Potato Pizza, Even Better by Smittenkitchen
Adapted from Jim Lahey’s My Bread

Notes

A tiny bit more context: Potato pizza is one kind the pizza al taglio that is considered daytime pizza in Rome, baked in electric ovens in large rectangular or oblong shapes, cut with scissors to the size you desire, and sold by weight. Wood-burning ovens historically weren’t allowed to run until 6 p.m. in Rome, and this was the delicious modification that emerged. Potato pizza is a variation on the gold standard of Roman bread, pizza bianca — pizza with just olive oil, rosemary and salt that amounts to so much more than it sounds.

Did you read that part about the electric oven? Unlike most of the pizza gushed over these days, this is not pizza optimized for 900-degree pizza ovens notably absent in most homes, but the ovens we already have. Not that it wouldn’t be amazing in a wood-fired pizza oven, but if you don’t have one in that cramped studio walk-up, you’re not going to start this recipe already at a loss.

Despite struggling with his first printed version, Lahey himself came to the rescue in 2012 with a much easier to follow potato pizza recipe in his first book that I’ve had great success with, so let us all applaud the silent co-authors of cookbooks that make great chef recipes work for the rest of us. The newer version lets us know exactly how big of a tray you’ll need, uses more potatoes, a simpler process of preparing them and I mean, just look at the results. (Well, not too closely. I was busy with a baby a nearly burnt mine.)

Want to make this with sweet potatoes? Lahey says that this version [Pizza Batata] should be made with slightly more water (4 1/2 cups) for the same amount of salt, and that 2 sweet potatoes (800 grams) is all you’ll need. Skip the rosemary.

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pizza dough or about a 2/3 volume of my lazy fitted-to-your-schedule favorite or your favorite, whichever it may be
• 4 teaspoons fine sea or table salt
• 6 to 8 (1 kilo) small to medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil
• About 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the 1 quart lukewarm water with salt, stirring until the salt has dissolved. Use a mandoline or your best sharpest knife to slice the potatoes very thin (1/16 inch thick), and put the sliced directly into the salted water, which prevents oxidation and also helps soften them so they cook up nicely. Lahey says to let them soak for 1 1/2 hours or up to 12 in the fridge overnight, but I was quite happy with my results after a 25 to 30 minute soak.
2. Heat your oven to 500°F with a rack in the center. Brush either 1 13×18-inch rimmed half-sheet pan or 2 9×13-inch quarter-sheet pans (shown) with olive oil. Divide your risen dough in half and use your fingertips, oiled or dusted with flour, to pull, stretch, nudge and press the dough across the bottom of the pan. The dough will be thin and imperfect. If holes form, just pinch them together. It’s all going to work out, promise.
3. Drain the potatoes in a colander and use your hands to press out as much water as possible, then pat dry on paper towels. In a medium bowl, toss the potato slices with the onion, pepper, and olive oil. Spread this potato mixture over your dough, going all the way to the edges so that there’s no uncovered edge; put a bit more topping around the edges of the pie, as the outside tends to cook more quickly. Sprinkle evenly with rosemary. Usually the salt the potatoes were soaked in is enough, but you can sprinkle more on if desired.
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the topping is starting to turn golden brown and the crust is nicely bronzed underneath. Serve pizza hot or at room temperature.