Pizza Alla Pugliese

American Pie; Peter Reinhart

• Ready In: 1 hr 18 mins
• Yields: 2 nine-inch pizzas

Ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1⁄2 cup  sliced onion
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 2 (9 inch)  pizza dough (Neapolitan-style pizza dough)
•  unbleached flour, for dusting
• 6  ounces  smoked cheese, shredded
•  fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1. Put baking stone on the middle shelf of oven; preheat oven on highest setting for at least 1 hour.
2. While oven is heating, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan over med-high heat.
3. Add in onion; saute 4-5 minutes, or until translucent.
4. Season with salt; remove from heat; let cool.
5. Make 1 pizza at a time unless your peel can accommodate both pizzas.
6. Flour work surface and hands; shape dough ball on counter; transfer it to flour-dusted pizza peel.
7. Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over the surface of dough; spread half of the sauteed onion on top; drizzle 1 tablespoons olive oil over the surface, spiraling it out from the center.
8. Sprinkle the top with pepper to taste.
9. Carefully slide the pizza from the peel onto the baking stone; bake 7-9 minutes.
10. When it is done, the crust should be puffy and slightly charred on the edge and thinner in the center; the underside of the crust should be brown and crisp, not white and soft.
11. Remove the finished pizza from the oven and serve it whole, or let if cool for about 2 minutes before slicing and serving.
12. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make the second pizza.