St. Louis Pizza (America’s Test Kitchen)

Sauce

1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce

3 T tomato paste

2 T chopped fresh basil

1 T sugar

2 tsp dried oregano

Cheese

We use half mozzarella and half Provel, about 3 cups total

Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 T cornstarch

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup plus 2 T water

2 T olive oil

Whisk together all the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Combine the water and olive oil. Stir the water mixture into the flour mixture until the dough starts to come together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead 3 or 4 times, until it is cohesive.

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, place a pizza stone (or inverted baking sheet) on the rack, and heat the oven to 475 degrees. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, press the dough into a small circle and transfer it to a piece of parchment paper dusted lightly with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll and stretch the dough to form a 12-inch circle, rotating the parchment as needed. Lift the parchment and pizza dough off the counter onto an inverted baking sheet.

Top 1 dough round with half of the sauce and half of the cheese. Carefully pull the parchment paper and pizza off the baking sheet and onto the hot baking stone. Bake until the underside is golden brown and the cheese is completely melted, 9-12 minutes. Remove the pizza and the parchment from the oven and transfer the pizza to a cooling rack. Cool for 2 minutes. Repeat with the second dough round and the remaining sauce and cheese. Cut the pizzas into 2-inch squares and serve.