| Level: | Advanced |
| Total: | 3 days 14 hr 25 min |
| Active: | 2 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 7 servings |
Ingredients
- 5 1/3 cups kosher salt
- 1 1/8 cups sugar
- One 2- to 3-pound piece pork belly
- 1 1/2 cups garlic cloves, peeled
- Olive oil, for roasting
- 1 1/2 cups crème fraîche
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon bread flour
- Pinch instant dry yeast
- 2 3/4 cups cold water
- 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 8 3/4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 3/4 pounds finely chopped pancetta or bacon, cooked until crisp, fat drained and cooled to room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch cubes Gruyere or Swiss cheese
- 1 3/4 cups thinly sliced red onion
- Finely chopped fresh chives, for garnish
Instructions
- For the pork belly: Dissolve the salt and sugar in 8 quarts water. Chill the brine. Add the pork belly, fully submerge and refrigerate for 24 hours.
- Remove the belly from the brine and pat dry. Vacuum seal the belly in a bag. Heat a water bath with an immersion circulator to 165 degrees F and cook the pork belly for 24 hours. Chill the belly in the bag in an ice bath and refrigerate overnight.
- Dice the belly into 1/2-inch pieces. Reserve.
- For the roasted garlic: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Put the garlic cloves in an ovenproof dish. Just barely cover with oil. Roast until the garlic is golden and tender, about 1 hour. Let cool.
- For the roasted garlic crème fraîche: Combine the crème fraiche, 1 cup roasted garlic cloves, 1/4 oil from the roasted garlic, the rosemary, salt, zest and black pepper to taste in a food processor and process until smooth.
- For the poolish: Mix the bread flour, yeast and 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water in a bowl until well combined. Cover and let stand for 12 to 18 hours at room temperature (65 to 75 degrees F).
- For the pizza dough: Add to the bowl of a stand mixer in this order: the cold water, all of the poolish, the yeast, bread flour, whole wheat flour and salt. Mix with the dough hook on speed 1 for 15 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed to ensure even mixing.
- Portion the dough into 10-ounce balls and roll into smooth, round balls. Place the dough balls on a lightly oiled sheet tray (not touching). (You may need to use 2 trays.) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least overnight and up to 3 days.
- For the pork belly pizza: Heat a wood-fired pizza oven to 700 degrees F or a home conventional oven to its hottest setting with a pizza stone on the bottom.
- Stretch out a pizza dough and put on a well-floured wooden peel. Spread 1/2 cup roasted garlic crème fraîche evenly across the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons crisped pancetta over the sauce. Add 3/4 cup pork belly cubes and 1/2 cup Gruyere (do not over-top the pizza or it won’t bake well). Sprinkle on 1/4 cup sliced red onions and bake pizza, about 4 minutes for wood-fired or 8 to 10 minutes in the oven. Cut the pizza and sprinkle with the chives before serving. Repeat to make 6 more pizzas. (Save remaining dough for another use.)
Reviews
After seeing this on Triple D I had to try it! I bought 2lbs of pork belly from my local butcher and brined it for 24hrs. I then vacuum sealed it and dropped it in sous vide for 10hrs at 170F. I made crème fraiche by adding a little buttermilk to heavy cream and let that sit at room temp until it reached a creamy consistency. I roasted the garlic in olive oil as indicated and set it aside till later.
I made the pizza dough using AP flour and dry active yeast. I lightly wrapped it and let it proof for 2hrs until it was a little more than double in size, then rewrapped it, put it in a container and into the fridge.
The next day I completed the crème fraiche and diced up the pork belly. I lightly fried the pork belly to add a little crunchy texture. I rolled out the dough into (4) 6-7″ personal pizzas and dropped them into lightly greased personal pizza pans. I spread crème fraiche, added the gruyere, red onion, and I added some halved cherry tomatoes and shredded spinach. Then added the pork belly pieces all over…
I baked them in the oven at 475 for 16 minutes and got a perfect crust.
I served it with an Italian chopped salad. Two of the three people I dined with said it was the best pizza they had ever had! It is really, really good!!!