Fugazza Recipes

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast with sugar over milk and water in a small bowl and proof until foamy, about 10-15 minutes.
• Combine flour and salt in a large bowl, make a well in the center and add yeast mixture.
• Blend flour into yeast mixture and knead about 15 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.
• Oil large bowl.
• Add dough, turning to coat.
• Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free area until double in size.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Oil 15 inch pizza pan.
• Roll dough out on lightly-floured surface to 13-14 inch round, ½ inch thick.
• Fit dough into pan.
• Spread with onion, leaving ½ inch border at edges.
• Cover onion with cheese and sprinkle with oregano, crumbling oregano between fingers.
• Bake until golden-brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Steps:

• Dough
• Mix the dough ingredients in a bowl, adding the water slowly if you change the flour types. Aim for an almost hand-kneadable dryness. Cover and let it rest about 20 minutes; it will become even more pliable and less sticky.
• Do one round of stretching and folding of the dough. This is mostly to ensure the ingredients are evenly distributed. Cover and let it rise until it has expanded by 25-75%. If you'd like to use the dough immediately, let it rise to doubling or 100%. Otherwise refrigerate it overnight to several days.
• Pull the dough from the refrigerator 1-4 hours before you would like to bake, depending on how expanded it is in the container.
• Filling and Topping Prep
• Slice the onion (I like half rings) and place the slices in a bowl with saltwater to soak for at least an hour.
• Defrost the spinach and drain it, and further squeeze out as much water as possible.
• Slice the cheeses you plan to use and measure out your seeds, herbs, hot pepper flakes etc.
• Assembly
• Preheat your oven to 425F, with a shelf in the middle position.
• Divide the fermented dough in two pieces, about 2/3 for the base and 1/3 for the top.
• Roll the two pieces into balls, cover, and let them rest about 20 minutes.
• Drain the onions, pat them dry, and toss them with olive oil. If you want the onions a little more caramelized than what you see in my photos, give them a brief saute in a pan as well. I didn't do this for either of my fugazzetas, but will try it on my next one.
• Using a rolling pin, roll both dough balls into rounds, one big enough to go up the sides of the pan, and the smaller circle to just reach across the pan.
• Oil the bottom of your pan.
• Transfer the larger dough round to the pan. You can roll it around your pin, and then unroll it onto the pan.
• Fill first with 2/3 the cheese and the nigella seeds, then all the spinach and optional salt, followed by the rest of the cheese.
• Brush water on the perimeter of the base dough where it will bind to the top dough.
• Cover the filling with the smaller dough round and pinch the two doughs together.
• Poke holes in the top dough with a fork to let air escape.
• Top with the onion slices and load into the oven.
• Bake
• Bake for 25 minutes at 425F, then add a baking sheet directly under the pan.
• Switch your oven to broil, still 425F, and continue baking for 10 minutes more.
• If your oven only broils at 500F, move the pan to the lowest shelf possible and keep an eye on the onions.
• Check on the top of the dough by moving some of the onion slices to the side. The dough won't necessarily look dry, because of the oil, but it should be golden and a little puffy. If the dough looks raw, continue broiling for about five minutes more with the onions on the periphery.
• After pulling the fugazzeta from the oven, sprinkle on the oregano and optional red pepper flakes.
• Serving
• For a dramatic presentation (gooey cheese stretching from each slice), slide the fugazzeta onto a cutting board and serve piping hot. Otherwise let it cool about 10 minutes before cutting.

Steps:

• 1. Warm the milk to 100 to 105 F, and place in a small bowl.
• 2. Stir the sugar into the milk and sprinkle the yeast over. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes, until mixture is bubbly.
• 3. Place the flour, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix together briefly using the dough hook.
• 4. Add the yeast/milk mixture and begin to knead, adding the water gradually. The mixture should come together as a soft, stretchy dough, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Add a bit more flour if the mixture is too wet, and add a bit more water if mixture seems dry, crumbly, or overly firm.
• 5. Knead for 5 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth, soft and elastic.
• 6. Oil a bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size.
• 7. While the dough is rising, peel and slice the onion into very thin strips. Place them in a bowl of cold salt water and soak for 30 minutes. Drain onions well and dry them with paper towels.
• 8. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide dough into two pieces. Roll each half into a smooth ball.
• 9. Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a 12-inch pizza pan or cast iron skillet. Place one ball of dough in the middle of the pan and flatten gently with your fingers. Let dough relax for 10 minutes.
• 10. Continue to flatten dough into the pan, flattening it and pushing it toward the sides of the pan, letting it relax in between until dough covers the bottom of the pan.
• 11. Oil the counter and roll the other piece of dough into a 12-inch circle, letting it relax in between until it holds its shape.
• 12. Preheat oven to 450 F.
• 13. Place the slices of mozzarella cheese over the dough in the pan.
• 14. Sprinkle the provolone over the mozzarella. Place the other round of dough over the cheese and seal the edges of the two dough circles together.
• 15. Top the pizza with the sliced onions.
• 16. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over the onions, and sprinkle with the dried oregano and some Parmesan cheese.
• 17. Place the fugazzeta in the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and crispy.
• 18. Brown the onions under the broiler for the last 3 minutes of cooking if desired.
• 19. Remove from the oven. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into slices to serve.