Jim Lahey's Pizza Bianca with Grapes and Raw Sugar

This isn't a pizza in the traditional sense, but more of a flatbread similar to focaccia. It's perfect for snacking and Italians often eat it for breakfast and then throughout the day. Since it's a Jim Lahey recipe, there's no kneading involved.

I've had such good results with all of the recipes I've made from Jim's book. If you want easy and reliable bread recipes, this is a great place to start.

My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method

Pizza Bianca with Grapes
(you'll need a pizza peel and pizza stone)
3 cups bread flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups cool water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups grapes
extra sugar for sprinkling (I used Sugar in the Raw)

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon, mix until you have a wet sticky dough. Lightly coat a second medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles, 9 to 12 hours.

When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper to scrape dough out of the bowl in one piece. Using lightly floured hands, fold the dough over itself two or three times and nudge it into a loose, rather flat ball. Brush the surface with olive oil and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Put the dough in a warm place and let rise until doubled, 1 to 2 hours.

Half an hour before the end of the second rise preheat the oven to 500 F, with a rack in the center, and place a pizza stone, at least 14 inches in diameter, in the center of the rack.

Generously dust a pizza peel with flour and place ball of dough in the middle. Spread out the fingers of one hand and drive your fingers into the dough, but do not puncture it. You want to dimple the dough and stretch the dough at the same time. Spread the grapes over the dough, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and continue dimpling, smashing some of the grapes into the dough. You want to end up with a disk about 12 inches in diameter. Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of sugar.

With the peel resting on the counter, grasp the handle and give it a quick little tug. If the dough sticks to the peel, gently lift it around the edges and add flour to the peel. Shake the pizza onto the baking stone. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Slide the peel under the pizza and transfer it to a rack for at least a few minutes before slicing and serving.