Tavern-style pizza

Directions

• 6 nights before
• Prep 50 grams of starter overnight.
• 5 days before
• Combine dry ingredients in stand mixer, then add wet with dough hook attachment. Mix at low speed, stopping to scrape down bowl often, until dough comes together in shaggy ball.
• Cover the bowl, and let rest for 1 hour. Mix on medium-low speed until the dough is silky and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface.
• Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the dough into two even pieces. Using lightly floured hands, shape each piece into a smooth ball, then lightly coat each with oil, using your hands to cover every surface.
• Transfer each ball to a quart-size zipper-lock bag. Refrigerate for 5 days.
• 1 night before
• Remove dough from fridge and allow to rest covered for 1 hour at room temp.
• Transfer one dough ball to a work surface generously dusted with cornmeal. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a very thin circle 12 inches in diameter, lifting and rotating it occasionally (use a ruler or measuring tape to ensure the right size). Repeat with the second ball. If the dough feels like it keeps bouncing back as you try and stretch it, cover it with an inverted bowl or a clean kitchen towel, let it rest for half an hour, then try rolling again.
• Transfer the dough circles to a flat surface lined with parchment paper or butcher paper. Allow to rest uncovered at room temperature overnight. The top surface of the dough should end up dry to the touch with a leathery feel. If they puff at all during curing, you can push any bubbles with a fork and push them down to flatten them.
• Day of
• At least 45 minutes before baking, set a baking steel or stone on an oven rack in the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 500 degrees.
• When the oven is heated and you’re ready to bake, dust a pizza peel with semolina or cornmeal. Lift cured pizza skin with the parchment or butcher paper still attached. The top (exposed) side will be drier than the underside. Place the pizza skin on the peel with the drier side facing down (so the papered side faces up). Peel off the parchment paper or butcher paper and discard. Using a fork, poke the crust all over to prevent large bubbles from forming.
• Spread the sauce evenly over the entire surface of the pizza, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle with half the Romano or Parmesan. Spread the mozzarella evenly over the entire surface, spreading it all the way to the edges. Add any additional toppings. Use your fingertips to scatter the raw sausage all over the pizza.
• Give the pizza peel a few shakes to make sure the pizza is still loose (if it sticks at all, using a metal spatula or pizza peel to loosen it), then transfer the pizza to the heated baking stone. Bake until the pizza is done, check around 10 minutes.
• Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and sprinkle immediately with the remaining Romano or Parmesan. Allow to rest for 3 minutes, cut into 1½- to 2-inch squares, and serve immediately. Let the oven reheat for at least 10 minutes before baking subsequent pizzas.