Since opening in 2012, Razza Pizza Artigianale in Jersey City, New Jersey, has taken critics by storm. Its old school and lively approach to pizza is thanks to the owner, chef Dan Richer, whose obsession with artisanal Italian pizzas burns as hot as the wood-fired ovens he uses to cook them. From the homegrown yeast culture to the cherry-picked, locally sourced ingredients that adorn each pizza, everything at Razza is produced with intention. If you’re unable to visit, fear not: Richer’s new book, The Joy of Pizza, written in collaboration with Rome-based food journalist and author Katie Parla, is aimed at inspiring  home cooks to reach for the same standards. 

To celebrate the release, Dan and Katie have kindly shared a few of their favorite recipes from the book, starting with this one. Dan’s Everyday Dough is a recipe so versatile, it stretches beyond the confines of pizza: ciabatta, English muffins, and even boule loaves can all be created using this same method. Made with white flour and commercial yeast (Dan prefers the Saf-instant brand), it’s accessible and straightforward. You can use any flour from your local supermarket (no special blend needed) and still achieve the flawless results Dan strives for using his Pizza Evaluation Rubric, the series of meticulous pizza quality checklists on which The Joy of Pizza is built.

While we wouldn’t call this a beginner recipe — the method takes three days from start to finish — it is a straightforward introduction to the craft of creating and working with high-hydration dough, straight from the hands of a master. Once the initial mixing is done, each of the steps prior to baking take 5 minutes or less. The extra effort on your part will be rewarded through the rich flavour of the resulting dough. Dan believes this recipe is so special in part because it provides training for beginner- and intermediate-level bakers’ hands and helps build confidence in handling delicate, high-hydration dough. If you’re interested in developing your skillset across pizza styles, this recipe is a great place to start. 

Excerpted from THE JOY OF PIZZA by Dan Richer with Katie Parla. Copyright © 2021 by Dan Richer. Photographs by Eric Wolfinger. Illustrations by Katie Shelly. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved