Step 1

Autolyse. Combine flour and water in a medium mixing bowl. Mix with a spatula or dough whisk until the water is absorbed and not pooling in the bottom, then switch to your hands to smush it together in the bowl. The dough will feel very dry, dense, and stiff. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Step 2

Activate the Yeast. Combine instant yeast, water, and sugar in a small bowl. Give them a quick stir to hydrate the yeast, then set aside.

Step 3

Pincer Method. Sprinkle 10 grams salt over the surface of the autolysed dough. Then drizzle the water, yeast, and sugar mixture on top. Use your fingers in a pincer motion to pinch across the dough. Grab one tail end of the dough, fold it over itself, rotate the bowl, and pinch across the dough again. Repeat this process, until the water has incorporated into the dough and you don't feel granules of salt between your fingers. Shape the dough into a messy ball. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.

Step 4

Kneading. Drizzle the olive oil over the dough. Fold the dough over itself a few times in the bowl, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it smooths out, about 60-90 seconds. Dust in additional flour only if needed. Shape the dough into a ball, place it back in the bowl. Drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and rub to coat the surface. Cover and rest for 1 hour.

Step 5

Divide. Divide the dough into four equal pieces. You can eyeball it, but I like using a kitchen scale to be precise. Each dough ball should be around 212-215 grams. Prep four 16 ounce round deli containers with a light coating of olive oil and set aside.

Step 6

Pre-shape. Working with one piece of dough at a time, gently flatten the dough against a clean countertop. Tuck the edges up and pinch them together. Keep pinching the edges together to create a smooth, taught surface under the dough with a seam on top. Flip the dough ball over and cup your hand around it with your pinkie against the counter. Drag your hand toward you, sliding the dough ball against the counter to tighten the seam at the bottom and create surface tension on the top. Rotate the ball 90 degrees and repeat. Place the dough balls into the oiled containers with the lids on. Let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

Step 7

Overnight rise. After an hour at room temperature the dough balls will not have risen much, but may have filled out the bottoms of the containers slightly. Place the containers in the refrigerator overnight.

Step 8

Final rise. Remove the pizza dough balls from the fridge about 60-90 minutes before you plan to stretch them. Let the dough rest in the containers at room temperature or somewhere warm for 60-90 minutes. During this final rise, you will see the dough just about double in size.

Step 9

Preheat oven with the baking steel inside to 500°F for an hour before baking. Note: If your oven has a top broiler, the steel should be about 7 inches below the top of your oven. If you have a bottom broiler unit in the space below the oven, use the bottom rack of the oven and place an inverted sheet pan in the broiler area so you can slide the pizza onto it for the final minute of baking.

Step 10

Stretch. On a generously floured countertop, hand stretch the pizza dough. For a thin crust pizza you're aiming for something about 12-16" across. When you hold the dough up, it should be almost translucent in the middle with a thicker crust around the edge.

Step 11

Pizza Peel. Dust a pizza peel with semolina flour. Transfer the stretched dough to the pizza peel and arrange it back into a circle. Lift the edges to let out any air trapped underneath the dough.

Step 12

Toppings. Add your pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings, bringing them almost all the way to the edge of the dough. Leave about ½" margin or bare crust around the edge.

Step 13

Shimmy. Give the supreme pizza a shimmy on the peel to make sure that no parts of the crust have stuck. Carefully dust additional flour underneath any stuck spots if needed.

Step 14

Launch. Open the oven and line up the tip of the pizza peel with the back of the steel. Tilt it at an angle (20° or so) and give it a quick thrust to help the pizza begin sliding off. As the pizza slides, pull the peel straight back, keeping the tip of the peel on the steel, depositing the pizza on to the hot surface to begin cooking.

Step 15

Bake. Bake the pizza for 2-3 minutes, then use the pizza peel to rotate it in place on the steel so it cooks evenly. Bake 2-3 minutes more, then broil for 1 minute or until as browned as you like. Remove from the oven.

Step 16

Remove the pizza from the oven, add any fresh herbs or other fresh toppings. Slice and serve immediately.