remaining dough balls can be made into more personal pies or frozen for later, if desired.)

6. Set oven to maximum temperature. Par-bake dough about 7 minutes.

Topping

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

2. Heat olive oil in a small frying pan. Cook diced guanciale until browned. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Mix Ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper together. Spread layer over pizza shell. Top pizza with figs and guanciale and bake in oven for 8 minutes. Remove and garnish with balsamic glaze and basil.